The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University is proud to be hosting a special discussion event with Grammy-winning Columbia Records artist, producer, songwriter and entrepreneur Raphael Saadiq
as the final event in our Motown U record label series.

Oakland’s Raphael Saadiq emerged in the 1980s as the front man for platinum selling r&b group Tony! Toni! Tone! before becoming one of the chief architects of today’s modern soul. He’s written and produced some of the seminal records of the last 20 years for artists like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Q-Tip, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, TLC, the Roots, Joi, Mary J. Blige, Angie Stone, Bilal, Ginuwine, Kelis and many others.

A record label founder (and more recently a video game entrepreneur), Saadiq also fronted Grammy-nominated supergroup Lucy Pearl in the early 2000s, and his solo albums have included Instant Vintage, which earned five Grammy nominations in 2003, and 2004’s Ray-Ray.

His 2008 three-time Grammy nominated Motown-inspired album The Way I See It, featuring Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone and Jay-Z, is his most successful project to date. Entertainment Weekly’s A-grade review of The Way I See It says: ‘Backed by a 
 galvanizing ensemble of musicians that would make the Funk Brothers proud, Saadiq belts out effervescent love songs with infectious vigor.’

In this rare onstage conversation, Saadiq talks about his rich array of musical influences, his musicianship and his unique approach to producing and writing records that matter.

This is a FREE event but RSVP is required. Seats are limited, first-come first-served. No one will be admitted without a reservation. Because of the limited number of seats, there are no plus ones for this event; only unique RSVPs will be honored.
Unclaimed RSVPs will be reclaimed fifteen minutes prior to the start of the event. Please arrive early.

MAKING AN RSVP DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMISSION. State or University issued i.d. is required for admittance.

CLICK HERE to MAKE AN RSVP.

There is no filming or photography of any sort allowed in the venue; failure to comply may mean removal from the venue.

Motown U Series curated by Clive Davis Department Artistic Director Jason King

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts and music and technology networking organization Sound CTRL, in conjunction with event sponsors Billboard and Pepsi, are happy to co-present a special evening with music industry legend Clive Davis, commemorating Arista Records’ 35th Anniversary.

Through Arista Records, Clive Davis launched or helped catapult the careers of world renowned artists, including Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Babyface, and Sean “Puffy” Combs.

Jason King, Artistic Director of NYU’s The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, says: “I wanted to reach out to Mr. Davis to come in and talk directly to students about his success in this anniversary year. While music executives come and go, Clive Davis has made a profound, lasting impact on the industry. He’s a continual inspiration to our students.”

After more than four decades in the music industry Davis, who now serves as Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music Entertainment and helmed the recent Whitney Houston comeback album I Look to You, has remained at the top of his game. He is one of only a few music executives who are able to successfully keep up with the changing pace of this industry and consistently create hit artists and hit songs for a turbulent marketplace.

Bill Werde, editor and chief of Billboard magazine, will be interviewing Davis exclusively about his passion for music and why he has chosen to speak at this event.

“In order to create a successful and innovative future in music we need to fully understand the past. We are delighted to be able to present Clive Davis, one of the most successful music men in the history of the recorded music business. This promises to be one of music’s most remembered conversations for the SoundCtrl community” Jesse Kirshbaum, SoundCtrl co-founder.

This private event is only open to NYU students, faculty and staff and Sound CTRL invited guests.

Last month, NARM President Jim Donio and Bill Wilson, NARM’s Director of Digital Strategy & Business Development, came to lecture to the students in Professor Lauren Davis’s Introduction to the Music Business class.

NARM stands for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. The non-for-profit trade association’s role is to “advance the promotion, marketing, distribution, and sale of music and entertainment by providing its members with a forum for diverse meeting and networking opportunities, information, and education to support their businesses, as well as advocating for their common interests.” Their members are key decision makers responsible for 90% of the music marketed, sold and distributed in the United States.

Professor Davis remarked: “Jim and Bill’s visit far exceeded everyone’s expectations….My students and I are sincerely grateful for their willingness to share information and readiness to answer a wide variety of industry questions. We look forward to their return visit.”

You can read a full write-up here on NARM’s site.

Alicia’s performance opened with a particularly appropriate rendition of “Empire State of MInd” from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 album: it got the entire audience on its feet.

Hundreds of NYU students were given free tickets to attend the grand event.

Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music students got the special opportunity to sit right up front in the orchestra pit seats, where they were only an arms length away from the superstar as she did a Q&A with MTV host Sway, and then performed some her classic hits with a full band and debuted new material from her forthcoming album also titled The Element of Freedom, set to be released on December 1st.

We created some unique opportunities for our students to get involved with this event.

During the Q&A, Clive Davis Department students were specially selected to Alicia questions.

