Billboard magazine recently had the opportunity to speak with Big Machine Label Group head, Scott Borchetta, about his new gig as American Idol mentor. Big Machine, in partnership with 19 Records and Universal Music Group, will eventually sign the winner.
Scott looks forward to getting a crack at the many people Idol has screened across the country, calling it “another great A&R opportunity.”
He cites the label’s recent pop success with Taylor Swift as an example of why the label will be able to work with contestants across all genres.
“We’ve been having pop success with Taylor for six years. It didn’t just start. Love Story was a No. 1 pop record. So yeah, I’m very confident in telling you, “We got it. We know what to do.”
Scott talks about his background, which isn’t completely country centered, to bolster the notion that the Nashville based, Big Machine, is perfectly capable of venturing outside of the country genre.
But I grew up in Southern California. I played in rock bands out here and I’ve been around pop music my whole life. I’ve been around all music my entire life. So I think we have a fair understanding of what a hit artist looks like, regardless of genre. And I’ve got the opportunity, with my relationship with Universal and 19 [Recordings], to put the winner exactly where they need to be, regardless of genre. They are not limited by this relationship. If anything, just the opposite. We can go anywhere we need to go.
When it comes to artists, “We either fall in love or we don’t,” says Scott.
As far as mentorship, Scott will assess each of the contestant’s needs and proceed from there.
Some of them need help with song selection. Some of them need help with image. Some of them need help with engagement. So each one of them are unique and will have different needs. We’ll get in there and try to help them with whatever they need
Scott sums up the new crop as “A great, diverse bunch of young artists. And that’s really the key word is ‘artists.’” He adds, “You know you want to be a great singer, but you want to have artistry behind that. So I think the group of contestants that we have are really going to blow people’s minds.”
Would he be willing to sign contestants other than the winner?
You never know. I’m certainly not going to say no. If we see something great, whether it wins or not, we’ll certainly consider it, but it’s about the winner. Hopefully we’ll get to a place where we’ve got a winner that is everything that they need to be and that we need them to be. They gotta have an incredible desire to do this for the rest of their life. That’s the person I want. I want them to show that this is everything that they’ve always wanted and they are going to put in the work and have the desire to do it. If they have that, I’m in.
