music weekthe last cover story is a world exclusive with Elton John.
Interview with superstar artist and management duo David Furnish and Rachael Paley follows their victory at the Music Week Awards. Furnish and Paley won the Manager of the Year category in recognition of Sir Elton’s achievements, including a No. 1 album (The Lockdown Sessions) and single (Pnau’s remix of Cold Heart with Dua Lipa).
Elton John’s latest collaboration was confirmed today – a reworking of the 1971 Tiny Dancer single with Britney Spears titled Hold Me Closer.
David Furnish became Elton John’s manager in 2015. Rachael Paley joined Rocket Entertainment soon after, and the duo set in motion a five-year plan, including the landmark Collection of diamond strokes in 2017. It is now approaching one million sales (988,297 – Official Charts Company), with 66.5% of consumption coming from streams.
David Furnish said music week that one of the keys to executing their plan was Elton’s openness to trying new things.
“Once he understands the role it plays in his world, he’s happy to try it out,” said Furnish, a former advertising manager at Ogilvy & Mather. “He doesn’t micromanage. You have to tell Elton about the concept and then he buys into it and lets you keep building it and he doesn’t lean over your shoulder. He trusts the process and trusts the employees. But then you better get it right. There’s this expectation at the end – if it doesn’t go the way it should, he’s not happy.
The mission statement that guided the senior Furnish, Paley and Rocket team (completed with COO Luke Lloyd Davies, CFO Mike Dawson, Tour Manager Keith Bradley and General Counsel Elanzo Burgess ) was to “elevate and celebrate” Elton John’s legacy and showcase his music. to a new generation of fans.
In addition to a multitude of reissues and boxes, there have been revamped social media profiles and curated playlists on DSPs. There was also the biopic Rocketman, the best-selling autobiography, and his show Rocket Hour on Apple Music.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which hosted BST Hyde Park and a series of UK stadiums in June and July, will conclude its outdoor run in Los Angeles in November ahead of a Covid-postponed visit to UK and European arenas in 2023.
But the current atmosphere of celebration and rejuvenation is far from the transition phase in 2015. In its coverage, Elton John remembers the “incredible anger and jealousy” aroused by her husband’s appointment as director.
But the decision soon paid off, with Universal Music Group and UMPG backing the five-year plan formulated for Sir Elton. “We got all the key people on the label together and said, ‘This is our vision,'” Furnish said.
In 2018, Elton signed a deal this means that UMG’s global labels will “release all new Elton John music for the remainder of his career”. Its publishing, merchandise, brand management and licensing rights, as well as five decades of cataloging, were also covered by the deal.
Lockdown Sessions (127,707 sales to date) delivered a eighth UK No. 1 in October 2021 and spawned the No. 1 hit Cold Heart (1,452,038 sales). Its success saw Elton become the first solo artist to score a UK Top 10 single in six consecutive decades.
58% of Elton’s music is now consumed by 18-35 year olds – that’s absolutely what we wanted
David Furnish
Rachael Paley became the team’s key channel for dealing with the label. She was previously Elton’s marketing guru at Universal before moving to Rocket.
“I have always felt the approach of catalog shouldn’t just be box sets,” Paley said. “It should be, ‘You have a catalog there that people aren’t aware of.’ It’s about joining the dots, giving a bit of narrative or background to the track in the description, so that you explore the music and fall down a rabbit hole.
“Housekeeping was really important early on, from DSPs updating the bios to putting thumbnails on all the content. It was really the workings of things. I was at the label before, so it It’s a joy to come in. Obviously, I’m on the other side of the fence now, so sometimes you have to crack the whip a bit.
The strategy was to open up easy avenues for people willing to discover Elton Johnis the music.
“When Rocketman played on Channel 4 in June, we had a Pride playlist [ready]”, Paley said. “It’s about making sure that when people want to know more, there are no barriers to entry.”
Furniture sees the Rocketman Movie as “super-important” to introduce Elton’s music to a new audience.
