Veteran music govt Benny Pough appeared on Hip Hop & Enterprise to dig into his new memoir On Impression: Life, Management and Betting on Your self, a set of life highlights sharing truths that guided him by way of years of going from an intern to CEO.
Pough has held govt roles at main document labels like Motown, Def Jam, and MCA Data, together with his tenure as the previous govt vp of Epic Data and the previous president of Roc Nation Music. His résumé contains breaking radio hits for celebrity artists reminiscent of Jay-Z, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, The Roots, Travis Scott, Future, Yo Gotti, 21 Savage, and lots of extra.
Pough’s skyrocketing rise as a prime music govt took a drastic pause in 2014 when he was concerned in a near-fatal automobile accident that modified his life without end. After a grueling highway to restoration, Pough used that transformative expertise to launch his first memoir.
With On Impression, Pough goals to encourage others by sharing truths that guided him by way of years of unparalleled success, going from intern to CEO. “We hit the tree so arduous that it severed two toes of my small gut,” Pough informed BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“In that second, God put a ebook inside me, which modified me referred to as “On Impression.”
The ebook’s title serves as a double that means for the near-fatal crash Pough survived and the acronym he created for the phrase “Impression.”
“Impression is an acronym that stands for instinct, mastery, pivot, authenticity, connection, and teamwork,” he stated.
The expertise drastically modified Pough’s views on psychological well being and normalized conversations across the matter. With over 30 years within the leisure trade, Pough has seen all of it. However he applauds in the present day’s leisure figures who haven’t shied away from stressing the significance of self-love and psychological well being. “There are some large stars who’ve been public concerning the challenges that they’ve had, that they cope with to beat,” Pough stated.
“I imply, such as you received to applaud Charlamagne, for his work within the areas is, how a lot greater are you able to get than that with a man who has tens of millions of listeners and followers and reveals, and he’s embraced it and held on to that to let you recognize, it’s OK.”
Pough touched on the processes to assist a newly signed artist transition into stardom and the way psychological well being is extra prioritized now than throughout his begin within the trade. Pough additionally advises anybody trying to break into the music trade and his newest actual property investments by way of Al J. Britt Enterprises, his actual property administration firm that has garnered over 100 doorways as a part of his portfolio.
Press play under to listen to extra on Pough’s rise as a music govt, his new memoir, and his perception into the music trade’s present state.