Canadian Musician - November/December 2018 | Page 11

open up their mouth and it’s like, “Oh my gosh.” I’ll put Justin Bieber
in that category or Shawn Mendes. Their voice is really nice and it’s
pleasant, but Shawn Mendes doesn’t hold a note for 30 seconds.
So, let’s forget about wow talent. You’ve got to have wow songs
and a wow show. Over and over you hear of people who are asked
to go to a concert by somebody and they’re not really a fan but af-
terwards they go, “Wow, I loved it and I didn’t know I would.” Again,
they care enough to become a fan and they care enough to share
about it. The next time they’ll invite people to the show.
The last thing is the wow brand and that is where there is
something about the song, there is something about the show, but
they either like the artist or they don’t. I don’t like the way they look,
they don’t like what they’re all about, or they don’t like their politi-
cal leanings. Or it’s that they like their political leanings and it’s all
about what they stand for.
So, you really only need to have two out of the three of them
and typically it’s wow songs and a wow show. You still have to work
on the talent and you can always do these incremental improve-
ments. And then the wow brand, it’s hard to predict how the public
is going to react to an artist. So, I focus on the songs and the show.
That’s it, primarily.
LOUIS O’REILLY
CM: Of course, most artists out there aren’t going to reach
the level that Brett has. But what would say are the most ef-
ficient strategies for artists to reach a level of sustainability
where they can live off their music?
O’Reilly: All my artists will know that I teach them about two or
three things – that’s it. My whole management philosophy is bro-
ken down into two or three things. That’s why I am in this business,
because I am not the smartest guy but I figured out the music
business, I think [laughs]. So, I’ll give you one of them.
There are four things that create a career for an artist: wow
songs, wow talent, wow show, and a wow brand.
It all starts with the wow song, and what is a wow song? It is
when somebody hears it, they go “wow” enough that two things
happen: the listener cares and they share. That’s it. I’ll give you an
example. When Daniel Caesar came out with that song “We Find
Love,” the same day, my wife came back and my kids came back
and said, “Did you hear this song?” “Oh yeah, we heard that song.
Who is it?” So, my wife cared enough to find out who sang that
song and enough to find out who Daniel Caesar is and subscribed
to his music. But what is equally important is that she shared it with
me. So, a hit song is a “wow” where cares are shared.
The second thing is wow talent. The reality is that a lot of artists
don’t have wow talent. It is good, it’s sufficient, but when artist A
sings, it has got to be pleasing but it’s not Celine Dion where they

CM: In country, there is a lot more openness to artists not
writing their own songs and an entire songwriting and pub-
lishing industry based around that in Nashville. So how do
your performing artists get matched with the wow songs?
O’Reilly: Well, we’re lucky that our artist roster is a bit differentiated.
A song that would be great for Brett Kissel wouldn’t be on-brand for
Aaron Pritchett and vice versa, and same thing for George Canyon.
Someone like Brett, I’d like him to write at least 50 per cent of
his album. I typically sign artists that have two things – they have
a great heart and they can create great art. So, if an artist comes
to me and they can’t sit down and play a song on their guitar that
they wrote and wow me, I won’t sign them.
I want them to be able to be at a radio station in front of a radio
programmer and play a song that they wrote and this radio pro-
grammer think, “You are a real talent.” If they go into the office and
can’t play the song on a guitar or piano and it’s an outside song that
the radio programmer knows, in their mind they’re thinking, “This
guy is a bit manufactured and anybody can do this.” I want them
to have a leg-up on the competition. Not that someone who cuts
outside songs isn’t a real artist, but I want that legitimacy that they
have a point of view and a perspective and they can write about it
and then we can, around the edges, add other songs.
You’re right that in Nashville there is a writing community there
that is the best in the world and the quality of songs that Brett gets
pitched are amazing. But I wouldn’t want Brett’s album to be all
written without him. So, if you look at Brett’s radio history and all
his top-10 songs, I would say about half are his own pitches and
half are outside songs. That is about the way I would like it for all
my artists.
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