This engaging film tells the story of an extraordinary, and unlikely, giant of the music business, Clive Davis. He both captured and shaped the relationship between culture and music for five decades. It quietly offers insights on successfully managing your career, growing companies and working with people. You, like me, may have never heard of Clive Davis. But you’ve heard his products: 50 years of hit songs played and sung by artists he discovered or remade. This is a “feel good” show with depth: It’s a great story about an exceptional and good man, a dynamic half century of music, and how to help people fulfill the potential of their talents.
Why did I say “unlikely”? Well, for one, he was a lawyer and he turned out to have a latent extraordinary talent for picking outstanding musicians, songs and sounds. Also, Davis doesn’t fit the stereotype of the rude, avaricious entertainment business executive: He was a dedicated family man throughout his career and a good part of is success with artists came from his consistent warmth and loyalty toward them.**
Incidental career insight: I always cringe when people advise others to choose a career by “following their passion”. Davis is a great example of why doing that too soon is a mistake. Music wasn’t his passion the he had to choose a career. He only ended up at Columbia Records because they needed an attorney. If he hadn’t devoted himself to being a great lawyer he never would have had the chance to find out he loved and was fantastic at music production. If you do well at things that open new doors, you are bound to find a viable passion.
Growing a Business: Davis didn’t build on the past, he bet on the future. Over and over again. He found ways to stretch far beyond his experience-based instincts — how does a nice Jewish man born in 1932 become a force in hip hop music?
Making other People Phenomenally successful: The things he did for different artists that apply in other fields.
- “Discover” them — i.e., look for the combination of traits that set each person apart from others.
- Find the right tasks/jobs for the right talent. He brought the right songs to showcase his artists. We can all point talented people to the jobs or projects that will make them shine.
- Know the business and the players — and put those resources at the disposal of the talent.
** This makes for an interesting contrast with another music industry legend, music producer David Foster. I haven’t written up the documentary on him yet, but let’s just say his interests do not extend beyond himself. Is it because David Foster is an artist and Clive Davis is an artist-enabler, or is the difference just the difference between two people with different value systems?
Where to Watch: Netflix
Better You Value: Big Goals **** Great Story *** Beautiful Music ** Life Lessons **
