Trailers, Garages & Cottages: The Sheer Music Publishing Story (Part I)
by Sheldon Rocha Leal
The Music business is a multi-billion dollar international industry, so pervasive that it drives the multi-trillion dollar entertainment sector. If one considers that every time one attends a sports event, turns on a television, listens to a commercial, attends a movie, plays a game, buys clothing at a store, or even dines out, Music is an integral part of these experiences. In this article I will highlight a homegrown company, which has become a beacon of success, not only in South Africa but worldwide. The company has attained global recognition and respectability for its ethical practices and commitment to the development of vernacular culture and Music. The company is called Sheer Music Publishing and was founded by the enigmatic David Alexander, a man who has mastered the art of pivoting as expounded in the book “Tarzan Economics” by Will Page.
“Tarzan Economics” talks about knowing when to let go of the old vine in favour of the new one (i.e. the next opportunity) to maximise profitability and career success. Before delving into the history and development of Sheer and its leader, let’s explore this concept of publishing and some of the lesser-known aspects of the Music industry. The engine room of the Music business is the song (i.e. content) and its usage, which is essentially publishing, an area seldomdly publicised and spoken about. This is possibly because on the surface it may not seem as “sexy” as the recording industry, which gains a lot more air time. My belief, however, is that whomever controls the content, controls the industry, which is why I find publishing such an interesting area of focus.
Moreover, I prefer to showcase aspects and individuals within the business that are often overlooked. Their stories are as important, if not more important, than those of the stars, because behind every celebrated individual there is an infrastructure that supports their endeavours. Furthermore, in highlighting the unhighlighted, one brings attention to different spheres of the industry and alerts people to the plethora of opportunities that exist within it. This, therefore, opens up the doors of the business to people who may not have considered such career paths, ultimately stimulating and strengthening the sector.
Essentially, the Music business caters to people with different aptitudes, abilities and personality types, from the extroverted Rock Star, to the silent organiser, and each function can be equally financially rewarding. In fact, many of the “peripheral” figures of the industry are often as successful, and sometimes even more so, than the stars themselves. If one interrogates the careers of people like David Geffen, Clive Calder, Guy Laliberté or Daniel Ek, names which may not be immediately recognisable, one will discover that they are some of the world’s most powerful Music leaders. Not only are they highly influential, they are possibly wealthier than some of the biggest recording artists.
The power of publishing is something that some recording artists have become all too aware of and have subsequently attempted to harness. The Beatles started their own publishing company in the 1960s, Northern Songs, which Michael Jackson famously bought it in the 1980s for approximately US$47million. His estate eventually sold this company to Sony in 2016 for US$750million. David Bowie listed his music as “Bowie Bonds” on the stock market in 1997 generating US$55million and Dolly Parton refused to sell the rights in “I Will Always Love You” in the 1970s to Elvis Presley. The Country Music legend went on to generate over US$16million in royalties when Whitney Houston covered the song for “The Bodyguard” Soundtrack in 1992 shipping over 60million records in the process.
Publishing is a lucrative business, offering songwriters the opportunity to amass a fortune by licensing their songs for use on multiple platforms and in various iterations. In the example of “I Will Always Love You”, Dolly Parton has recorded different versions of the song over different decades. Additionally, there are cover versions of the song performed by Linda Ronstadt, Sarah Washington, Kristin Chenoweth, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers and Beyoncé Knowles, to name but a few. All these versions become separate income streams for the songwriter. It is, therefore, clear that publishing income can be exponential and may result in consistent remuneration over a songwriter’s lifetime and even after they have gone.
Reverting back to the Sheer story as an example of publishing success, it highlights that hard-work and perseverance can be rewarding and result in prosperity for all involved. The company had humble beginnings, like the history of many iconic businesses like Apple and Microsoft, which started in a garage or Virgin Records, which started in a room (this will be elucidated as we progress). The focus will now be on the man who had the vision to start this company, his background and the strategic manner in which he consistently repositioned the organisation for maximum exposure and income generation.