“I think a lot of young fans know his music, but they didn’t understand the things that Elton had to overcome in his life, the issues of self-love, family, acceptance, addiction, sexuality and gender identity,” he said. “Those are all things that young people are struggling with today and I think they connect to that.”
“I think it opened the doors to exploring Elton’s catalog,” Paley added. “Although we were focusing on the soundtrack at the time, we saw that Diamonds had started to rise again. The fact that it has been in the Top 100 for five years is proof of that.
All the while, Furnish kept tabs on the streaming numbers, watched monthly listeners rise, and saw demographics start to change.
“It’s hard to get all the data you want from streaming companies,” Furnish explained, “but Spotify in particular, 58% of Elton’s music is now consumed by 18-35 year olds. This is absolutely what we wanted and what we hoped for. That’s why Elton always said he appreciated the opportunity with The Lion King, that’s why we did something like Gnomeo And Juliet 10 years ago, to keep the songs in his catalog alive and showcasing them to a new generation.
I have always thought that the catalog approach should not be limited to box sets
Rachel Paley
By the end of 2021, Elton had 66 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a 100% year-over-year increase.
The five-year plan has delivered huge results, but Elton, Furnish and Paley are equally excited about the next phase.
More importantly, there is a next Disney+ documentary titled Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It will dive into Elton’s rise to fame with never-before-seen footage and document his return to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles this fall.
“Disney+ has 138 million subscribers, this gives you the opportunity to reach a wide audience and mark a milestone for Elton and the industry,” Furnish said. “I don’t think there will ever be another Elton John. The end of the story will be Elton leaving the stage and saying goodbye to touring North America.
Furnish is also exploring opportunities to expand the Elton brand into the metaverse.
“It’s going to be a big new market for music discovery,” he said. music week. “We are looking at it closely but carefully. Elton has been kind of like an avatar all his life, throwing things around every now and then, changing and moving on.
Subscribers can read the full Elton John world exclusive here.
music weekthe last cover story is a world exclusive with Elton John.
Interview with superstar artist and management duo David Furnish and Rachael Paley follows their victory at the Music Week Awards. Furnish and Paley won the Manager of the Year category in recognition of Sir Elton’s achievements, including a No. 1 album (The Lockdown Sessions) and single (Pnau’s remix of Cold Heart with Dua Lipa).
Elton John’s latest collaboration was confirmed today – a reworking of the 1971 Tiny Dancer single with Britney Spears titled Hold Me Closer.
David Furnish became Elton John’s manager in 2015. Rachael Paley joined Rocket Entertainment soon after, and the duo set in motion a five-year plan, including the landmark Collection of diamond strokes in 2017. It is now approaching one million sales (988,297 – Official Charts Company), with 66.5% of consumption coming from streams.
David Furnish said music week that one of the keys to executing their plan was Elton’s openness to trying new things.
“Once he understands the role it plays in his world, he’s happy to try it out,” said Furnish, a former advertising manager at Ogilvy & Mather. “He doesn’t micromanage. You have to tell Elton about the concept and then he buys into it and lets you keep building it and he doesn’t lean over your shoulder. He trusts the process and trusts the employees. But then you better get it right. There’s this expectation at the end – if it doesn’t go the way it should, he’s not happy.
The mission statement that guided the senior Furnish, Paley and Rocket team (completed with COO Luke Lloyd Davies, CFO Mike Dawson, Tour Manager Keith Bradley and General Counsel Elanzo Burgess ) was to “elevate and celebrate” Elton John’s legacy and showcase his music. to a new generation of fans.
In addition to a multitude of reissues and boxes, there have been revamped social media profiles and curated playlists on DSPs. There was also the biopic Rocketman, the best-selling autobiography, and his show Rocket Hour on Apple Music.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which hosted BST Hyde Park and a series of UK stadiums in June and July, will conclude its outdoor run in Los Angeles in November ahead of a Covid-postponed visit to UK and European arenas in 2023.
