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Long Live The Queen Of Retail Artist: Violet Brown Interviewer: Angelo Snakeyes |
Long Live The Queen Of Retail
Interviewed by Angelo Snakeyes 01-08-07
AmalgamDigital.com: How did you get involved in the music industry?
Violet Brown: As a child I collected records and was always the kid that brought the music to every school dance and party. I knew every song and probably had the single or album it was on. My collection and passion for music landed me a weekend gig at a local swap meet selling 4 and 8 track tapes. I was only 12-years-old and worked twelve hour days. I recommended all the HOT music to the customers. The people I worked for asked me to work during the week helping them with their compilations. After school I would go to their place and choose songs for the compilations. My tapes blew up big-time and they were selling my tapes to every indie store and swap meet dealer on the West Coast. After a couple years of this they asked me to take over their one and only retail store in Lawndale, California. I was 15-years-old and in high school. From being in theatre, band, softball, various other clubs and a gigantic class clown, I knew everyone in my school. I made flyers around my school and town, and my business exploded. My mom ran the store during the day and after school and on weekends I ran the biz. I invested my profits into other head-shop type gear. You see, this was the 1960’s and early 1970’s. At the time I was quite the hippie. The store was called “Mrs. Natural’s Nickle Bag” and I kept the head shop open until 1986…with my 70-year-old mom selling pipes, posters and such. Everyone in town knew my “very hip” mom.
In 1972 it became illegal to sell these tapes so with all my knowledge I went to work for the legendary Wallachs Music City chain. I became their singles buyer. From there I went to our distributor of Nehi Record Distributors and became their singles buyer. Nehi supplied just about everyone and they also owned the Peaches chain. While at NEHI I became a club deejay. I was very successful at that since I had all the hottest new music before the other deejays due to my day job. In 1975 I came to Wherehouse. I stayed there as a store and district manager, and ultimately their Urban buyer until Trans World bought us in 2003. Now I am happy to be the Urban buyer at Trans World Entertainment. I buy for nearly 1000 stores across the country. I buy and market urban music for all of our brands, most notably the F.Y.E., Sam Goody, Wherehouse, Strawberries, Specs, Suncoast and Coconut brands. During my career I have been able to do a lot of interesting things within the industry. I have managed acts, had my own deejay business, executive produced gold and platinum projects, written liner notes, worked as an A&R consultant for several major labels, produced a documentary on Gospel Music, and produced shows and festivals. I have also been able to attend some of the most legendary shows and meet the biggest legends in the music world. I attended a dinner with Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali. I have had instores with the likes of Marvin Gaye and so many other legendary artists. I have been able to be on TV shows, sitcoms and in movies. I have won several awards that I hold dear to my heart including five consecutive years in the Source magazine’s Power 30 and the Living Legends Foundation award. Believe it or not this is the short story…I really hope to write a book someday that details my truly blessed life.
AmalgamDigital.com: As the urban music buyer for Trans World stores, how do you decide what product to take in?
Violet Brown: What to take in is not the question because I give everything a shot as long as it has distribution. The quantity and the area to put it in is the real key to the success of the title. Many artists will only sell in small areas like their home towns. I will put the product there and as the demand for the title grows I will move it into new areas. I do try to give everything a quick listen to determine just how big it can be. The music comes first, then I look at the set-up of the title. Does it have radio or a video? Is it getting play and, if so, where? I look at the company that is selling it. I know the companies that do a good job “breaking” a new artist. If it is an established artist I usually look at past history or a similar current release. There are other elements that go into spreading product but I can not give away all my secrets.
AmalgamDigital.com: Describe the build-up at Trans World for the 50 Cent vs. Kanye battle and who did you think would sell more units the first week?
Violet Brown: Before “Ayo Technology” all of my stores were not very excited about 50 but when that single hit, more people were interested in his release. My stores were reporting that both artists had a strong buzz but Kanye felt “BIGGER & STRONGER”. Some of the key Urban stores were thinking that 50 would sell more but as time went on they started to change their minds. Just by the buzz alone from my stores I knew that Kanye was going to win this battle. Both artists would have been HUGE #1 titles if they were not released on the same day. By having them on the same day it created some excitement for our business and more publicity for both artists. I love both of these guys so I was trying to just stick to the feedback from my stores.
AmalgamDigital.com: Was there ever a record that you absolutely loved but it didn’t translate into sales?
