△ Image source @Finneas/Instagram
Various signs indicate that Billie Eilish is not an "industrial creation" born on the assembly line. On the contrary, it can be seen from the thinking of the team behind the scenes that this group of people is effectively helping and guiding the truly unique artist and realizing her vision.
Billie Eilish's first album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" was mainly recorded in a "bedroom studio" in her home in Los Angeles. The album was officially released by Darkroom / Interscope on March 29, 2019, and on the same day, more than 81% of the entire album's listening data was obtained on Apple Music. The amazing thing about
is that a recent study showed that only 16% of British adults listened to the entire album from start to finish. In the week before this, the album also broke Apple Music’s global album pre-sale record, reaching 800,000 copies. Previously, the album also ranked first on the Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 307,000 and entering 14 hot 100 charts, which makes Eilish the most female musician on the charts. The cultural influence of
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" has also crossed national borders, becoming a hot spot in many countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium. No. 1 on the album chart.
△Billie Eilish Credit: Rachael Wright/NME
There is no doubt that "Billie Eilish" has become a cultural phenomenon. The 17-year-old young female singer and her creatively gifted brother Finneas O'Connell used music and visual works that transcended genres to effectively reflect the extensive aesthetic and listening habits of Gen Z artists, while also destroying people’s concerns about In the era of streaming media, a playlist will replace the argument of album carriers. This year, she also appeared on the stage of Coachella Music Festival. The warriors behind
this genius girl cannot be ignored either. Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman, based in Los Angeles, jointly manage the brokerage affairs for Billie Eilish.
△Danny Rukasin (left) and Brandon Goodman (right)
Rukasin and Billie Eilish's brother Finneas are old acquaintances. At the beginning, Finneas sent an email to Rukasin, asking him if he could help his garage pop band contact a producer. As a result, they had more contacts. The two became friends. This is also the future for Rukasin and Billie Eilish. Cooperation laid the foundation.
Since then, Finneas has often sent links to his work to Rukasin, which also includes some songs he and his sister composed together. In 2016, Finneas sent a song composed by himself and his sister to Rukasin, which is Billie Eilis' debut song "Ocean Eyes".
"Ocean Eyes caught everyone's attention," Rukasin recalled. "We met Finneas, Billie, and their families the next day, and talked with them about the future plans of the siblings. This song The song had already exhibited an amazing viral spread at the time.” As expected, "Ocean Eyes" has since gained more than 100 million views on YouTube.
signed a contract with Darkroom/Interscope in 2017. Before the label released a series of works such as "Bellyache" in March of the same year, Billie Eilish's other single "Six Feet Under" was also an independently released work.
and John Jan of Interscopeick, Darkoom’s Justin Lubliner and other record producers, as well as various collaborations with on-site organizers such as Paradigm and Coda, Billie Eilish participated in every decision, including the final single release model that was calculated through a precise cycle. , Peripheral release, visual design and video shooting, as well as tour planning and radio program invitations.
Some industry observers believe that Billie Eilish and his team’s single release plan for the American radio environment (for example, recently released three excellent singles at the same time) has broken the existing radio promotion rules to a certain extent. And it is very possible to redefine what is the real "radio hit" in the industry.
Recently, Goodman and Rukasin were interviewed by the media about how Billie Eilish's behind-the-scenes team created this supernova with global effects.
What is interesting is that all signs indicate that Billie Eilish is not an "industrial creation" born on the assembly line. On the contrary, it can be seen from the thinking of the team behind the scenes that this group of people is effectively helping and guiding the truly unique artist and realizing her vision. x
The following is based on part of the interview and dialogue data of Danny Rukasin (DR) and Brandon Goodman (BG):
Q: How did you start working with Billie Eilish?
DR: A few years ago, Finneas sent me an email asking about the cooperation with the producer. This is a very interesting email with "Eric Motherfucking Palmquist", which caught my attention in an instant. Then I listened to the music he created and produced. As a sixteen or seventeen-year-old creator, it was very popular, so I helped him contact the producers I know, and they completed four songs.
Over time, Finneas and I became friends. He is a member of a local garage pop band, and I guided him to advance the band affairs step by step. After that, Finneas started to work with his sister, and "Ocean Eyes" caught our attention. We met Finneas, Billie, and their family the next day, and discussed with them the future plans of the siblings. At that time, the song had shown an amazing viral power. On the day of
, we discussed whether creating is Billie's real interest or whether it is just a hobby of her. At the time, Billie was still in the early stages, but she had her own vision for the future and she knew what she wanted to do in the world.
Q: In the age of streaming media, why do you still want to release an album?
BG: When releases new music, timing and other content to support these releases are very important. In Billie's case, we realized that all the release time must be suitable for the album, and we need fans to have a passion for the entire album.
For Billie and Finneas, creating an album is different from a bunch of exquisite singles. An album is a cohesive work, and its creative intention must be holistic. In this era of streaming media, which is more inclined to a single focus, I think the difference has become something that some artists should think about.
DR: We have been thinking about how the artist's music will be consumed, especially how the entire album will be consumed. The visual content is also very important. Billie really promotes all related visual concepts. Fans can directly understand these themes and can also associate the cohesion between album works.
Q: For the artists and independent musicians who cooperate with the label, how will each show their value?
