Paula Moore of ‘Greater Than’ On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Edward Sylvan

It’s all about checking in with yourself and figuring out what you really need. I specifically use aromatherapy and walks on the beach to take care of myself to avoid burnout. I also really love what I do so that helps!

As a part of our series about rising music stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Paula Moore.

Paula Moore was the first female A&R research executive in the music industry. During her time as an executive at two major label groups, she built the industry’s first A&R research platform, connecting A&R executive staff, scouts, artists, and data. Today, she is still the only female senior-level A&R research executive with IP assets. Paula continues to innovate the music industry and is the founder and CEO of GREATERTHAN, a web3 company exploring big ideas by combining A&R research discovery and A&R driven NFT collections in the music culture brand space with a new boutique designer distribution platform in it’s A&R Innovation Lab.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I started as a club promoter and talent scout in Dallas, Texas in the 1990s. I knew early on that I wanted to help artists have more opportunities and to become successful, because I loved discovering and molding new talent.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Too many to name, from artists that would become superstars like Nirvana, to being responsible for building the first A&R scouting program in the music industry in the early 2000s.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

All the lessons and more are really in my new book Glitter & Grit, and I wrote it to help others not make the same mistakes.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

We are developing career launchpads for the next generation of music industry professionals and creative talent, and also innovating A&R.

We are proud of our latest programs launched:

• The only A&R Scout training program in the industry
• A&R Culture Marketing Launchpad
• A&R Innovation Lab
• Designer Distribution

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I make a point in my daily business practice to lift women up in the industry and help create more opportunities for underserved creative professionals.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Be prepared to be betrayed -which is a consistent theme coursing through every chapter of my book. Also, be sure to take care of your creative house first before you take care of others. There are so many more lessons I have learned described in the book.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It’s all about checking in with yourself and figuring out what you really need. I specifically use aromatherapy and walks on the beach to take care of myself to avoid burnout. I also really love what I do so that helps!

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

That’s what I am doing with my whole company- I am inspiring a movement to be Greater- that’s why I call it Greater Than. I want to inspire everyone, especially Creatives, to be greater every day.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Jeff Harleston, a top music executive at Universal for over two decades, saw enough potential in me to create a position for me and move me out to Los Angeles to work at a Universal label.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Richard Branson because he is such an amazing and inspiring entrepreneur.

How can our readers follow you online?

My business Instagram is @greaterthanhq_musicdiscovery and my personal one is @paulamooreventures

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.

In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.

Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.

With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.