Charles Chavez

What a character!

Pitbull tweeted about me. Welcome to the twenty first century where your heroes, the celebrities you see on TMZ, are just a click away. And even though I rarely tweet, I'm addicted to the service, it provides a pulse, or a glimpse thereof.

And I like having the reach, but didn't think much about it until I emerged from "Gone Girl" to an e-mail from David Dorn, head of the iTunes Store, he just wanted to know, would I be interested in meeting Pitbull?

OF COURSE!

But it turns out I met his manager first. Today at Katsu-ya. I'm gonna go meet the Miami maestro on Friday at Staples.

So how did Charles Chavez get here?

By being a deejay and working at the radio station and...

Whoa, back me up, how did your family make a living?

Charles's father was in the military. They moved around, but by high school they were in Texas. There were five kids, if you wanted something, you had to work for it. So Charles got a paper route. And then started deejaying in the club. And then convinced the radio station to put him on the air, because of the synergy.

And even though he was in Texas, he was making a lot of money. His salary at the station and the grand a night for deejaying. Yes, there's a lot of money in the music business, assuming you don't compare yourself to the Wall Street and tech titans, who've skewed the game.

And seeing how Cash Money and the rest of the indies were making money, Charles decided to go into the record business, making hip-hop compilations, paying the acts $800 and ending up selling 250,000 copies, some out of his trunk, some through a distributor who always gave advances, but never paid Charles what he was owed, welcome to the music business.

And when some of the acts on his compilations ended up getting deals Charles felt left out, he decided to become a manager. But with his profile rising, he got a gig working promotion at Interscope, from Albuquerque to Miami, almost as far north as the Mason-Dixon line. This is the music business, where if you believe in sleep, you're never gonna make it.

And then one of his acts blew up. Yes, he was managing while he was promoting. Jimmy said it was cool, but then the act signed with Epic instead of Interscope and...

Charles ends up meeting Pitbull. Who's doing it himself. Who's got a deal with TVT. And they're just acquaintances until they run into each other at the Super Bowl a few years later and Charles wonders why Pitbull isn't bigger, so they throw in together.

You'd like to do it by yourself, but you never can.

And then Pit hears an international instrumental, he writes lyrics over it, they make a deal for the track and the rest is history.

And why is Pitbull so successful? Because he's WORKING! Lifestyle is a minor element. If Pit isn't on the road, he's in the studio, he's a bundle of energy.

Meanwhile, Charles knows hits aren't forever, so he's moving into TV. Pit has a deal with Endemol, they made a deal for him to host Fox's New Year's Eve show in Miami. But that's not the only thing.

And all we keep hearing is music is dead, that there's no money in it, it's no longer fun, but these guys are having the time of their lives, making money all the while.

Sure, Pitbull works with Dr. Luke, but Luke adds the spice and Charles makes sure that Pit doesn't lose his identity. There's only one Pitbull, that's the key, to find someone unique, and then make hits.

And these hits are playing around the world, and Pitbull has followed them there.

And the corporations have come calling. But Pit doesn't always say yes. If the money's not good enough, if the company doesn't understand, and it frequently does not, Pit walks away. But usually the company comes back, because there's no better way to reach the Latin market, they realize Pit and Charles know what they're talking about.

And I'm not gonna say I'm a big expert here. That's the modern world, where you might not align with the vertical. But I liked Charles, he was not jive, he did not know everything, he was willing to learn, he realized it was all about relationships, and he kept making them.

So the song remains the same. You can go to the music business school, but that won't make you successful. The music business is a land of hustlers and pimps, who would be successful at whatever their chosen field turned out to be, they just believe in music.

And that's where Charles remains. He wants a label on his terms. he combs Shazam for hits. He's driven by the tunes, not the wallet, unlike so many in this business who are so envious of the tech giants they're taking their eye off the chart.

So successful music entrepreneurs are not made so much as born. It's about their circumstances, being infected by music and believing they can do it their way. Charles believes in himself, he doesn't think another manager has anything on him.

And you need that confidence to play in the big top.

And one thing's for sure, music's a circus, a thrilling cornucopia of carney players we all want a glimpse of.

And right now, Charles Chavez is at the epicenter.

P.S. Charles also reps Magic!, which hit number one with "Rude."

P.P.S. Charles's wife does the books. Keep it in the family, there's no one else you can trust.


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