Mo Ostin, Longtime Warner Bros. Records Chief, Dies at 95

[Tres Discrete]

Wasn’t sure where to post this thread…I‘ve never started one before…but I had the honor & pleasure of spending 12 years of my life working for the company that this man built and nurtured. It was an almost magical place and we all have enjoyed the music he championed. Rest In Peace, Mo

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/mo-ostin-dead-warner-bros-records-chief-1235330951/

 

[humprof]

Wow. This man more or less created the Warner Bros. that introduced me to dozens of artists, from the 60s to the 90s, that still stand as landmarks on my personal musical map. I'm guessing hundreds of QQers would say the same.

 

[Tres Discrete]

Wow. This man more or less created the Warner Bros. that introduced me to dozens of artists, from the 60s to the 90s, that still stand as landmarks on my personal musical map. I'm guessing hundreds of QQers would say the same.

Yup…and to think he started as an Accountant(!) It was all about trust. He would sign artists or hire people he believed in & then trust them to do their thing...which is why when artists reached a point in their careers where they could go anywhere, they came to W.B. (See George Harrison, Clapton, Petty, RHCP, REM, etc). It worked for years & years & years until he was essentially forced out due to nonsensical corporate politics. On a brighter note, not everyone gets a personalized birthday ditty from George Harrison

 

[Tres Discrete]

Just remembered: when Mo left Warner Bros., we were each given a 6 CD sampler called “Mo’s Songs” - an overview of his 30 year tenure.
Hard to find fault with this tracklist
https://www.discogs.com/release/8524209-Various-Mos-Songs

 

[barfle]

Just remembered: when Mo left Warner Bros., we were each given a 6 CD sampler called “Mo’s Songs” - an overview of his 30 year tenure.
Hard to find fault with this tracklist
https://www.discogs.com/release/8524209-Various-Mos-Songs

Amazing bunch of songs! It’s worth looking for, no doubt about it.

 

[humprof]

"Mo was probably the most music conscious, music-centric chief executive of a record company in the rock and roll era," says Peter Ames Carlin, the author of Sonic Boom: The Impossible Rise of Warner Bros. Records, from Hendrix to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna to Prince. Ames says, when Ostin took over Warner, he told his employees to change their approach. "He sat them down and he said, 'Look we need to stop trying to make hit records. Let's just make good records and turn those into hits.' "

 

[Tres Discrete]

"Mo was probably the most music conscious, music-centric chief executive of a record company in the rock and roll era," says Peter Ames Carlin, the author of Sonic Boom: The Impossible Rise of Warner Bros. Records, from Hendrix to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna to Prince. Ames says, when Ostin took over Warner, he told his employees to change their approach. "He sat them down and he said, 'Look we need to stop trying to make hit records. Let's just make good records and turn those into hits.' "

I hadn’t heard that last line, but I do remember an A&R veteran in the NYC office tell me in the ‘90’s that “back in the day” they would have an annual dinner & give an award to the person that signed an artist that was a critic’s darling, but sold the LEAST that year