In the second of GEMA's breakfast series, David Agnew (C '87) Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Buena Vista Music Group gave interested Hoyas a close up view of life as a recording executive.

The common image of a music mogul typically includes cigars and riding in limos with rock stars and their groupies. However Agnew showed that a successful music exec is more likely to have a law degree than a lit stogie, and to seek out future hitmakers on the Disney Channel than in seedy L.A. nightspots.

For Agnew, a career in music started before attending Georgetown. "At Loyola High I played in a lot of bands. I was also on the student council and booked shows for some of the bands on the LA scene, 20/20, Blaster X and the Go-Go's. I think my parents sent me to Georgetown to get me out of L.A. and save me from being in a band."

On the Hilltop, Agnew double majored in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and used his time on the Program Board to get concerts staged in McDonough after a 15-year ban. "That Program Board was great training for me," Agnew said. "It taught me how to use someone else's money to create cool events."

After graduation, Agnew moved back to LA and says he "fell into" band management. What he found out, he says, is "that lawyers dominate the music business."

After going back for a law degree from Columbia Law School's copyright law program, Agnew restarted his music biz career as an attorney at Mitchell Silverberg in Century City. There his first contract-writing assignment - a little Seattle band named Pearl Jam - put him in daily contact with Sony Records nearly every day. This connection resulted in a Legal Affairs position at Sony where he learned the "nuts and bolts" of the business writing contracts and doing deals.

In 1998, Agnew made the jump to Buena Vista Records at the invitation of fellow Georgetown alum Bob Cavallo (C'62), right as the company sought to find a creative focus and fixing some huge systemic problems. Originally founded by Disney's Michael Eisner in 1991 with the mission of forming the 8th major, the company struggled for many years before finding a sustained creative direction.

Today, the label's strategy is to reduce costs by using other elements of the Disney universe to launch recording artists. "70% of records are bought by 6 accounts," Agnew said. "Today, they are pressuring us to keep the costs down to a level where they can retail the cd at under $10." What this means, Agnew says is that the label has to wholesale it at $6. "After the costs of manufacturing, distribution, publishing and paying the artist. the label makes about a dollar a disk," he says.

"So," Agnew says, "it needs to be a hit every time. We don't sign up bar bands and hope they make it. We'd rather sign a teen star with a fan base." So far this strategy's most prominent success story is Hilary Duff, whose Disney Channel stardom has transferred to sales of over 4 million albums so far.

Additionally, Agnew says, they focus on a market segment that has not disappeared with the rise of online music sharing. "The 18-25 year old market doesn't buy cd's anymore," Agnew explains. "So we are going after the tweener market. We're either selling to the 12 year old kids or their parents. Basically, I think of the children of my seven primary buyers. If their kids love Raven, they will buy 200,000 copies."

Citing the music industry's current difficulties, Agnew offered some strong advice to current Georgetown Program Board members scheduling campus concerts and dreaming of a recording industry career.

Although the music industry is increasingly challenging, opportunities still exist in areas like live events -- for people that excel in their particular niche, Agnew reported. "Maximize your utility in whatever you do. If you're scheduling concerts, keep doing that." Be very aggressive, Agnew advised. "That's not my personality, I had to do method acting to pull it off and everything worked out."

Steve Schneider (F'95) has worked as a writer and editor in New York City, London, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He currently lives and writes in Los Angeles.

The Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance, GEMA, brings together Georgetown University alumni, students and parents involved in all aspects of the media and entertainment industry. For more information or to get involved in GEMA, please go to www.GEMA-Hoyas.org