The Daily Swarm

Signing an unknown act like R.E.M. or TV on the Radio and waiting years for it to manufacture a hit is simply unprofitable. In late 2007, major labels started letting go the executives who were experts at exactly that. Mark Williams, longtime A&R man for Interscope, who helped Gwen Stefani transform from No Doubt punk rock frontwoman to glamorous solo diva in 2004, allowed his contract to expire and left the label three years later.

A few days before he left Interscope, just before Christmas 2007, Williams was reflective. “If I could just make records and work with artists, I’d do it forever. But it just doesn’t work that way,” he says. “There’s always pressure. ‘Is this the best it can get?’ ‘Will people like it?’ ‘It’s not there yet.’ ‘Can we spend more money?’ The overall focus (at major labels) is one of desperation to have hits. When the climate is one of desperation, it tends to not work so well.

“People at the majors for some time have been looking for an answer. The obvious answer is ‘there is no answer.’ Big labels are going to become smaller and smaller,” Williams continues. “It’s going to be like in the ‘50s and ‘60s, when you had hundreds and hundreds of small labels. It’s going to be a lot of trial and error. I laugh when people say, ‘We’re going to try to fix it.’ They can try, but there’s no real answer.

“It’s over. It’s just done.”