Scott Borchetta
Scott Borchetta | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 3, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | President/CEO |
| Known for | Big Machine Records |
Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962)[1] is an American businessman behind some of the biggest recent achievements in the music industry. As President and CEO of Big Machine Label Group Brochetta has built a music powerhouse that encompasses five imprints: Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Co., Republic Nashville, Dot Records and NASH Icon. BMLG’s five record labels are home to sueperstars Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Reba and Florida Georgia Line as well as diverse acts including Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Thomas Rhett, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, RaeLynn and Maddie & Tae.
Under Borchetta’s leadership, Big Machine artists have earned a plethora of recognition in the music industry including GRAMMY, CMA, ACM, American Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and People’s Choice Awards accolades as well as Brit Award and JUNO Award nominations.
Early life
Borchetta grew up in San Fernando Valley, South California in the 1970s. His father, Mike Borchetta, worked in record promotions for several Los Angeles record labels, including Capitol Records, RCA Records and Mercury Records. His parents divorced when he was 9 years old. In 1978, when Borchetta was 16, his father moved to Nashville to start his own independent record promotion company. While still in California, Borchetta attended College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California, for a year before dropping out. [2]
Career
Early career
Interested in life beyond Los Angeles, Scott Borchetta began to pursue his love for music. After playing in several rock bands, he left California and moved to Nashville with his father. There, Borchetta played bass in a country band and spent his days working in his father's mail room promoting country singles. After 8 months on the road, he left his band since they were not finding success. While working with his father, Borchetta learned a great deal about the music industry and how it operates, and used this knowledge to pursue jobs at record labels. In 1985, he got a job at MTM Records, where he stayed for three years. He then spent two years working as an independent promoter before working in promotion and artist development at several other record labels, including MCA Nashville Records, DreamWorks Nashville and Universal Music Nashville.[2]
Big Machine Records
In 2005, Borchetta made the decision to leave Universal Music Nashville to start his own independent record label, Big Machine Records. From his experiences with working at several record labels,[3] Borchetta realized that he disagreed with how major labels run their business, and felt that he could run his own label more efficiently than what he had seen. Soon after starting the label, Borchetta signed his first artist, Taylor Swift (whom he had met in 2004) when she was 16 years old. Swift would eventually go on to become Big Machine's most successful artist and win the label a Grammy award for Album of the Year for the album Fearless at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Soon after signing Swift, Borchetta also signed two other artists to Big Machine: Jack Ingram (who would produce the label's first #1 song on country radio, Wherever You Are [4]) and Danielle Peck.[2]
Personal interests
Borchetta is a race-car enthusiast, and has been a race car driver for many years before starting his record label. On the topic, Borchetta says, "I’ve loved race-car driving for years. When I started Big Machine, my main investor and my first artists asked me to give it up because it’s so dangerous." [2]
References
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. 4 January 2012. pp. 198–. ISBN 978-0-19-992083-9. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d "His Music Never Stops". The New York Times. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Music Exec. "enamored" by 14-year-old Taylor Swift http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143840n Retrieved 29 March 2013
- ^ Biography- Big Machine Records http://www.bigmachinelabelgroup.com/story/biography-big_machine_records/biography--big-machine-records Retrieved 29 March 2013