BG: With the help of the Internet and social media tools, now independent musicians can promote their music and brands more. There is more than one way to train musicians. Musicians with different needs can build their own career paths in a variety of unique ways without going through the label.
Although I think Billie will succeed anyway, because she is a very talented and unique artFamily. But we also admit that the Darkroom and Interscope teams played a huge role in Billie's success.
DR: Many musicians can achieve success without joining the label, and some musicians can also benefit from the strong teamwork of the label to help them build and expand their territory.
Personally, I prefer an independent state. This state will retain the flexibility and control of the project internally, but if the musician and the team keep their goals and pace in line, and everyone can complete the work effectively, then the musician and It is also an ideal state for the label to work towards the vision together.
Q: How do you evaluate the collaboration with Interscope boss John Janick?
DR: John is very good. On the one hand, he has accumulated experience in establishing a small "bedroom label" during the Fueled By Ramen period, and has given the label a strong influence. On the other hand, after transferring to Interscope, he also understands how to help musicians develop in the mainstream recording environment.
John has helped many musicians and bands such as Less Than Jake and Fall Out Boy. He understands that the development of musicians from small to large is a difficult problem that is combined over time, and he also knows how to help different types of musicians break down barriers. . He is good at connecting everything together and appropriately surrounding and displaying music.
BG: We are very grateful to him for his support, guidance and resources for us and Billie, which have helped Billie establish his own foundation and see his creative vision in the process.
Q: Billie Eilish is called "the most concerned teenager on earth", which may bring pressure to her. How do you manage the pressure of musicians in the age of social media?
△ Image source: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
DR: We foresee the growth of Billie’s fame, but we didn’t imagine this coming so fast and exciting. A musician like Billie, you know she will make strides, and she will also figure out how to manage this state of being different from normal life.
It is a challenge for anyone to try to balance normal life with what is happening around them. But Billie was very resilient and handled it very maturely, which was incredible for a 17-year-old.
As the management, we have actually tried to help her "filter" many things, but she and her family have also created a good atmosphere for her to play different roles in life and career.
BG: Billie is very lucky because she has such a supportive and accompanying family. Having a strong back is essential for any young musician.
Q: If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would you want to change?
BG: now has many new ways to distribute and promote music, and allow musicians to reach the audience. I think that if we can receive all kinds of data in real time, it will help us understand the growth of songs or musicians in a more timely manner. This also allows us to make better decisions in terms of releasing new music, touring and radio.
DR: The music industry is now in one of the best conditions in its history, and the public's music consumption capacity will also be maximized for a long time.
Someone put forward a point four or five years ago that streaming media services will make music a practical tool because these services allow people to hear anything they want anytime, anywhere. I believe that streaming services really contribute to the growth of this connection.
However, in this state, how the songwriter, performer, and copyright owner deal with the copyright of performances and songs, how the creators get paid and other issues need better operations and calculation methods, so that everyone can get fair treat. This is also one of the hottest disputes in the industry. Practitioners and institutions are working hard for this.
Q: Regarding the saying that the album is dead in the streaming era, Billie’s album has provenThere is a certain deviation in this dispute. What do you guys think?
DR: The contribution of streaming media to the music industry is now at the highest level in history, and music consumption has reached a critical level to a certain extent. When the playlist's driving force for a single consumption reaches the maximum, you can try to put the music together in a specific way and release it at a suitable time. In this way, the album will become a new "playlist."
This is what Billie and Finneas considered when making this album. They are thinking, creating suitable songs to fill the playlist. I think that as fans continue to discover different musicians, musicians will have more connections with fans, and the possibility of album development can be as great as in the past.
In addition to streaming media and physical sales, we also discovered the beauty of radio. In the past eight months or so, we have established relationships with radio platforms such as SiriusXM, iHeart, Amp, etc., and many songs have responded well to various forms of carriers. This is enough to prove that with the full support of fans, as long as there is suitable music, various carriers can cooperate mutually beneficially, and a complete artistic vision can help and expand the territory of musicians.
BG: I think people need to remember that Billie has been releasing singles for three and a half years before releasing his first album. On the one hand, we are building her artistic career, on the other hand, we are also waiting for her fans to generate demand for the album. In addition, what Billie and Finneas created is a cohesive work, a music album worthy of consumption, rather than a pile of songs just put together.
Q: Considering the current situation of the siblings, will you let Finneas and Billie work in a larger, more million-scale production studio?
BG: The brothers and sisters now have many opportunities to work in various production environments, but they prefer to work at home, which makes them feel comfortable and stimulates creativity the most. They recorded and composed almost all music content in Finneas' bedroom studio. They don't want or need to work in some large recording studios.
DR: Family and life are very important to the creative process of Finneas and Billie. They can really be inspired. Creating at home is their way of working.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
DR: I hope that Billie and Finneas can maintain their inspiration and continue to create amazing music. I think they can not only continue to make changes in music, but also continue to challenge other unknowns, using works and related content to continue to break the imagination of the audience, especially the audience group that grew up with Billie.
BG: We hope to continue to support what they want to do, the most important thing is to express themselves creatively and artistically.
* This article is compiled from MBW, the original title: BEHIND BILLIE EILISH: MEET THE MANAGERS GUIDING THE ARTIST’S GLOBAL SUCCESS, slightly abridged.
Editor: Zhao Xingyu
WeChat: keithkyo
Email: [email protected]
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