How often do you find yourself listening to the radio and wondering who in the hell is responsible for getting certain songs on the radio? Have you ever wondered what executives were out there making those excruciating calculated decisions other than L.A. Reid, Clive Davis, Diddy or even Jay-Z for that matter?

Penning articles about music and the like, grants me opportunities to satiate some of those burning questions that arise more often then ever before. Shortly after the September 1st launch of the Spaulding Group, I was recently granted the opportunity to talk to the gentlemen that was responsible in helping to market Jay-Z’s debut album “Reasonable Doubt” and he was also instrumental in helping to sign Master P’s No Limit Records empire to Priority Records. Get comfortable and take a peek at what Ron Spaulding, the co-founder of Asylum Records and former SVP of Warner Music Group’s Sales and Marketing division has to say about making his bones in a rapidly changing music industry. He’s probably put more rappers you know onto country music than you can imagine. Just know that trill is trill, no matter how you cut the pie.

Scheme: I read that you are a small town guy, and you’re now a “big city” music executive with a serious track record.Tell me where you’re from.

Ron Spaulding: I split my time between a little town called Jewett, TX which is in the middle of nowhere and Jerseyville, IL which is about 45 minutes north of St. Louis. I think there are about 2,000 people in Jewett and about 12,000 in Jerseyville.

Scheme: And as far as educational background goes, can you tell us about your academic experience?

Ron Spaulding: I graduated from Monmouth College, a small liberal arts school in Monmouth, IL…not [Monmouth] New Jersey. I got my Bachelors there in 1986.

Scheme: I found it interesting to read that you were part of the team that was responsible for marketing Jay Z’s first full length offering. One of my favorites records as a kid. Tell me about working on the first project for hip hop’s most noted and legendary artists.

Ron Spaulding: That was an album that we did a deal with Jay and Dame at Priority Records to do the distribution for. You never know that you are dealing with a future legend, you always think you are, right? For him to grow to this proportion today is amazing. That record turned gold over time. There was no major radio. There wasn’t a giant campaign. It was really grassroots-level street marketing and distribution to establish him as an artist out in the marketplace.

Scheme: You are at Priority Records for how long?

Ron Spaulding: Ten years.

Scheme: How did you link up with Priority and what were some of your most memorable experiences with them?

Ron Spaulding: I was working as a regional sales rep. Bob Gerassi approached me to go to work for Priority Records. He was the head of Sales at that time. I took him up on his offer. I took a salary cut (laughs) and went to work on two guy’s dream. The owners were Brian Turner and Mark Cerami. They believed that they started to scratch the surface on the genre [of hip hop] that was not exploited publicly.

I think the most memorable of experiences was working with Interscope records. We were doing the distribution and they were working radio for “Nothin’ But A G Thing” by Dr. Dre. That was my first experience of real radio play and what it meant. We have sold many records between a million and two million copies, but with radio on that single that record sold five million copies. So that was memorable to see the impact of radio as it relates to underground hip hop. And it was also to my knowledge to be the first “stickered” or P.A. record to be put in print. We put it in print with the biggest retail account at that time, Musicland.

That was a memorable thing and the other thing I always shout about is the Master P experience. Master P came in to us. Again, he was an independent artist with a dream. He and I were in San Diego when we first met and we went down to Tiajuana to buy fake Rolexes, because that was the closest we could get to the real thing at the time (laughs)! Went down there to do that, so he and I made our bond and he was telling me that he was going to be one of the biggest music phenomenons in history. He went on to make music history with what I believe is one of the fastest growing independent labels of all time.

Scheme: Well I know that you are known as a “specialist” in marketing Urban records. To reach the stature you are at now as an executive, how important was it to be all-inclusive in your musical vision and preferences?

