đź’ Harvey Mason Jr. for ODDA Magazine
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 20th Issue “There is a Time”.
HARVEY MASON JR.
Harvey Mason Jr. has had a pretty wild ride as interim CEO and President of the Re- cording Academy. He was tapped for the top post just days before the Grammys took place in January 2020. He then spent the rest of the year helping musicians make it through the pandemic via the Academy’s MusiCares initiative, responded to the social justice movement by launching the Black Music Collective project, and more recently he made the tough call to push back the 2021 Grammys show to March 14th, in re- action to the COVID-19 conditions in California. Music is Mason’s life’s blood and he is on a mission with the non-profit Recording Academy to uplevel the industry as it faces the new normal.
JESSICA MICHAULT. Your whole life has been infused with music. Can you take me back to that time growing up and some of those strong childhood memories that were set to music?
HARVEY MASON JR. Music has always been a part of my life. Both of my parents were musicians. My dad was a drummer and my mom was a trombone player. I was always around music and musicians. My dad ended up being a session musician for a lot of years. He played all genres. I was around a lot of amazing artists at such an early age. I started taking piano lessons and grew up making music. I grew up thinking that was just the way life was for everyone, but I never really knew how lucky I was to be around such high-quality musicians, artists, and producers. Going with my dad to see Quincy Jones, it was amazing to see them work on projects together. Music is in my DNA and bloodstream.
J.M. Talk to me about the transition of your love to music as a child into it becoming your life’s work.
H.M.J. I didn’t know it was going to be my life’s work. I was an athlete in college playing basketball and I had dreams of being in the NBA. But I suffered an injury that made me refocus. I was always playing piano, writing music, and using it as an outlet for things or emotions that I wanted to talk about. Then when I ended my basketball career, I started to refocus and I started to write songs. It took some time, but I started to pitch my ideas, and people just started to like the mu- sic. I have been very fortunate to work with some amazing artists like Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. They were some of my idols and having the opportunity to work with all these big names. Also having the opportunity to work with up coming artists like Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, and Chis Brown that eventually became legends. You don’t know if they are going to be amazing but you sense something in their talent, voice, and story. I have been very fortunate but always humbled to work with so many amazing talents.
J.M. You pushed the Grammys from January to March because of the COVID situation. How are you reimagining the show, knowing that, I fear, by March we will still not be out of the woods yet?
H.M.J. We knew that March was not going to be a window where we were going to be free of the virus or that everyone was going to have the vaccine. We were concerned about the overloaded healthcare system in January. We did not want to put any additional tax on those people and facilities. We postponed knowing that there were still going to be issues, but we did not want to add to the craziness of the L.A. situation. We have an incredible show, an amazing lineup of artists. I am really look- ing forward to it. I think that it is important that we take the time to come together around music. That is one of the things that music does so well in times like this where we are all over the place, sometimes music can be that unifying force.
J.M. The last Grammys took place in the before times, January 26, 2020. What have you learned from all of the other awards shows that have had to scramble to go digital during the past year that you are onboarding or leaving by the wayside for your show?
H.M.J. More than anything, I really sympathize with anyone trying to do a production during the pandemic. It is work. It is unlike anything that has been done before, so there are things that are being figured out on the go. Watching other shows has been really helpful. We want to do something different, we want to do something that people have not seen before on T.V. We are taking into account what has been done in the past and making sure that we are doing something different. This is the chance for organizations to be really strategic and to look at things from different perspectives. I have tried to do that with the organization and also just as a person.
J.M. For you personally, what music has been on heavy rotation in your house, and what song is your go-to energy booster?
H.M.J. Not any one particular artist or song, but music has absolutely been on a constant loop. I just love music that much and my mood and energy are impacted heavily by music. I love the calming sensation that you can get from the right song or the relaxing energy that you can get from the right music. I also have kids, so they are playing music that they love. They introduce me to music all the time. Music is a constant in every part of my life. I am also in the studio every day alongside work I do for the Academy. It is crazy how nonstop music is part of my life.
J.M. This past year, it has come to light that there is the need for more diversity, equity, and inclusivity across all industries. It is nice to see that the Grammys nominees this year are such a diverse group of artists. How are you cultivating a DEI culture at the Grammys and how did you feel when those names came up as nominations?
