Member Since: 8/19/2013
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WME Co-head on guiding Selena, Timberlake, Pharrell...
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William Morris Endeavor Music Co-Head Sara Newkirk Simon on Guiding Selena Gomez, Making Crossover Deals and the Scoop on Justin Timberlake's New Album
Sara Newkirk Simon's ascent to partner at William Morris Endeavor, where she co-heads the music department (with Kirk Sommer) and represents Pharrell Williams, Miguel and Selena Gomez, among others, is a genuine music-industry rags-to-riches tale.
What did you learn as a manager?
To not be a manager. (Laughs.) I learned how important it is to care and to always pay attention. There were many great achievements: watching Nas release a double album; what happened with M.I.A.; seeing TV on the Radio break -- every one was completely rewarding. It's also completely exhausting. I don't forget that when I'm having to deal with a manager; I know how hard it is. I try to instill that with everybody who works for me.
What led you to jump to an agency?
Management is the hardest job in the business, and I didn't want to be working 24 hours a day and have no life. I had lots of clients at William Morris and was exploring working for other management companies. I got a phone call from Dave Wirtschafter who said, "I have an idea." And I was like, "I don't want to be an agent -- that's the worst job ever." And he said, "No, I don't want you to be an agent the way you think of a music agent. I want you to come over and do something different." Then Marc Geiger [who co-founded Lollapalooza and ArtistDirect //LOSE and WME worldwide head of music//], who I met when I first started working with Zack, called and said, "You have to do this, this is the best idea, we need you." After lots of meetings and thinking about it, I decided to do it.
How has that manifested itself?
Many of my clients are amazing crossover examples. Miguel will be in Ben Affleck's movie [Live by Night] and recently put together a conceptual installation called Wildheart Motel, which was totally different and forward-thinking. Usher plays Sugar Ray Leonard in Hands of Stone, coming out in August. He's constantly doing things with art, fashion or working with different collaborators. Pharrell is such an exciting client, from producing Dope to being a producer of Hidden Figures, which is a story that resonates with him [about] these African-American women scientists in Virginia in the 1960s who end up working for NASA. Selena touches so many different worlds, from her Netflix show to her tour to being one of the few artists who has had three No. 1s in a row [on Billboard's Pop Songs radio airplay chart]. It's a credit to the team around her from management to the 15 people here who work on her.
What departments are those 15 agents from?
Everything from a commercial agent; a motion picture-lit agent who finds directors and writers for her projects; a talent agent who's looking for movies; a music agent who's booking tours; a television agent who's looking for TV projects; agents working from the IMG side with models and branding -- we're talking very deep teams here.
What is your business philosophy?
I say this a lot to our staff: The client is king and we are in the service business. That is something to never forget.
We hear Justin Timberlake has new music on the horizon and has been working with Pharrell. Anything you can tell us about how it sounds?
Maybe... Maybe I was blown away...
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full @ http://www.billboard.com/articles/bu...source=twitter
Selena having 15 people working on her career just at WME. She also has Aleen & her team.
Also Mandy, Kevin Spacey/Trigger Street.
Oh and Interscope of course.
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