Grammy Award winning and multi-platinum music producer/composer/arranger/songwriter and recording artist Teddy Riley has begun his global talent search for songwriters and producers to come aboard his powerful and far-reaching movement, TR Music Group. His company, a partnership with crooner Keith Sweat, boasts a record label, publishing department and talent agency.
2012 marked the 25-year anniversary for Teddy Riley being the creator/architect of the “New Jack Swing” genre of music, according to his bio. In recent years, Teddy expanded his global movement by successfully delving into the K-Pop genre, and is credited for being the first African American to bring Korean Pop Music (K-Pop) to the USA.
One of his recent K-Pop success came with his hand-picked girl group “Girls Generation,” who made their US debut to a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden in October of 201ll. Under his leadership, the group sold nearly 500,000 unites of their No.1 hit LP “The Boys” and logged more than 40 million YouTube views.
A little known fact is that Teddy Riley produced the “Dangerous” LP by Michael Jackson which sold more than 32 million copies worldwide, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the Billboard 200 chart for 117 weeks! He won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and the album received three Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Male, Best R&B; Vocal male and “Jam” as Best R&B; Song. Riley was only 23 at the time.
To date, according to his bio, Teddy Riley has more than 600 credits to his name including film scores/compositions for “Do the Right Thing,” “Rugrats The Move,” “House Party,” “Money Train”, “Wild Wild West,” … well you get the picture!
Teddy Riley has absolutely earned the title “The King of New Jack Swing,” his legendary innovation and technical expertise will forever keep his name in the top pages of music history annals. His name and likeness attached to a project ensures a quality of the nature attributed to a ‘Special Forces operator,’ everything will be as perfect as humanly possible and he will be hands on, overseeing every detail to bring the best from the artist and project.
I was recently given some valuable time by “The King of New Jack Swing” between his international activities, working feverishly on the new Blackstreet LP, furnishing a new home, furniture shopping, etc. Even with all of that going on, Teddy gave me nearly a full hour of his undivided attention and our in depth interview was enlightening and motivational. Via this interview, although I am not a recording artist, my faith was renewed in the future of the music industry. I feel assured that the industry leaders such as Teddy have taken notice of the current state of the music community and are launching active programs to take music back to the level of purity and positive social impact of days gone by.
Here are some key highlights of our recent conversation:
I asked Teddy about his new talent search and he explained, “We have now put together our new publishing company TR Music Group and we are looking for songwriters for every genre.” “TR Music Group is the enterprise/entertainment company which encompasses the publishing department, TR X the technology company and several others including the record label.”
Teddy says, “It’s a global talent search.” He continues, “Our overall goal is to provide a home for songwriters and artists to come to and trust that we will keep them busy, challenged and provide as many opportunities as possible for them to grow and earn.”
As we discussed the role of his new company and what it means to the industry and upcoming artists, Teddy explained his continued leadership role and that of his company. “We are looking to create the new legends.” “Right now there isn’t anyone taking responsibility for creating the new legends, the Guy, the Blackstreet, the 112, the Silk, the SWV.” “Keith Sweat and I thought about doing our own talent agency so we have partnered on this venture to build these artist, get them constant work and keep them on tour.” “That’s our plan” he said.
Teddy explained more about his partnership with Keith Sweat, indicating they are doing more than just music. “We are creating TV shows, we are considering films that we have on the table, and those are just some of the things we have going on in the background.” He described the venture as developing their career beyond the music industry.
As always when I get to speak with the legends of the industry, I try to get their take on the BUSINESS side and he agreed with me that this is an extremely important point to cover. We share a belief that new artists and even some older more experienced performers, forget the underlying fact that a key word in “Entertainment Business” IS the word “BUSINESS.”
Encompassed in the conversation, he held up TR Music Group as an example of the entrepreneurial spirit, creating a home for clients to be represented by an experienced, motivated team of professionals leveraging their skills and network to gain work for their roster.
Here is where I venture my analysis of the new situation … TR Music Group is not just a money making machine. Their goal is to continue the leadership role established by Teddy Riley, to provide a one-stop shop for songwriters and producers to catch ahold of some expert guidance and access to outlets that they normally wouldn’t have as an individual. Teddy agreed with my assessment that the situation leverages the Teddy Riley brand, for the betterment of the client and basically takes them by the hand and walks them through the maze of the industry.
“We’ve been doing this,” he said. I kind of stepped out of it for a while but am back now full-throttle because the people of our generation are now in major positions, so now we can really go back to the 90s and 80s when music was great and people were taking it seriously.” “We are getting these kids work in not only music but also film, commercials and television.” “There are other businesses out there that are able to broaden the abilities of all of the music that we are doing,” he says.
In supporting his global talent search, Teddy says his recent foray into the Korean music market refreshed his understanding that music is not limited by geographical boundaries; it’s an international language unto itself. He told me he moved to Korea during his expansion into the K-Pop genre and the fact that his talent and music was met with appreciation, despite language barriers, was a key point in returning to the USA and launching his new venture.
Limited by space, I will wrap-up saying my conversation with this humble living legend revitalized my belief in the future of the music business. His energy is infectious, his dedication to the music world is evident in all that he does and his heart is open to reach out and share his experience to ensure that the new generation gets the education, exposure and protection he feels they deserve. While it is a great motive in and of itself, I see it in a greater light. New songwriters and producers have been led astray and their education has been neglected … sacrificed for the love of money. The King of New Jack Swing is back to give his energy to bringing music back to its former glory and importance — his dedication is much appreciated.
Our conversation lasted much longer than I could put into this interview; I look forward to bringing you the continuation at a later date but know that the story does not stop here.
According to his bio, Teddy Riley is currently working feverishly in his Atlanta studio preparing to release a one of a kind new Blackstreet LP. As a kick-off to his 25 Year Anniversary celebration, a proclamation created by the Atlanta City Council, the Mayor and other officials was recently presented to him in honor of his major contributions to the music industry.
You can get a detailed list of Teddy Riley’s accolades and credits on allmusic.com.
