From punk to profits: MBop founder has seen both sides of music business

By Justin Stoneman

Thursday, 29 March 2007

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From a cutting edge music artist, to a businessman on the cutting edge of the music industry; Paul Ballance has traversed the spectrum. Nights spent onstage alongside names such as Johnny Rotten have turned to days dealing on the business stage alongside big hitters like iTunes.

Looking relaxed on the balcony of his Farringdon offices, the MBop Music founder admits it has been a colourful journey: "I'm not quite sure how I've survived it all; I guess if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. I don't regret the choices I've made; I've never taken the obvious path".

The 48-year-old has been through highs and lows, from his Seventies heyday - when he performed alongside Ian Drury and the Sex Pistols with his band the Warm Jets - to the tragic death in the Lockerbie air disaster of his bass player Paul Jeffreys.

With a CV that other music industry veterans would die for, Ballance has every right to claim he is leading his label along an enlightened path.

MBop is typical of the new wave of companies that have erupted since the online revolution reinvented the music industry.

The parallels between the struggles of music on the front line and the music business Ballance now negotiates provide many revealing connections. The new MBop business has successfully launched an attack on the big boys, aiming to upset their dominance, just as his band the Warm Jets challenged the likes of the Sex Pistols for on-stage supremacy.

Having been on the receiving end of major label financial mercy, Paul admits it is interesting to now be a key part of the industry upheaval: "We have positioned MBop very carefully. It provides a fusion of both promotion and distribution services for digital and physical music. The pop business has changed so much over the last decade. Few properly comprehend the new key opportunities. There are doors opening all the time and the majors are struggling to keep up. MBop has many arms: it is a digital sub-distributor, linked into the main i-shop retailers such as iTunes, Napster and MSN. We also have Megabop Records as a full physical record company in the conventional sense; we have every base covered."

It is obvious Ballance is happier discussing the days when he himself was making rather than selling the music.

"We played with many legends: the Pistols in the early Seventies at the 100Club was a highlight. I'll never forget it; somehow the consensus on the night was that we played them off the stage. Rotten was a classic star, a class act, we wouldn't share much banter backstage but I liked him, he had the world to deal with. It is a little like that now, we aren't afraid to take a bite at bigger prey," says Ballance with a warm chuckle.

The company began as a dance label with Megabop Records in 1999. Success with huge hit remixes like "Gonna Make You Sweat" by C+C Music Factory provided the long-term financial clout that enabled the business to develop into the digital age.

As a former artist, Ballance has unique experience on his side; he has a remarkable record of being signed to nearly every major label. Record companies such as Polydor, Jive and Mercury Records have all been tried and tested through his time with the Warm Jets (and other groups such as the Electric Eels). He has also had publishing deals with BMG and Zomba.

"I've been lucky enough to see the music world from every angle; I know how both sides work," he confides. He has seen every tactic and manoeuvre used by record companies. "You learn some hard lessons, but it has come full circle and now stands me very well when negotiations get heated," he says. "We had some pretty lousy deals over the years, but we had very positive experiences as well, I'll keep my powder dry and not name names. The music industry is like any other: money is ultimately the decisive factor in decision making."

Ballance claims he has no regrets that the Warm Jets failed to live up to expectations. "To make it to the top as a music act is a lottery. Everything has to turn in your favour. With us everything seemed to turn against us. You have to accept the hand fate deals you. We were somewhat ahead of our time, we had a dance edge that was at odds with the punk scene through that period. Brian Eno is a useful sonic comparison: a few years later and we would probably have caught the wave to take us on to mainstream success."

It is ironic that he capitalised on the dance phenomenon in a different guise, with a clever business manoeuvre. "I knew dance was going to be huge and I was able to pinpoint where to lay the foundations, to capitalise on new dance talent. It was an investment gamble, but the scene exploded and the prediction was correct, it paid off."

Ballance is also launching the chart linked MBopMegastore.com; providing an online distribution platform. He explains: "Apart from our own catalogue we also have great contemporary labels we operate with such as V2; modern popular music; and then classic hits material with sources such as the Delta music catalogue - a complete package for every musical taste."

His band the Warm Jets actually featured two original members of legendary rockers Cockney Rebel. One of those, the bass player Paul Jeffreys, was tragically killed in the Lockerbie disaster. "He should never have been on that plane," Ballance says. "He was scheduled to be on another flight and it was changed at the last minute. He was only 36; it was a tragic loss to me, to his family, to all his friends, and of course to the music world."

While fate has dictated that Balance's life as a cult star is now a distant memory, a lifetime of success in the music industry looks to continue. "We are enjoying a huge 2007; the launch of the Megastore has been timetabled very carefully, the next 12 months are carefully mapped. We will also be expanding our digital marketing team, the addition to the board of Nigel Wilton, one of the finest experts in music PR, has come at a superb time."

There are even rumours of a secret return to the studio for Ballance, a Gorillaz style music animation project."I've had some big offers but I can't reveal anything at the moment," he says. "People can rest easy though, they might hear my voice but I'll not be in front of the camera. These days I only let the music take centre stage."