Ralph Simon, the global mobile producer of the Al Gore / Live Earth global environmental music concerts/events taking place on July 7 in nine major international cities, is regarded as one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry.

E-mail This Article to a Friend
Print This Article
Tell Us What You Think

ADVERTISEMENT

In 1971, Ralph and Clive Calder formed music company Bullet Records in South Africa in 1971 and after emigrating from Johannesburg to London in 1975, they started a new company, Zomba. In 1978 they established their first U.S. office in New York, out of which came the formation of Jive Records, home to Whodini, A Flock of Seagulls, Billy Ocean and Samantha Fox, to name a few. The Zomba group also formed other labels, including Silvertone which prided itself by signing the Stone Roses – a major UK act in the 80’s. In 1990, Ralph and Calder went their separate ways with Calder buying out Ralph's stake.

After a career in the recording industry, music publishing and producer management, managing clients like Mutt Lange, and seeing the importance of focusing on Silicon Valley as the next stage of his music career and journey, Ralph moved to California from London in 1990. He set up an indie label and publishing company and soon established a wide range of relationships in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. In 1993 he was appointed the executive vice president of Capitol Records and Blue Note Records, where he started EMI’s New Media division in 1993/4.

Ralph correctly predicted that mobile phones would become the indispensable voice-and-music companion for young music consumers and was responsible for co-founding Yourmobile/Moviso in 1999, the first ringtone company in the U.S., UK, Europe, Africa and Australia. Significantly, he persuaded U.S. music publishers to embrace this new mobile medium and underscoring his belief in mobile, and founded the Mobile Entertainment Forum-Americas, the mobile entertainment industry trade group of which he became chairman emeritus.

In July 2005, Ralph was the mobile producer of the Live 8 global concerts breaking the world record for mobile messaging. The influential Mobile Entertainment magazine identified him as one of the world’s Top 50 executives in mobile entertainment in 2005 and 2006. He is currently working on various global projects in the mobile entertainment arena and is the global mobile producer of the Al Gore/ Live Earth global environmental music concerts/events.

Ralph is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK and a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the USA.

Experience & Advice
When I moved to Sausalito, I met 11-year-old Beyonce and her father, Matthew Knowles, who had flown up from Houston to seek a record deal. I was concerned that at 11 years old, as great as she seemed even then, about signing such a young artist. Boy, was I wrong.

What is the Mobile Entertainment Forum?
Since 2000, MEF has established itself as the leading global trade association for companies large and small across the mobile entertainment value chain. MEF's membership base spans the entire range of mobile entertainment activities, including music, film, TV and video companies who create and package content as well as publishers, retailers, service providers and technologists who sell and deliver content and network operators who get the content to the end users. MEF’s activities and membership have both a global reach and a local influence: key activities include lobbying on industry issues, providing comment and analysis as well as organizing educational briefings and networking events. Through our program of initiatives, MEF brings together industry leaders to progress opportunities, track trends and tackle industry challenges.

It's essentially the RIAA of the mobile entertainment and mobile music and content business. All of the major record companies are members of the MEF, and the work that the MEF does is centrally linked in to music and music publishing.

Why were record labels and music publishers reluctant to embrace mobile and mobile music when it first came out?
There was a lot of fear. The more traditional and mainly corporate execs didn't want to embrace the very obvious new media emergence and significance. It was the time of Napster’s rise - record label execs were either spooked or unaware of the speed of the tech revolution, and more pertinently, the changing tastes of America's under 24 demographic.

With the popularity of mobile music today are some executives still reticent about its use?
Most execs agree that it's the most important format since the introduction of the CD as a new configuration. I don't know of any execs that are reticent about the future of mobile music. They, themselves, might not have the dexterity that their teenage kids might have, but they certainly know from what their balance sheet tells them that mobile music is a vital fact of life for the future record biz.

Is mobile music on phones still a hard sell?
Not at all. The bigger obstacle is finding music execs that are knowledgeable about the new form of A&R that's required when making mobile music and mobile artist content chunks.

