The City of Hope annually honors an outstanding member of the music community with the Spirit of Life Award. Music execs and artists will fete Recording Academy president Neil Portnow on Thursday at a gala to raise funds for the City of Hope's research. Portnow recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter music editor Tamara Conniff.
The Hollywood Reporter: You served an un-precedented three-year term in the volunteer role as president of the City of Hope's Music and Entertainment Industry Group from 2000-02. What does the Spirit of Life honor mean to you? Neil Portnow: First of all, it's a completely unexpected and uninvited honor. Volunteer work, or giving back, is something that I've done for years. The importance of philanthropy and charity was instilled in me as an ethic by my family when I was young. We were not so well-to-do that our method of doing that was to write a check and leave it at that. We pitched in. I never really engaged in these activities with the thoughts of being honored -- the honor for me was being able to serve. It's humbling, very meaningful and very emotional to be honored because this cause is very personal to me.
THR: How much money is expected to be raised by this year's event? Portnow: At this point, we're pretty confident that we will surpass last year's totals. I don't think there is any doubt that we're going to be at $2.25 million for the campaign. In these times, it's really quite an achievement.
THR: Are there plans for the Recording Academy to collaborate with the City of Hope on any programs? Portnow: As part of my overall style shift at the academy, one of the things that's critical to me is partnerships and collaborations. We came up with a partnership with the City of Hope that will have several components that will provide academy members with direct access to the City of Hope. It will be things like having access to consultations by phone and in person, Web links, possibly some forums that we can present and promote that are available to membership and will tap into the expert doctors, caregivers and researchers at the City of Hope and ultimately for those who qualify to have access to City of Hope services and patient-care programs.
THR: In addition to such stars as Burt Bacharach, Ron Isley, Sarah McLachlan, James Taylor and Brian Wilson, the Grammy High School Jazz Ensemble -- a group organized by the Grammy Foundation -- will be performing during the event tonight. Is this a way to showcase younger talent? Portnow: Music education and the role of the arts in the lives of our young people is vital and critical. (The dinner) is just another place where we can showcase these talented young people and remind the folks in our industry that it all begins there and that we need to rally around and support every program that we can that supports music and the arts for young people.
THR: How would you characterize your first nine months as president of the Recording Academy? Portnow: Very inspiring, challenging and educational. With a 20-year history as a volunteer and then as an elected leader of an organization, as much as you think you know and as much depth as you think you have, when you sit in the chair full time, there's always a lot to learn.
THR: How has the academy changed under your leadership? Portnow: I'd begin with the tone and the style. When you've had leadership for a long period of time -- my predecessor (Michael Greene) had almost a 14-year run -- a general attitude is established. My style and point of view are quite different. This change has been positive. There is a sense of enormous good will, a willing partner with us and a comfort level that the policies, programs and missions of the academy are in good hands.
THR: What has been your focus for the past few months? Portnow: Post-Grammy show, from March on, my priority has been to take a focused and measured look at our organization that includes everything from who are we are and, especially from a staff standpoint, what do we need to do that might be different? Do we have the right people sitting in the right chairs? Are we positioned for future growth? I never viewed this as somebody else's staff or that I had to have all of my own folks. It was more a matter of some adjustments, some alignments and some additions.
THR: What is the status of bringing the Musicians Assistance Program under the Recording Academy umbrella? Portnow: I have the utmost and ultimate respect for MAP founders Buddy (Arnold) and Carol (Fields) and all the great work that they do. Currently, MAP and MusiCares share service for quite a number of clients. It's been an ongoing and great partnership. The larger question is, is there a further ability to partner and work together in a more formal and organized fashion? I've had quite a number of meetings over the past months with the (RIAA) and active members of the MAP board to see if we can find some common ground. Those discussions are ongoing.
THR: How has the academy become more active in legislative issues and advocacy in Washington? Portnow: The academy needs to play a role in advocacy for our members and our constituents around today's issues. What gets sometimes challenging for us is that our constituency is so broad with producers, engineers, songwriters, singers, artists, that on certain issues we have a diversity of opinion. In those cases, our role is educational. The fact that we may not have a consensus doesn't mean the issues are not there. We've had some presence in advocacy, although I have felt that it has not been present enough. ... We are really publicly acknowledging further efforts on our behalf in D.C. We have engaged a lobbying firm to represent the academy's interests and point of view so we take a more consistent year-round proactive approach to being part of the dialogue.
THR: Piracy and artists rights initiatives are the most pressing issues facing the music industry right now. Is the academy going to become more involved in finding solutions to these problems? Portnow: It troubles me that many of our issues as an industry are played out either in public in the press or in the halls of our legislators. Because it's in full view of the public, it becomes very difficult to have candid and heartfelt discussions amongst the different constituencies. It's important to have a forum and place where issues can openly be talked about, free from egos and scrutiny, where people can let their hair down. There are two levels to this. One would be on a more private (meeting) level amongst ourselves as a family matter. In a more public way, we've been discussing the value of Grammy town hall meetings, and these would be forums we would host that allow (people) an opportunity to put forth varying opinions to an audience of industry professional so that we can raise the level of the discourse and educate our own folks to give some serious thought to the solutions to some of these problems.
THR: The Grammy Awards will return to Los Angeles this year. Will the event's host city alternate between Los Angeles and New York? Portnow: The determination of the host city is really an annual consideration. It also provides a healthy competition because the Grammys bring an unprecedented financial benefit to wherever we are. We also are looking for various benefits to the academy that come from the host city, whether it be in services or local business involvement in promotion and supporting academy events. It would not be my preference to have a long gap between our being here and being in New York City.
THR: How has pushing the telecast date up a month affected the Grammy process? Portnow: The time change creates some challenges. The process is hard to manage to begin with. You literally get tens of thousands of entries. The eligibility period has remained the same. None of the rules and regulations around the process have changed, we just have less time to do all the work.
THR: Record sales are down and mergers are on the horizon. What is the future of the music industry? Portnow: We are in the midst of a confluence of very trying circumstances for our industry. I have no doubt that music will continue to play a vital and critical role in the lives of humanity. The interest and appetite for music is ever growing, not diminished. That's the good news. The facts are that we face some tough business decisions. We have to be willing to take a totally new view on how we will continue to provide music to the public and create a business model that works.
Reprint permission
