Costa Pilavachi is back!

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

There is some good news today for Hayley, Costa Pilavachi is back at the head of Universal Classics (and Decca).

As long-time Hayley fans will recall, Costa Pilavachi is the man who went to NZ for Decca to see Hayley waaaaay back in 2001/2002 - and signed her on the spot! So he has a large personal interest in her long-term success and now, he seems to be once again running the show (including all or part of the merged UCJ, which previously, was never his baby).

Of couse we don't yet know if Hayley will be directly on his roster of "classical" artists but whether she is or not, I'm sure that this will benefit Hayley in the future and I think it's great news!

Pilavachi comes back to Universal

11:04 | Thursday June 3, 2010

Universal has named Costa Pilavachi, who has previously served as worldwide president of Philips Classics, Decca and EMI Classics, as senior vice president, classical artist and repertoire for UMG International.

Based in London, Pilavachi will advise, sign, develop and work with artists across Universal Music Classics’ operations worldwide. These include the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca labels.

He will report to Max Hole, who becomes UMGI COO on July 1.

Hole says there is “no one better qualified for the task” of helping to manage Universal’s classical operations.

Pilavachi adds, “The artists signed to Universal Music are second to none and I am thrilled at the prospect of working with them.”

Music Week

Cheers, Dave

[mihizawi]

Huh... The album with Ennio Morricone, the bib exposure to the media in Classical Brits, now this... Seems to be a rather good period in Hayley's career. This makes me wonder about her contract with Decca. I know we don't know too much about these, and I certainly know rather few, only remember some mentions about a 5 albums deal, and remember some people in this forum wondering if this new album will be the one ending her contract.

I know it's pure speculation, however I think all this seems to point at that Hayley's recording career with Decca will last longer after this album. What's the point of increasing the importance and exposure of an artist who have proven to be reliable and then letting her go? And now, these news, seem to be even more uplifting. What do you thinik?

Michal

[Mark]

Hi Dave

I have to say that I feel this is very reassuring news,and I sort of feel that Hayley is in good hands again as far as her record company goes. Obviously, Hayley has a supurb management team, second to none I would say in Steve and Kathryn but I think I am right in saying that they have little to no control over the record company. So having someone who has a personal interest in Hayley back at the helm has to be good and I for one am very pleased about it. Thanks for the info Dave.

Best wishes

Mark

[stevemacdonald]

While I'm certain Mr. Pilavachi has Hayley's best interests in mind, he is, first and foremost, a shrewd businessman. His successfully bringing Hayley to a world audience was done in the best interests of Decca, which, at the time, didn't have its own teen singing sensation to run against EMI's Becky and Sony's Charlotte. I suspect he will always be on the lookout for more young talent to join the latest crop of winners. Debut albums usually do better than subsequent releases -- note CC's "VOAA" or Hayley's "Pure" -- and Decca would be likely on a renewed mission to create another big sales splash.

[grant]

Hi Dave

Costa's return is wonderful news - I'm sure Hayley will be delighted.

Best wishes
Grant

[mihizawi]

You are right, Steve, debuts can be very profitous, more than other albums, but also are more risky. What if the next Hayley or Faryl doesn't sell as much as expected and it doesn't covers the costs of the release and promotion? Although I myself tend to admire them, I think the amazing success of child and teen stars is a fashion and it will loose importance sooner or later. So, in any industry, you need new, fresh products that can keep your potential growing, but you also need to keep older, established products that have proven their quality and will keep selling, in case the riskier releases fail. I don't know much about economy, but it seems to have sense, doesn't it?

And for Decca, I think Hayley is the best option for that safe inversion, and, what I was trying to say is that it seems that they are starting to invest in her and consolidate her presence as one of the big names in the market (although we can't be sure, of course, until seeing how they manage the release of the album), and in this case, the most sensible thing would be to try to keep her in the company.

Michal

P.D. Come to think of it: Hayley's debut was way more risky than Faryl's... When Faryl released her album, she was probably better known in the UK than Hayley could have been motnhs after her sucessful release of Pure. Universal signed Faryl knowing she would succeed, what a master play!

[Dave]

Jun 3, 2010 17:58:18 GMT stevemacdonald said:

While I'm certain Mr. Pilavachi has Hayley's best interests in mind, he is, first and foremost, a shrewd businessman. His successfully bringing Hayley to a world audience was done in the best interests of Decca, which, at the time, didn't have its own teen singing sensation to run against EMI's Becky and Sony's Charlotte. I suspect he will always be on the lookout for more young talent to join the latest crop of winners. Debut albums usually do better than subsequent releases -- note CC's "VOAA" or Hayley's "Pure" -- and Decca would be likely on a renewed mission to create another big sales splash.

