Interview: Todd Hensley

Meghan Trainor has made tremendous strides during the last two years, beginning with a massive debut single in “All About That Bass,” which led to the breakthrough album Title and culminated in her winning the Grammy for Best New Artist. The project was central to the turnaround of L.A. Reid’s Epic and thrust the 23-year-old Trainor from unknown to stardom. The all-important follow-up project is now in setup mode, and manager Troy Carter, the founder and Chairman/CEO of Atom Factory and one of the brightest entrepreneurs in the business, gamely fielded Todd Hensley’s questions, politely overlooking the enormous gap between their respective IQs.

You’re coming off a huge project. What are you doing as her manager in terms of what’s next and the development of her brand in general terms?
Overall, it’s been a fun journey over the last 18 months working with Meghan and seeing what her vision was from the time she launched “All About That Bass.” I remember we were pitching it to a couple of the talent agencies—thinking it should be a layup for her—and getting those emails back saying, “The song is OK, but we don’t think she’s a career artist.” From that point, knowing on our end that she was a songwriter and everything that was underneath the hood motivated us to really work our asses off and have the patience to tell the story. Going into Grammy voting season with the duet with John Legend through her being nominated and then winning Best New Artist was very special, because I knew the chips were stacked against her and how tough it has been to prove herself as a real artist and songwriter, and she’s done an incredible job. And now, moving forward, it’s about telling the rest of that story and showing that she’s not only a talented songwriter but also a great live performer. And given the ticket sales on the last tour and anticipating what we’re looking at now, she’s really just graduating from the junior varsity to the varsity going into this next cycle.

What are your touring plans? What size rooms are you going to do?
We’re gonna let the market dictate. Our focus now is on the next album. I’ve been meeting with L.A. Reid, Sylvia Rhone, and Meghan about launching this first single and making sure the album is what we think it is. Based on the market feedback and how well the record does, our main focus out of the gate will be promo. How can we take Meghan around the world, get her in front of as many eyeballs and audiences as possible, build up the record, let people see this transformation that she’s been undergoing? We’ll look at the touring after that.

In the promo run, what’s the rough itinerary?
We’re locking in all of our TVs, promotions, covers and performances for Europe right now. Asia was an incredible market for her; she had a ton of traction all throughout Australia and Asia—I think she had the second- or third-biggest album in Australia in this past year. So being able to go to those places and for her to be able to spend time is important, because we know that we’re still laying the foundation, so we’re not taking anything for granted. It’s the reason why we won’t go straight into arenas on this next record. It’s the reason why we’re rolling straight from the record with John into a new single. It’s really about doing artist development without skipping a step.

Do you have a sense of what the road map is? What’s first?
The U.S. first, Europe shortly afterward, and then we’ll hit Asia â€¨from there.

Can you break down the TV strategy?
One of the key pieces was the profile that aired on CBS Sunday Morning the weekend that the single came out and the album went out for preorder. The great thing about that show is that it gives people a sense of who she is at a core level and lets them see her story, where she comes from. It’s one thing for her to do performances on TV, but I think it’s equally if not more important for people to get to know who she is underneath it all. We have two large U.S. TV appearances lined up, and then two big U.K. TV performances that are soon to be announced as well.

That seems perfect, because CBS Sunday Morning is practically the only avenue in the mass market that shows what an artist is all about. It’s not just about moving units; it’s about giving people a reason to care.
Absolutely. I think you can get a sense of an artist’s personality from going on Ellen or Jimmy Fallon, just as you can get a sense of an artist’s talent by performing on the Grammys or one of the other awards shows. But in terms of really getting to know who this person is—their roots, their family—there aren’t a ton of avenues where you can go, and we felt that CBS Sunday Morning was a perfect partner.

Do you have any brands that you’re partnering with at this point?
Yeah. We have a huge campaign that’s coming down the pipe with Skechers, where they partnered up with the single. There’s an eight-figure ad buy around it as well, so Skechers is a big partner for Meghan. There’s another one that we’re going to announce shortly, but we are looking at a couple of large partnerships around it.

What’s your next set of goals in overseeing Meghan’s career?
You know what? Our goal with Meghan right now is to chop wood, carry water. It’s just work. It’s really putting one foot in front of the other and making sure that the plan is well executed, making sure that she stays healthy and happy throughout the process and that she’s having a good time while she’s doing it.

I’ve met her three or four times now, and I just can’t imagine her not being happy. And you’ve got an artist who grew up in a culture of “You work for a living."
Exactly.