H.M.J. I am always nervous when thenames come up, now more so than ever. People look at me like I have an impact on the selections. So I was initially nervous, but I was very pleased with the diversity that came with it along with the gender balance that I thought that we have missed in years. A lot of genres were represented as well. I still think we still have work to do as an organization to make sure that we are diverse and inclusive. We are working really hard on our membership, that is what it comes down to. It is about the voting body that decides who gets the nomination or the win. This year, I think that the voting body has done a really respectable job. Wehave already started to do the work that it takes to evolve our voting membership. It is about 12,000 people that vote, it is music professionals that vote on these awards, not fans. Making sure that our membership is developed and diverse, which is really important to the Academy.
J.M. After 40 years with Ken Ehrlich leading the way, there is a new executive producer taking point for these Grammys; Ben Winston. Why was Ben the right person to pick up the baton and what does he bring to the Grammys?
H.M.J. It has been great, bringing fresh en- ergy and a fresh set of eyes to everything. The energy is different, the outlook is a different perspective, the tone has changed considerably. Ben is different in the sense that he is very team-oriented, which I love because I come from sports. He has five or six other co-producers that work with him and on our side, we have other people involved from the Academy so it is a cool group of people coming together to build this show. I love to work in collaboration. I have made all my music through workingwith other people.
J.M. You are also new to taking the top spot, stepping into it just days before the January 2020 show got underway. What has the experience been like for you to take on this role as chief of the Recording Academy, particularly at this time?
H.M.J. My whole platform was based on change, improvement, and looking at everything we did at the Academy. I felt like we could be more relevant, inclusive,and diverse. I ran on that platform, and when they asked me to step in as President and CEO, I saw it as an opportunity. I saw it as a way to continue to do the work I did as chair and I would have the additional reach and have the ability to really make the changes that I wanted to do. I was sad about the timing of it all and it being that close to the show. I did not want to remove any of the focus of the people that de-served to be represented in the show. But I was happy to step in and saw it as an opportunity to make some needed change.
J.M. Tell me about the Black Music Collective project and how the MusiCares initiative was activated during the pandemic to help struggling musicians.
H.M.J. MusiCares has been around for quite some time now and they have been doing some amazing work year after year. But this year particularly during the pandemic it’s been incredible what they have been able to do. MusiCares is the safety net for the community. It is the organization that steps in when someone needs help, or when they can’t pay their rent, or they lost a gig, or they require medical attention. They have done that impeccably well for many years, but during the pandemic, there has been a huge demand for service and assistance. Music people were really some of the first people to find themselves out of work during the pandemic and will be some of the last people to come back. As far as the Black Music Collective is concerned, it was formed at a time when the Academy realized that we were not able to understand all the issues around black music and we needed help. We needed to be able to rely on people in that community that could advise and tell us how we can do better. The B.M.C. was for me and it was the first organization in the history of the Academy like that. We have our producers and engineers wing that works similarly to the B.M.C. in the sense that they advise us on problems that are going on with producers and engineers but the B.M.C. is talking directly to leadership and telling us what is important to them. It is the early stages for the B.M.C., but we have started some really exciting initiatives, some real transformative and long lasting changes are coming.
J.M. When you hear stats about the music industry, like less than one percent of artists make it as mainstream artists, or the success rate while signed with a major label is one in 2149, what advice do you give those who want to be a working musician to be their career in life?
H.M.J. I can tell you that the majority of the members of the Academy are working-class musicians, they are using and playing music to earn a decent living. A lot of people think of the members as rock stars or pop stars flying on jets and driving luxury cars. A very small percentage of our people are doing that and kudos to them. The majority of our members are just trying to do what they love and appreciate. My advice to new artists and creators coming into the industry is to do it for the right reasons, and that is because you love it and are passionate about music and you can’t imagine doing anything else with your life. The music industry is hard, difficult, and competitive, and there are so many people that want to do it. It is a lot like the NFL or NBA. You have to eat, sleep, and breathe music if you want to be in this industry. It is not a casual industry. My advice is to be passionate,bepreparedforthelonghaul. Be ready to sacrifice and to do anything for your art. If you live and approach it that way then I think you will find success, but that is just my personal opinion.
J.M. What are you looking forward to doing first, once we are all able to gather together again without fear of the virus?
H.M.J. The first thing I want to do is to travel somewhere, listen to live music, sing at the top of my lungs, and dance with other people. I want to be in the mosh pit somewhere in a beautiful country listening to some incredible music. I really miss that interaction that you find through listening to music. Another thing that I really look forward to getting back to is the normal mode of collaborating. Nothing measures up to when you can sit in a room and hang out with somebody and go through the creative process together. I miss that way of working and I miss what comes out of that magic of multiple people in the same room.
In conversation with JESSICA MICHAULT
Edited by DOMINIC CELEMEN
Image by RatedRnB
