In September 2005 Scott Borchetta left his job at Universal to bet on himself and start his own record label he called Big Machine Records.
There’s only one problem, at the time it wasn’t big and there certainly was no machine. In an interview with Larry King, Borchetta said:
“I named it Big Machine because we were anything but a big machine. We were 13 people and had just enough money to get started. I thought why not make a bold statement. I didn’t tell the staff we weren’t a big machine, I just proclaimed us one.”
It was a vision. And while he was drafting his plans for the new record label he received a demo tape from an unknown 14 year old singer.
That singer became his first signing.
Her name…
Taylor Swift.
Fast forward just six years and by March 2011 Taylor Swift had sold more than 33 million song downloads and became the top-selling digital artist in music history.
This week Scooter Braun, the celebrity talent manager who is credited with discovering Justin Bieber, just reached a deal to buy the Big Machine record label for a reported $300 million.
Big Machine’s name says it all. And in 14 years it’s become one of the largest labels on Nashville’s Music Row. It’s stable of artists includes Sheryl Crow, Florida-Georgia Line, and Lady Antebellum, just to name a few.
My point? I’ve got two.
- Everything great starts with a leader who has a big vision
What is your big vision and when are YOU going to bet on yourself by declaring it to the world?
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