Ron Spaulding: You’ll find this funny, and anybody who knows me, knows that I spend a lot of time listening to country music. I listen to a ton of rap and a listen to a ton of rock. I don’t discriminate amongst musical styles. I always tell anyone who I meet to discuss music that good music is good music, I don’t care what genre it is. Bad music is bad music, you know what I mean? If you can sit down and appreciate the art of music, it crosses all of those boundaries.

When I first started out in hip hop, it wasn’t what I grew up on. It wasn’t what I listened to. It wasn’t what I cared about. If you work with it for a time, it becomes personal to you. If you start to spend time in a studio, alongside an artist and really get a full understanding of what the message is and what they’re trying to accomplish. Lots of people that I work with over the years, they appreciate good music. It’s food for the soul.

Scheme: I’d like to talk to you about your latest venture, the Spaulding Group. What exactly is the venture about?

Ron Spaulding: The company launched on September 1st. It’s a full service label/production company, as well as a consultation business. We sign artists directly. We are very selective. We have paper out on a couple of artists now. Neither is signed, but until those papers come back our roster is blank, and I’d hate to print their name yet. We also provide distribution services and provide consultation and guidance, so these young entrepreneurs and artists gain a full understanding of both the business and behavioral traits. For example, showing up on time is important!

Scheme: How many partners do you have in this venture?

Ron Spaulding: I have one partner. His name is Tony Franklin. We have two other people that work with us that work on Internet Marketing and the other on Mixshow [Promotions].

Scheme: With the current landscape of the industry the way it is, do you think that the major labels focus on less on Artist Development?

Ron Spaulding: I think it’s an ever-changing process. I think all of us in the industry collectively have to be open to new avenues to develop their artists. Some people see the Internet as a foe. I see it as a benefit. We can reach more people on a broader scale with a click of a button than ever before in history.

Scheme: Allow me to ask you this. Say I’m an artist, Joe Q. Rapper, or Joe Q Rocker. What qualities do you look for as an executive?

Ron Spaulding: I think it starts with great music, but the more important cornerstone for me is somebody’s desire to win. I always call it a “hustle check”. Getting the deal is the easiest part. That’s when the real work begins. Does this person or group want to sacrifice time or family, the things that are important to them every day? This is a very difficult business and if you’re not willing to make sacrifices to win, I think I’d pass. You have to be willing to pay the price to be successful, it’s a high price. If it came easy, none of us would have to talk about it because we’d all be doing it.

Scheme: So what genre of music will the Spaulding Group specialize in?

Ron Spaulding: Our initial focus will be on hip-hop. That’s where our best expertise is and where I think the marketplace needs the best service right now. That business is a little beat up right now, with fewer and fewer successes every year. I think we can fill that void with good hip hop artists.

Scheme: On another note, what music are you rocking with right now?

Ron Spaulding: Right now I’m spending a lot of time on the demo side and being in the studio with the one artist that we are working with. I am bumping the new Kanye record which I think is ok. Also, the new 50 [Cent] record and the new Kenny Chesney record. Those are the records on the top of the charts right now, so that’s what’s in my car.

I should note that we give a listen to everything that comes into the company. We may sit down and have a hard conversation about it, but we will listen to everything that comes in.

Scheme: So there is no “wastebasket” philosophy when it comes to demo solicitation?

Ron Spaulding: Nope. You’d be surprise to find that there is some great stuff out there. People that don’t have the big names will come up with some real fire. I’ll tell you this, we have beta testing right now on A&R 2.0 on our website or on my Myspace page[www.myspace.com/ronspaulding]. So we’re getting ready to launch this in early ‘08 and it’s essentially a community online where people can discuss their music and submit demos online. There will be a rep from Spaulding Group in the room at all times and you can submit demos right there. I don’t think it’s that deep conceptually, but I don’t know of any other company that’s doing that.

Scheme: Ron, thanks a lot for your time! Any closing words for the people?

Ron Spaulding: Any demos can be submitted to us at Supreme1@runbox.com!

www.thespauldinggroup.com

www.mypsace.com/ronspaulding