Billboard Magazine listed David Alexander as one of the top “International Power Players” in 2021 and through Sheer Publishing he has generated millions for music creators and employed many in the process. But it all had to start somewhere…He went to high school at the prestigious King Edward VII High School, where his parents encouraged him to pursue tertiary studies as an accountant. After graduating from high school he went to study business at First in General Business at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He eventually changed his degree to Theology and finally a Bachelor of Social Science, which he obtained in 1991. Whilst at UCT and living in residence he got involved in the institution’s social life, organising events, and booking acts for various university sanctioned encounters.
These experiences were his first interactions with the Mueic world, an area or career he had never considered pursuing. Identifying a gap in the market and knowing his organizational skills and business acumen could result in success for those around him, he decided to start representing the acts he booked. This was a first step in an illustrious career. He spent a year after completing his studies in the U.K., eventually returning to South Africa in 1992. On his return he joined his high school friend and former UCT flatmate, Jason Lurie, at his vanity-recording label, Tequila Records, which was run out of his garage at his home in Observatory in Johannesburg. Vanity, because it essentially only represented one act, Jason’s band Cactus. The story of two friends starting an empire, in a garage, is an entrepreneurial handbook business cliché.
These were, however, tumultuous times in South African history. In 1990, the ruling National Party released Nelson Mandela after a 28-year imprisonment. As the country prepared for its first democratic elections in 1994, it embarked on a journey of reintegrating into world markets, regaining its position on the global stage. However, alongside the promise of opportunity, economic challenges loomed large, leading to a recession. Furthermore, the deregulation of national airwaves transformed radio from segregated stations catering to specific language groups to regional platforms. This shift coincided with an influx of international music, triggering an identity crisis within the local Music scene.
Prior to this “opening up” many famous international recording artists were either banned by the ruling party or boycotted the country because of their opposition to the country’s racist policies. This isolation created a “greenhouse effect”, of sorts, in the South African Music industry. This effect resulted in the recording industry focusing their attention on finding and developing local talent and stars, as international acts were not an option. Many iconic South African acts emerged at this time: Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brenda Fassie, MarcAlex, Chico Twala, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ray Phiri (Stimela), Johnny Clegg (Juluka), Mango Groove, Laurika Rauch…
The post 1990 problem was that many recording companies favoured the promotion of international acts over the discovery and development of local talent. The reason for this was twofold. Firstly, there was a hunger for international content. Secondly, it was cheaper and more profitable to market an international act, than investing the time and energy to find and develop local talent, which may not yield the same return on investment as an international act. Once the gates to the South African Music market opened, the country lost its musical identity, requiring a visionary like David to refocus the country’s attention on rediscovering its Music value proposition and unique selling point.
As with anyone pursuing an entrepreneurial venture, the “hustle is real” and whilst at Tequila Records David decided to start a publication called The Music Industry. It was initially a vehicle to promote Cactus and Tequila’s other musical properties. One of the people involved in the venture was Glynis O’Hara, an established entertainment journalist who went on to lead a successful career as editor at Media 24. This part of the story reminds me of the British Music publication, Melody Maker. It was established in 1926 by Lawrence Wright as a means of promoting the songwriters and songs represented by his company The Lawrence Wright Music Company.
After consulting with various industry stakeholders, at the beginning of his time at Tequila, David established that publishing was where the money resided. He, therefore, wanted to be part of what he foresaw would be a profitable musical venture, hoping to maximise the company’s income streams by delving into this part of the business. He also identified South Africa’s unique Music selling point, that which sets us apart from the rest of the world: Jazz, particularly Afro-Jazz. Tequila eventually convinced Mike Makhalemele, former session musician on Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album, to sign to the company. Their venture bore fruit in the guise of a South African Music Award (SAMA) win in 2000 in the category Best Traditional Jazz Performance for his album “Searching For The Truth”. Mike unfortunately passed away in the same year.
