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Posted by Robert
Rap News Network
3/4/2004 9:16:31 AM
Tags and topics realted to this article include Timbaland.
If someone compiled a list of the most commercially successful and prolific producers in R&B/hip-hop, Timbaland's name would likely be near the top of the list.
In less than a decade, Timbaland (aka Tim Mosley) has amassed dozens of hit records as a producer and/or songwriter. He is also a performing artist, engineer, remixer and head of a record label, the Interscope-distributed BeatClub Records.
A native of Norfolk, Va., Timbaland got his start in the music business in the early 1990s working with Jodeci member/producer DeVante Swing. He then formed music-production group Da Bassment, whose members included Elliott, Ginuwine, Playa and Magoo. Timbaland has also worked with such top artists as Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Jay-Z, the late Aaliyah, Memphis Bleek, Ludacris, Justin Timberlake and Ginuwine.
Even with all his success, Timbaland says he is planning to eventually walk away from the music business. He candidly tells Billboard why and provides other thoughts on the music industry.
Q: What are the biggest problems facing the music industry today, and what do you think are the solutions?
A: There's too much being developed at once. There's new software, new music and new programs that come out too quickly. By the time something new comes out, people are ready to move on to the next thing. That's why people's attention spans are short.
There are so many sites [from which] to download music [illegally] that less people want to go out and buy it. I don't know what the solution to that would be, but I think first the record companies need to lower prices.
The "instant-hit" [mentality] can mean instant failure. I wish the record companies would put more effort into artist development.
I also think the [major-label] mergers are crazy. It's almost like they're playing Monopoly.
Q: Do you think producers are more important than artists, and how would you describe your producing style?
A: I think producers are bigger than the artists. We're responsible for the sound that they have. We give them direction and bring something out of the artists that they may not realize that they have.
When I came [on the scene], I was one of the people who started bringing the attention back to producers. I bought the flavor back to the meat, and I opened a lot of doors for artists and other producers.
My producing style is this: "I am the music." The artist is the frontman for the producer.
Q: You've been quoted as saying that you want to walk away from hip-hop. Why?
A: It's not just hip-hop. I want to walk away from music, period. To me, the music business is too saturated, and there's too much politics with the record companies and radio.
I'm not walking away right away. I'll probably do another Missy Elliott album. But there's too much going on with the [illegal] downloading and other problems in the music industry.
And I've gotten bored with hip-hop. I'm about to totally change my whole image in 2004. It's going to shock people.
Q: What are you going to do that will be so shocking?
A: I can't say right now, but it will involve endorsements and TV.
Q: If hip-hop has become boring, what kind of music excites you, and what type of music do you think can help the industry out of its slump?
A: I like Coldplay -- that's real music to me. I like what the Neptunes are doing. But after a while, everything sounds the same -- even my
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