Another music biz genius wraps us up via Complex Magazine Online...enjoy =)
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO CONVEY YOUR MESSAGE TO FORTUNE 500 EXECS?
Steve Stoute: The biggest misconception people have is that Fortune 500 companies are waiting with open arms. They’re not waiting with open arms. It’s a very tough thing to put together ideas in which a Fortune 500 company can be true to who they are and yet still embrace and work with the hip–hop culture. You have to package it right. I have relationships with artists, producers, record companies, promotion and distribution outlets, Fortune 500 companies, and in fashion. I think in order to speak to the powers–that–be that run particular industries, you need to be able to have that sphere of influence.NAS NICKNAMED YOU “THE COMMISSIONER” OF THE RAP INDUSTRY. DO YOU HAVE TO SWITCH CODES IN THE BOARDROOM?
Steve Stoute: It’s like Jay–Z said: No matter where you go, you are who you are, player. People can try to change, but that’s just the top layer. I’m not like that. I am who I am, and I understand an idea, whether it comes from an artist or a Fortune 500 company. They’re not paying for me to be like them; they’re paying so they can understand the stuff that I’m familiar with.WHEN PITCHING DEALS, WHICH POINT DO YOU EMPHASIZE—CULTURAL IMPACT OR PROFIT?
Steve Stoute: It’s not about how much money because not everything is about money. It’s more how brands and companies can really have an opportunity to be an option to a consumer that’s hard to speak to. What I do is put together a communications strategy to speak to that hard–to–reach, hard–to–convince, hard–to–get–any–type–of–loyalty–out–of consumer. Reebok was wack, man. They could have made a hot sneaker and niggas wouldn’t have fucked with it because it was wack. So they had to put together a communications strategy for the last three years so people could say, “You know what? I might buy them Reeboks.” The way consumers are, if it ain’t hot, you can’t rock it. It’s about having the opportunity to be a part of these new consumers’ options.SPEAKING OF REEBOK, WHY DID YOU HOOK JAY–Z UP WITH THEM INSTEAD OF NIKE?
Steve Stoute: It wasn’t Jigga and Nike because Jay–Z and I have a relationship that’s really strong. He knew if I was working with Reebok, I was going to make it really hot, make sure his image was protected and it was going to be something that was going to be important and different. He bet on me and on the company. That’s the kind of guy he is.
WHAT WAS THE HARDEST DEAL TO GET DONE?
Steve Stoute: McDonald’s and Justin Timberlake, because the way he wanted to be portrayed as the McDonald’s spokesperson and what they were used to in those relationships were yin and yang. McDonald’s was used to guys becoming much more product friendly—like holding the product and eating the burger. And Justin wanted an organic relationship. He didn’t necessarily have to eat the food on camera for you to realize that he was down with McDonald’s. So that was hard to try to really make them understand that and for Justin to give in on some of his points as well. But I knew that he would be good to carry what McDonald’s was trying to portray as their lifestyle.WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FAILURE TO DATE?
Steve Stoute: The Pharrell/Reebok thing. I wished it would’ve worked out. That one slipped away. I think Pharrell is a big act, and he’s going to be extremely successful in everything he does because I think he’s a very important aspect to youth culture. We were working with him at Reebok, but then there was a bunch of legal things that we had to deal with and we ended up going our separate ways. It really wasn’t a failure, though, because it didn’t happen. It didn’t come out and have a chance to fail.IF YOU COULD PAIR ANY ARTIST WITH ANY CORPORATION, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Steve Stoute: I would love to do Jay–Z and Boeing. Why? It’s just hot. It sounded hot when I just said that! I’d love to do something with snack foods and with automobiles. I’d love to get Mary J. Blige down with Fendi. It keeps changing. I’d have to really think of what would be the ultimate, but I always think about Jay–Z and Boeing.IN 1999, WHEN YOU WERE AT INTERSCOPE, YOU HAD A RATHER INFAMOUS RUN–IN WITH P. DIDDY. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT?
Steve Stoute: The first thing I learned is people take the story and blow it out of proportion. The second thing I learned is people love associating anything they can with stuff that’s negative. That’s unfortunate. I can’t control how people look at me or at him. The question should be asked of him—I don’t know if people look at him that way. I’m not an artist. I’m not anything but a guy that’s behind the scenes, doing a lot of things to help further send the message of America’s youth that the world has to wake up and pay attention.IS THE COMMISSIONER EASY TO WORK FOR?
Steve Stoute: No! I’m not easy to work for because most people have expectations that are subpar. They don’t demand that as a team, you strive for excellence. People talk about it like it’s a poem or something and don’t necessarily strive for that. I do believe that I’m building an organization that is striving for that.YOU’RE A POWER BROKER AT WORK, BUT HOW ABOUT IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE?
Steve Stoute: Well, I’m single, so it’s easy! Once you’re married, you have that situation where you have to split the power or split the decisions. When you’re single, you don’t have those issues.