Violet Brown: Probably hundreds through the years but I still have to buy based on the demand. I can not over-buy a release just because I love it. I buy for my customers, not for me. It breaks my heart when some GREAT titles fall through the cracks. Sometimes it just takes a little more time for a release to start selling. For instance, I am a HUGE fan of Chrisette Michele and she had an OK first week but now she is doing better and better each week and it came out on June 19th. Chrisette’s album in my opinion is a masterpiece and I still believe that this album will continue to grow and have GREAT word-of-mouth for a very long time. Another under-rated guy is TECH N9NE out of Kansas City. He is one of the most gifted rappers in the game and he has not yet reached his peak. There are no casual Chrisette or TECH N9NE fans. Their listeners turn out to be very loyal and hardcore fans. Unfortunately some artists do not get the love from radio that they should have. Right now I am wild about Lupe Fiasco but this feels like a MAJOR hit for him.
AmalgamDigital.com: What advice would you give to independent labels and artists who want their product in Trans World stores?
Violet Brown: Seek and obtain a good distributor. If you are not sure about who I buy from, give me a call. I buy from most of the indies and all of the majors. Make sure that when you look for a distributor that you have a good plan in order to show them that you know what you are doing. They must feel that you are educated about the business and will be around for a while. Make sure that the distributor knows where you want or need your product to be. You must also have a promo available so that I can review your music. If you build a buzz for your music, of course, I will need more units. Label and artists are always welcome to call me directly if they have any questions. I do offer individual advice or help but do not call me until you have done your homework first. Have great music, a plan and some knowledge of the business. I will help those that have first helped themselves getting a little knowledge and education of this business.
AmalgamDigital.com: With the constantly changing music industry, how will record stores survive in the future?
Violet Brown: We must also change and we ARE constantly changing with the times. I really cannot elaborate much on this because I cannot give up some of our plans but I can tell you to keep your eyes on the retail community. You will notice and see the change.
AmalgamDigital.com: What was it like when you first discovered that you were being mentioned during an industry related skit on Eminem’s album?
Violet Brown: I was asked by the label if it was OK to use my name on the interlude/skit. They were very confident about their release because they said “how would you feel if your name was on about ten million CD’s”. I thought they meant in the liner notes or the credits. When they said in a skit and it was Eminem, I was highly flattered. I love Eminem and feel that he is one of my most influential rappers of all-time. Sometimes when I am out a person/kid will come up and recite that skit to me. They always ask “did you really say that to Steve Berman?” Since then Prince put my name in a song and that also means a great deal to me. I admire Prince a great deal.
AmalgamDigital.com: What do you think about the insurgence of digital retail stores selling music content files vs. the traditional stores that carry music on physical format?
Violet Brown: I know they are there and growing quickly. I can only think about us and what we are doing to maintain and grow our business. I just see it as more competition but of course as we all know there are less traditional retail stores. I feel very confident that we offer a selection that no one else is offering at this time. We are still offering a tremendous selection of catalog, new artists and hits to our customers. While some of the big box retailers offer the hits you can come to us and find whatever you are looking for. I support new indie artists and sub-genres of music. We have made customer service a priority as well so you can find a real person to help you with suggesting good titles and actually putting your selection in your hand. You can listen to anything you want in our stores with our listening stations and you can see movie trailers. We also offer downloading and mix and burn capabilities in some of our stores and this will be expanding throughout the chain.
AmalgamDigital.com: Do you think selling music digitally will be here for the indefinite future?
Violet Brown: I am not sure what the future holds for this. It is still a little early. While there are a lot of MP3 players out there…there are a lot more CD and DVD players still in use. People are still using both. In just thirty years I have worked through 45s, LPs, 12 inch vinyl, 4 and 8 track tapes, cassettes, CDs, beta, VHS, laser disc, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray, ringtones, etc. Digital is just one for format for now. After seeing so much come and go, I just wonder what is next. Whatever it is, I am sure that Trans World will be involved in it.
AmalgamDigital.com: What do you take the most pleasure in from your job?
Violet Brown: Helping new artists achieve their dreams and getting their art out to people that enjoy their music. I LOVE hearing new music and new artists. Since I buy new releases I thrive on change: the next thing, the next genre, the next BIG phenomenon. I have seen and heard a lot during my career. I work crazy hours between the day job and going to functions in the evening for new artists or projects. I work hard, juggle a lot of projects and I would not have it any other way. How many people can get excited to come to WORK EVERYDAY after thirty-six years. I actually take pleasure in everything I do in the business and the relationships that I have made are priceless.
