NYT Syndicate
Steven Victor, Senior vice president, A&R, Universal Music Group in New York
Midtown beats
I'm in the artists and repertoire division; I scout artists and manage their careers and make deals including TV, film, publishing and merchandise for Universal.
When the weather is nice, I'll park in SoHo and walk to the office. I love the vibe in that area, you can find culture, style, everything there. Occasionally someone will recognise me and ask,"Yo, are you Steven Victor?"
Usually it's a young manager or a rapper or other musician who wants to break into the industry. I always stop and talk.
Working in style
When Universal recruited me last year, there weren't that many offices available and I had to fight for this one. A creative office is important when dealing with artists, and I also wanted a space I knew my mind could work in. I pretty much recreated in white what I have in my home office in black.
1. Iconic trademark
I always planned to own a record label named Victor Records. In high school I came across a painting of the RCA Victor logo on the internet and became infatuated with it. Our CEO, Sir Lucian Grainge, has a painting of the logo and gave me a print for my wedding. I feel like it sets up what goes on in the office.
2. Oldies and hip-hop
The turntable gets a lot of use. I still go to the record store and buy old records, and we sample hip-hop on records instead of from, say, MP3 files. Analog sounds better. When I listen to the radio, it's mostly Hot 97 in New York to see how often my artists get playtime.
I play my music loud. I'm always getting in trouble when people are on conference calls and can't hear. HR calls me and tells me to turn the music down.
I keep artist's hours. I'm usually up around 8:45 or 9 am, unless I have something going on. I go to the gym and have the same breakfast every day when I get here: scrambled eggs with onion, turkey bacon and wheat toast. Lunch is for wimps.
Occasionally I eat dinner in the office and then head to a studio where artists record. Sometimes I meet with an artist on the weekend. I don't go to bed until 2 or 3 am, and I usually travel a couple times a week.
3. Music rules
I have two sets of speakers and two subwoofers in the office. You need good speakers in this business. I'm always listening to demos. I have a pretty good ear, and I always have an opinion about a song. If I listen with the artist, we'll talk about how we're going to change it. I play music constantly, everything from country to rap to pop to dance music. In the car I listen to classical.
4. Marking success
I have a reprint of the graffiti artist Banksy's drawing of a panda to celebrate the release of the song Panda, by the rapper Desiigner. It was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap performance category last year and won best hip-hop video at the MTV Video Music Awards. I manage Desiigner's career.
5. Reminders of accomplishment
My plaques are on the floor. One commemorates both the Panda song, and Tiimmy Turner, Desiigner's second single. Together they've sold 12 million copies worldwide. Desiigner's the first artist I signed who was an unknown at the time. I thought his music was dope from the first.
6. Record-keeping
I also work with Kanye West. I used to keep my ideas in my head, but one day I was walking down the street when Kanye called and asked if I had a journal, a notebook, for writing things down. I happened to be passing a Goyard store, went inside and found one I thought was really dope. I take it with me everywhere.