But the current atmosphere of celebration and rejuvenation is far from the transition phase in 2015. In its coverage, Elton John remembers the “incredible anger and jealousy” aroused by her husband’s appointment as director.
But the decision soon paid off, with Universal Music Group and UMPG backing the five-year plan formulated for Sir Elton. “We got all the key people on the label together and said, ‘This is our vision,'” Furnish said.
In 2018, Elton signed a deal this means that UMG’s global labels will “release all new Elton John music for the remainder of his career”. Its publishing, merchandise, brand management and licensing rights, as well as five decades of cataloging, were also covered by the deal.
Lockdown Sessions (127,707 sales to date) delivered a eighth UK No. 1 in October 2021 and spawned the No. 1 hit Cold Heart (1,452,038 sales). Its success saw Elton become the first solo artist to score a UK Top 10 single in six consecutive decades.
58% of Elton’s music is now consumed by 18-35 year olds – that’s absolutely what we wanted
David Furnish
Rachael Paley became the team’s key channel for dealing with the label. She was previously Elton’s marketing guru at Universal before moving to Rocket.
“I have always felt the approach of catalog shouldn’t just be box sets,” Paley said. “It should be, ‘You have a catalog there that people aren’t aware of.’ It’s about joining the dots, giving a bit of narrative or background to the track in the description, so that you explore the music and fall down a rabbit hole.
“Housekeeping was really important early on, from DSPs updating the bios to putting thumbnails on all the content. It was really the workings of things. I was at the label before, so it It’s a joy to come in. Obviously, I’m on the other side of the fence now, so sometimes you have to crack the whip a bit.
The strategy was to open up easy avenues for people willing to discover Elton Johnis the music.
“When Rocketman played on Channel 4 in June, we had a Pride playlist [ready]”, Paley said. “It’s about making sure that when people want to know more, there are no barriers to entry.”
Furniture sees the Rocketman Movie as “super-important” to introduce Elton’s music to a new audience.
“I think a lot of young fans know his music, but they didn’t understand the things that Elton had to overcome in his life, the issues of self-love, family, acceptance, addiction, sexuality and gender identity,” he said. “Those are all things that young people are struggling with today and I think they connect to that.”
“I think it opened the doors to exploring Elton’s catalog,” Paley added. “Although we were focusing on the soundtrack at the time, we saw that Diamonds had started to rise again. The fact that it has been in the Top 100 for five years is proof of that.
All the while, Furnish kept tabs on the streaming numbers, watched monthly listeners rise, and saw demographics start to change.
“It’s hard to get all the data you want from streaming companies,” Furnish explained, “but Spotify in particular, 58% of Elton’s music is now consumed by 18-35 year olds. This is absolutely what we wanted and what we hoped for. That’s why Elton always said he appreciated the opportunity with The Lion King, that’s why we did something like Gnomeo And Juliet 10 years ago, to keep the songs in his catalog alive and showcasing them to a new generation.
I have always thought that the catalog approach should not be limited to box sets
Rachel Paley
By the end of 2021, Elton had 66 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a 100% year-over-year increase.
The five-year plan has delivered huge results, but Elton, Furnish and Paley are equally excited about the next phase.
More importantly, there is a next Disney+ documentary titled Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It will dive into Elton’s rise to fame with never-before-seen footage and document his return to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles this fall.
“Disney+ has 138 million subscribers, this gives you the opportunity to reach a wide audience and mark a milestone for Elton and the industry,” Furnish said. “I don’t think there will ever be another Elton John. The end of the story will be Elton leaving the stage and saying goodbye to touring North America.
Furnish is also exploring opportunities to expand the Elton brand into the metaverse.
“It’s going to be a big new market for music discovery,” he said. music week. “We are looking at it closely but carefully. Elton has been kind of like an avatar all his life, throwing things around every now and then, changing and moving on.
Subscribers can read the full Elton John world exclusive here.