Ex Pat Files: Kirk Harding: EVP of SRC in NYC
Author: Emma Philpott
Having been integral in the development and success of Supergroove, Urban Pacifika and Che Fu through his A&R with BMG NZ Ltd in the mid '90s, Kirk Harding left NZ for bigger things late in 1999. He had been offered the significant role of Senior Vice President (International) of New York hardcore hip hop label Loud.Living now in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Kirk has since made it back to New Zealand only once, escorting Tha Liks, one of Loud's name hip hop acts, to the Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit in 2001.
In September last year Loud folded into Columbia Records where he turned down the offer of a senior marketing position. Instead, former Loud CEO Steve Rifkind, Kirk and a staff of six formed SRC (Street Records Corporation), which will drop its first release through Universal Music on May 20th. At SRC Kirk's new job title is Executive Vice President.
While he has been scouting out fresh talent for the new label, Kirk definitely hasn't been in isolation from the music scene back home and a number of Kiwis have popped in to make use of his NYC connections. He found a few moments to brief NZM on the last few years.
What caused you to leave NZ in '99?
A lot of things lead to my decision to take the job of Senior VP of Loud's International Department. I had already turned down several positions with labels in the US and around the world because I was still helping to build the profiles of Supergroove, Che, Urban Pacifika – locally and internationally.
After Supergroove broke up and Che, DLT and Urban Pacifika dropped their first albums, I felt that I had done what I had needed to do to help kickstart their careers and that it was time to focus on my personal career.
It was also a major disappointment when (my mentor) Morrie Smith left BMG, and although I was extremely lucky to have benefited from five plus years working with him, I knew that the new regime wouldn't have his vision, passion and drive for local music. I couldn't see a place for me in that new regime so I went to law school for my final two years in NZ and got the call from Loud to come over the day I finished my end of year exams.
Why were you, an Auckland record company rep, sought after by US labels?
Several reasons. My timing was good, I had just started telling people that I was ready to move to New York when the job came up. Actually, L.A. Reid was looking for me to work with him in Atlanta at the same time. I had great relationships with the guys at Loud, they respected my grind – every time they saw me, I was trying to sell NZ hip hop to the world – and they thought selling underground NY hip hop was hard!? I had helped them to promote Loud in NZ, resulting in Wu Tang's second album holding the #1 album spot for two weeks.
What skills were they looking for do you think?
They were impressed by my total knowledge, the law school experience was a plus, my music retail history, bFM history and various responsibilities at BMG all helped. It really helped that I had a good knowledge of how all areas of a record company works and that I had to wear many hats at BMG. That is a distinct advantage in working in a small label structure, because for the most part its all the same in every company – some are just bigger versions.
How did they know about you?
I had met all the Loud people at BMG conferences around the world. Morrie Smith was very pro-active in sending me to present our artists at all annual BMG marketing conferences. I nurtured those relationships on my annual vacations to New York every year. They still remind me about the fresh New Zealander that walked in to their offices every year trying to sell them on Che Fu and Losttribe.
How did you avoid work permit problems in the US?
Loud and more recently SRC helped me to get my three-year work visas. It's not an easy process to get a business associated work visa, you have to have a degree (or 12 years in your profession), a sponsor and some time – because you will have to wait!
What were your responsibilities at Loud Records?
It changed over the course of my three year stay. I started as Senior VP which involved travelling with our artists (Beatnuts, Tha Liks, Xzibit, Mobb Deep, M.O.P, X-ecutioners etc.) through international territories, co-ordinating promotional tours overseas, ensuring that our product managers in all major territories supplied me with regular updates regarding budgets, marketing and release dates. I also set up street teams throughout Europe and DJ mailout lists for the world, which involved constant dialogue with DJs regularly and street teams daily.
After 18 months I moved into our local marketing team as a product manager and later VP of Marketing. I was directly responsible for marketing albums from The Beatnuts, Violator, Stimulated, X-ecutioners and dead prez.