Other big names in South African Music followed suit, including Mauritz Lotz, The Jazz Hounds as well as the iconic Stimela (featuring the legendary Nana Coyote on vocals as Ray Phiri was touring with Paul Simon). For the latter the company produced their critically acclaimed 1996 album “Out of The Ashes” at a cost of R150,000. They secured the above acts, as well as other artists, by offering them preferential rates and terms, which they knew could not be beaten by the major recording and publishing companies. Furthermore, David and Jason identified talent in a young Karabo Motjioane, son of Nana Coyote, offering him a job at the company. He continued working with David for many years and has now assumed the role of A&R Manager within Downtown Music Services.
Marketing the above mentioned acts at Tequila involved hiring a trailer and pumping Music from speakers to attract prospective customers, whilst selling albums from the back of the vehicle. Not dissimilar to strategies utilised by early Rock ‘n Roll promoters who sold records out of the boot (trunk) of their cars, like Leonard Chess and his brothers in the 1950s at Chess Records or Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Tequila grew to become three different entities: Tequila Music (Recording label), Productions (Music Videos) and Publishing. Although the company acquired a reputation as a recording label, they were not known for the publication of songs. David, however, managed to secure a few publishing deals with established songwriters. He did this by offering them better rates than the more established publishing houses, initially placing these agreements in a drawer until he could figure out what to do with them.
In order to take his publishing venture to the next level he needed to secure sub-publishing deals, with international players, to offer his songwriters exposure to a larger market. One of David’s first sub-publishing deals was with British based Palan Music in the mid-1990s. Whilst at MIDEM (Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale) in Cannes, David had a fortuitous meeting with Raymond Fane of Ring Records who facilitated a meeting with the owners of Palan Music in the U.K. After leaving Cannes, David travelled to Camden, London, to meet with Palan Music. Coincidentally, Palan was also interested in finding a sub-publisher in South Africa to increase their songwriter’s exposure in the country and possibly continent, resulting in new income streams for their content creators.
The meeting proved opportune since David also expressed interest in meeting with Counterpoint, the developers of a piece Music publishing administration software called Music Maestro. It happened that Counterpoint was conveniently located near the Palan offices, facilitating the finalisation of two deals. The deal with Palan gave David and his company the administration rights to 25,000 songs in South Africa, whilst the deal with Counterpoint gave David a license to use Maestro in the country. These two deals helped him pivot from the recording business into the publishing sector and lay the foundation for what would eventually become Sheer Music Publishing. The software helped improve efficiencies in the administration of publishing with South African collection societies, whereas the Palan deal improved David’s status in publishing circles as it was a major international deal. These two deals were game changers.
The catalogue meant that Tequila Publishing administered the publishing rights of songs performed by some of the world’s most well-known artists. These included artists like Jamiroquai, Fleetwood Mac, Judas Priest, Cliff Richard, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Isaac Hayes and Buena Vista Social Club. The problem, however, was that Tequila could only take David to a certain point, and he was yearning for a major change in his career. Although Tequila had attained great critical success, the profit margins were narrow and the company was in major debt. The company was all about the “Music” and “creative process” and not enough about profitability, which is an economically unsustainable model. David started thinking that the status quo could not persist and that there must be a more efficient and lucrative ways of conducting business in the industry. A few incidents ignited David’s resolve to pivot to the next phase of his career.
The story thus far proves that the path to success requires many sacrifices, perseverance and dedication. It also reinforces that fact that sometimes the best laid plans may not always result in what the protagonist expected. Reaching this point in David’s career required the resolve and foresight to interrogate different options and ascertain the best path to victory. Sometimes the most obvious path is not the most lucrative one, which means that one sometimes needs to forgo one’s ego to make decisions that will ultimately articulate into greater gains and victories down the road. In the next part of the story I will investigate the establishment of Sheer Music and Publishing as one of the greatest independent Music labels in the history of the country.