What is the new form of A&R that is required?
One has to think of a wider range of mobile content products that go beyond traditional record label genres. These would include behind-the-scenes footage, special video edits, musical phrases chosen specifically for their use in a mobile configuration and also educating and guiding managers and creative talent on the new and emerging content elements that are making their presence felt in mobile – domestically and internationally.

What new technology will you be using as the global mobile producer for Live Earth that is different from producing the global mobile platform for Live 8?There is a much more sophisticated global SMS messaging platform than we had in 2005. We have arranged for there to be a global call to action on TV that in turn gets people around the world sending in their SMS message to Live Earth. Also, we will be having the concomitant oomph of the global TV coverage that will give us a world wide call to action. This is also something we didn't have the technology for in 2005. It will be interesting to see how the global telecast will impact. One thing we know for sure: it's going to be a cross platform experience for most who cue in to Live Earth on the TV, web and mobile.

What will the impact of the iPhone be?
The iPhone's impact already sent shock waves into the business before its formal launch. The iPhone will set a new standard for the user experience, and the widgets built in to the new phone are sure to accelerate enhancements by Apple's competitors, the mainstream mobile phone manufacturers and brands.

How did Zomba and Jive get started?
The company was originally started in Johannesburg, South Africa. The name Zomba, which I coined, was named after what has become the capital town/city of Malawi, a central African country. I'd just returned from the U.S. and fresh from seeing Blood, Sweat & Tears in New York City. I made contact with my local mate, Clive Calder, and explained how the two of us could and should start a music company, a concert company, a record label and a music publishing company. We had an in-house producer named Mutt Lange, and a burning sense of ambition and musical optimism. That's how it started.

Do you miss working with record companies?
I always miss the interaction with the creative execs, producer community, songwriters and good musicians and sonic and mobile producers. Finding the great songs was and is always one of my imperatives.

Do you miss being a music publisher?
More than anything, especially since its the process of discovering great new writing talent that gives me the juice. I was privileged to sign many writers – Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Joy Division, just to name a very small trio of acts – and one of my favorites, an amazing writer and artist, the UK musician and creator, Imogen Heap. She is one of Britain's great musical talents and has proven herself as a writer of distinction and for me is the embodiment of why music publishing is the key to being successful in today's music and cross platform business.

Why did you sell your stake in Zomba and Jive?
I decided not to continue my business association with Clive Calder and also wanted to explore new media in a substantial manner.

First concert attended
Fillmore East, December, 1968. Blood Sweat & Tears in New York City.

First concert worked
1967 in South Africa as a concert promoter putting on shows featuring local musical talent such as Trevor Rabin, now a well known movie composer.

First industry job
Started my own record label and concert company in South Africa in 1972 – Bullet Records and Sagittarius Management. This was not Zomba yet. That came in London in 1978.

Career disappointment
Seeing reluctance of record labels and music publishers to embrace mobile and mobile music in 1997.

Greatest challenge
Continuing to evangelize the importance and commercial justification for mobile music on phones.

Best business decision
Moving to Silicon Valley and San Francisco in 1990 as it was clear that the future of the music business was going to be technology laden especially since young people and music lovers were entranced by the social networking that the early Internet promised.

Best advice you received
Always seek out the good songs, the good producers and the good songwriters.

Most memorable industry experience
Producing the global mobile platform for Live 8 and seeing Jive and Zomba grow to become the world's most successful indie.

What friends would be surprised to learn about you
Former South African high school buddies who stayed on in South Africa through the political troubles wouldn’t know of my show business career trajectory.

Industry pet peeve
Not enough executives understand the importance of mobile.

If I wasn't doing this, I would be...
…playing keyboards in a band and teaching graduate students mociology -- the study of human behavior in a mobile world and the study of mobile device/phone lifestyles; the sociology of mobile-phone use.

Industry mentors
Chris Blackwell, Berry Gordy, Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert and Vint Cerf.

Ralph can be reached at: (310) 393-7600 or 44 (0) 787 617 606; e-mail: ralph@ralphsimon.com