In addition, NYU students enrolled in Adjunct Professor Kobi Wu-Pasmore’s Curating Live Music Events course were given the special opportunity to observe and assist the production and design team for rehearsals and sound check for this event.

Lucky students!

It was a tremendous success, but don’t take our word for it. Here’s the MTV roundup of the event. Here’s Billboard’s article. New York Magazine. And Parlour Magazine. and Newsday.

(All photos on this page were taken by Adjunct Professor Jonathan Fine of Finegold Music).

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU is proud to co-present with Sony Music Entertainment an exciting lecture and performance event with Alicia Keys this October.

Alicia Keys is releasing her 4th studio album, The Element of Freedom, in December. With her new single “Doesn’t Mean Anything” currently exploding at radio, Alicia Keys will take part in a 3-city, college lecture and performance series leading
into the album’s release.  For the inaugural event of the series, Alicia Keys will be giving a private performance to NYU with her band, debuting songs from her forthcoming album, singing some of her hits and participating in a moderated discussion.

The topic of the event is “Inspiration: What Inspires You and Why?”

The great Leon Ware and soul music star John Legend in rare conversation on the true meaning of sensuality in popular music, from a forthcoming documentary.

This week the 127th Audio Engineering Society Convention New York gets underway at New York’s Javitz Center.

“For over 60 years, the AES has been the largest gathering of audio professionals and enthusiasts on the globe, attracting delegates from over 100 countries worldwide.

Workshops, tutorials, technical papers and the trade show floor provide attendees with a wealth of learning, networking and business opportunities.”

Clive Davis Department Professor Jim Anderson serves as the President of AES. And many of our talented faculty and staff including but not limited to Nick Sansano, Jason King, Noah Simon, Michael McCoy will be taking part in this year’s convention events.

Not to mention our students: on for this Friday at 5 pm event, Professor Nick Sansano leads a panel of Recorded Music alums like Jesse Lauter and Carter Matschullat alongside famed producers Bob Power (also a Recorded Music professor), Mark Ronson, Tony Visconti and Jeff Silverman. The event is called “Producing Across Generations: New Challenges, New Solutions – Making Records for Next to Nothing in the 21st Century.”

We’re super happy this October to be hosting Grammy-nominated musician, songwriter and creative entrepreneur Pete Wentz for our Music Entrepreneurship Series.

Illinois-born Pete Wentz serves as bassist, lyricist and co-founder of the phenomenally successive pop-punk band Fall out Boy. Fall Out Boy’s five studio albums, distributed on indie label Fueled by Ramen and major label Island Records, have generated over 12 million in worldwide sales and a string of chart hits.

Beyond his musical contributions, Pete Wentz has excelled as a creative entrepreneur. His imprint label Decaydance Records (Atlantic Records) has signed major pop acts like Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, and Panic! At the Disco. His merchandising compan Clandestine Industries has delivered books, fashion and branding partnerships. Pete’s been involved in music video direction and has a film company, Bartskfull Films; his nightclub Angels & Kings has been enormously popular; he opened an art gallery; and he’s working on a comic book mini-series.

Pete will be doing a conversation event as part of our series; the event is only open to enrolled Recorded Music students.

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU is proud to have the great performer-songwriter-producer Leon Ware residing with us in the department this week, in conjunction with our ongoing Motown U conversation series.

For the uninitiated, the Detroit born Mr. Ware is one of the great under-appreciated songwriters and producers. He helped craft the sound of sensual soul music in the 70s and he’s best known for crafting Marvin Gaye’s classic 1976 I Want You – a deeply challenging and complex album of romantic melancholy. No study of Motown is complete without some attention to the work of Leon Ware.

The delicate, sensual Leon Ware sound rippled throughout the industry and artists like Todd Rundgren, Massive Attack, Madonna, and John Legend would later praise his work and cite it as a source of inspiration. In the 1990s, r&b artist Maxwell sought out Leon Ware to help him craft his groundbreaking Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite album.

Among Leon Ware’s many hits songs: “I Wanna Be Where You Are” for Michael Jackson, “Inside My Love” for Minnie Riperton, “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” for Quincy Jones/ The Average White Band, and “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” for Maxwell. A heavily sampled songwriter, he has had many solo projects for major labels and he is currently signed to Concord/Universal: his most recent album was 2008’s critically acclaimed Moon Ride.

Leon Ware will be visiting Recorded Music classes this week as a guest speaker. And on 10/9 he will headline a special event at the Audio Engineering Society convention to discuss the songwriting and producing behind Marvin Gaye’s classic album I Want You. We’ve also arranged a secret performance/discussion industry event while he’s here.

Check out Leon Ware on the web.