One in a Billion

My old boss, mentor, and Decca Records president Tom Lewis sent me this wonderful screenshot before it landed on socials yesterday. A classy touch.
I’m currently in bed with the flu. Being unwell gives you a moment to slow down and reflect. I felt compelled to share some early Aurora-related memories. There is probably no better forum for such a thing, right? I’m not a deep-thinking industry strategist, so please be gentle with me, LinkedIn.

Being brutally honest, my career in A&R never quite followed the route I thought it would. COVID, complications around the birth of my son, personal health issues, and complex family challenges meant that at 30, I suddenly had a life that was not conducive to major label A&R. Not to do the job justice, anyway…

Signing Aurora.

I managed to secure Jørgen Sælensminde Avsnes a work experience opportunity in sales at Decca. He visited my desk every day for three weeks, updating me on the Aurora story unfolding in Norwegian cities. She was selling out shows, with crowds outside eager to get in, outnumbering those inside. Truth be told, I wasn’t taking Jørgen’s tip seriously. Thankfully, Jørgen is extremely persistent.

Aurora was given a last-minute TV slot in Norway on NRK. I watched and listened, transfixed, unable to look away. To say it was action stations after seeing that performance is an understatement.

It was competitive and, in all honesty, Decca probably wasn’t the favourite to seal the deal. My first meeting with Aurora was intense, honest, and so, so pure. As she left, she told me that she felt comfortable around us. She saw good colours in my aura. Blue, in case you were wondering… I was in awe of the way Aurora presented herself at such a young age. I was lost in her words, and her ‘in-office performance’ was up there with anything I had seen before. Little did I know, we had only just seen the tip of the iceberg.

I was inexperienced as a ‘dealmaker’ and thankfully Dickon Stainer and Tom Lewis went over to Bergen one final time to work some magic. The negotiation was slick. Per M. , Paul Spraggon , Tom Lewis, Noorjhan Green and I hashed out deal terms in a single afternoon. We finally signed Aurora pre-daytime show on a sunny afternoon in Berlin.
It takes a village to get an artist to the level of international success Aurora has had. When considering the churn we see within labels, publishers, and externals, there are probably thousands of people who will have now played a part in her journey. That wasn’t always the case. The team was tiny at the beginning. I was arranging writing sessions, organising photoshoots, writing bios, and I even ran the PR campaign for the first major single, ‘Under Stars’ myself. It turned out the blogosphere was ready for Aurora, and the reviews came in thick and fast. We were off.
The internal sell was one of the most exciting things about this project. One by one, the team began to realise what we had on our hands. Three interested parties led to ten, which led to thirty, which led to champions popping up across all departments in multiple territories. Aurora performed at an internal Universal conference in front of all the frontline Universal labels and came away as the winner. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Runaway came very early on. I was worried it was coming too early. That we hadn’t set the right foundations. We have often seen great songs fall by the wayside without getting the recognition they deserve. Aurora knew this record was timeless. She wrote it when she was 11, so she had already lived with it and refined it for many years. What tipped it for me? I had a sneaky suspicion she had it in her to write and record many songs to this level of quality.

At this juncture, it’s very important to mention Ed Poston . Ed signed Aurora to Glassnote in conjunction with the Decca deal. We A&R’d the first record together. Our styles could not have been more different. Ed, forensic in the mix, using his bat ears to pull out that extra 5%. Me, more gut-driven, placing trust in the people in the studio. It took us a hot minute to find a way of working together. Once we did, it was incredible. Ed has become a great friend and counsel whom I lean on for advice to this day.

The music video budget was peanuts, but Brighton-based director Kenny McCracken managed to box up some magic. That video is at 681 million and counting. Katy Perry was an early fan and Billie Eilish has stated many times that video is the sole reason she became an artist.

Runaway has taken on its own life since I moved off the project, and that’s testament to the amazing work the staff across the labels have continued to do. Sam Mumford took over the A&R baton from me, and it’s been a joy to watch him work with the same level of dedication and energy.

A few final thoughts.

*It’s possible to learn on the job when you are in safe hands. Aurora had the wheel. I was doing my theory in the passenger seat.

*Momentum on a project is gold. Fuel it!

* Every artist's journey is different. The one-size-fits-all approach does not work.

*Take strength and motivation from the negative Nellies. There were many doubters at the beginning. Radio and TV were challenging in the UK.

*Don’t try and A&R a record for the entire population on single one. Identify the tribe, serve them, and let them spread the word.

*Aurora was my first signing, so I didn’t have a roster to juggle. I spent around 50 hours a week on the project for nine months straight. The point is: Make that first big move count, because that kind of time investment is a rare opportunity.

I can often be found in the crowd at Aurora shows. I have always felt a bit like David Brent returning to the paper merchants in Slough years later with his dog Nelson. It’s a strange, overwhelming feeling, but the main feeling is pride.

I bumped into Aurora for the first time at Universal HQ just ahead of her iconic Royal Albert Hall performance last year. Very few words were exchanged. We hugged in silence, she saluted me as she does, and we went our separate ways.

I remember watching Aurora perform at a festival near Ålesund. I stood next to her dad, Jan. He turned to me mid-set and said,

‘You and the team won’t mess this up, will you, Danny?’

I wish I had replied, ‘Impossible when you are working with one in a billion.’