Yes indeed Steve, but even as a business executive, it's nice to see your own projects/signings from days gone by bear long-term fruit and I'm sure that Costa will be delighted that Hayley's still around, 8 years on! Personal pride and all that...

Here is an extract from a Billboard article here in the HWI Archives about Hayley in March 2004, which talks a bit about Costa Pilavachi, including a short quote from Hayley:

"When Pilavachi learned of the excitement surrounding Westenra in New Zealand, he flew from London to Wellington to see the teenager sing in front of 100 people during a corporate function at a rural racecourse."I thought I should pop down to New Zealand and meet her," he says. "I was blown away by her charm and her family.

"Christchurch is very far from London and New York, and I thought if she and her family were really serious about having a major international career, it was important they know who they were dealing with," Pilavachi says of his meeting with Westenra and her parents, Jill and Gerald Westenra.

"I wanted them to audition me just as much as I wanted to see her in action. And, frankly, I wanted to meet the family," he continues. "There've been so many horror stories of young protégés with manipulative parents, I'd hate to be part of an exploitation like that. But they're lovely people. I was really impressed with the whole environment [she] came from."

A three-album [edit by Dave: it was five!] deal with Decca followed, which the company reported is worth £3 million ($2 million) [edit by Dave - the conversion's wrong too!].

Westenra says of Pilavachi, "He gave me more than the opportunity to be released internationally; he's part of my family." "

From all accounts, Pilavachi is a nice guy. I think Hayley will be pleased.

Cheers, Dave

[stevemacdonald]

Of course she should be delighted he's back since he's the person most responsible for launching her career. I wouldn't expect any new miracles, however, because his work with her is already accomplished and he probably needs to get searching for the next Hayley. Finding Faryl was a no-brainer, thanks to Simon Cowell's show, but there must be someone else out there with no exposure who could benefit from a break. I think he will be especially inspired to do this now.

[mihizawi]

Steve, you are talking like his only commitement as the head of the group was to find and bring to fame new stars, and of course, it is his job, but I think taking care of the careers that are already there is as important as launching new ones. As I said, safe inversions are important in any business to give stability and mantain them alive.

Not necessarily this will give any boost to Hayley's career, but this old article Dave brought up assures me even more that this guy has some principles and seems to care about his artists, so, certainly it will be positive for Hayley's career.

Michal

[martindn]

Yes, I'm overjoyed. This guy believs in Hayley. He will make sure she gets a fair crak of the whip, unlike what has happened previously. It is great news. Without Costa, I doubt most of us would have ever heard of Hayley. So we owe him.

Martin D

[Dave]

Jun 3, 2010 22:11:39 GMT mihizawi said:

Steve, you are talking like his only commitement as the head of the group was to find and bring to fame new stars, and of course, it is his job, but I think taking care of the careers that are already there is as important as launching new ones.

Indeed it is, Michal - here is a bit more, from Billboard's take on the news:

Pilavachi will be based in London and report to Max Hole, executive vice president, UMGI. His new role, effective immediately, will see the veteran exec "advise, sign, develop and work with emerging and established artists across Universal Music Classics' operations worldwide," according to a statement released by the music major.

Steve, I expect no miracles but I think this news improves the chances that Hayley will get a fair crack of the whip at Decca - something many of us have said that she hasn't been getting for the last few years. 100,000 UK sales on her next album shouldn't be too hard to achieve with the right content, production and promotion, and that would be good news for not only Hayley and us, but for Decca too. They don't have many artists with the potential to achieve that.

Dave

[Libby]

Just out of curiosity, at one point did Pilavachi leave Decca?

Steve, what about people like Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli? They aren't new stars, but I'm sure their record companies depend on their success, since they are big names. Don't record companies want to keep people who are that talented, and keep on getting good sales from them? Hayley's good enough to be as big as they are, and I'm sure he's still aware of that. And he did say [above] that Universal's artists are "second to none" and that he's "thrilled at the prospect of working with them". So, it sounds as if he's going to work with them all somehow or another. Having read about him in Hayley's first biography, I think it'll be a good thing.

[Elliot Kane]

The main point to me is: would you sign an artist to your label if you did not have faith in them? I know I wouldn't. As such, it's a pretty safe assumption that Pilavachi believes in Hayley. As a consequence, I hope and expect that this will be a bright new dawn for her. If she gets the support and promotion she deserves, she may finally get the attention that has long been her due from audiences across the world.

We can only hope...

[Richard]

Jun 4, 2010 6:40:05 GMT Libby said:

Just out of curiosity, at one point did Pilavachi leave Decca?

Hello Libby!

After several failed attempts, I've finally found the thread about Costa Pilavachi leaving Decca HERE.

Richard

[stevemacdonald]

I bet it Costa lot to rehire him, but at least there's a new Decca cards for Hayley.