People like Ostin understood that it was worth investing in acts that didn’t deliver on their initial albums, and that it’s more important to nurture talent than focus solely on instant mega-sellers. Sadly, the industry’s refusal to heed his advice is why major American labels have had such lackluster releases in recent decades. I remember a story about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who had finished their contract with EMI and were in search of a new label. I think they decided to go with Capitol, but Ostin called them up and sincerely wished them luck with it. This gesture led to a relationship between the band and WB that’s withstood for more than 30 years.hearthesilence wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:11 pmTotally missed this, but Warner's new CEO (and former the head of Discovery, blech) David Zaslav blasted Warner execs for allowing Eastwood to make Cry Macho. When he asked why, they said he had delivered the studio a lot of hits over many years, and that he always delivers on-time, never goes over budget, never spends that much, etc. and he basically shot back with "We don't owe anyone any favors. It's not 'show friends,' it's 'show business'" which feels like a really shitty sign of things to come. It's pretty much the opposite of Mo Ostin's artist-friendly philosophy - the long-time head of Warner's music label recently passed away, and it was noted that not only was he able to draw a lot of talent with that reputation, but he managed to guide WB past CBS/Columbia as the most successful label in the business.
Regarding Eastwood, he jumped to WB because he belt that Universal had not properly marketed The Eiger Sanction and Beezy, and that union is unrivaled in Hollywood history. It’s so fortuitous that he found a place to finance films like Thelonious: Straight, No Chaser and have no questions about green lighting Unforgiven despite the massive commercial failure of White Hunter, Black Heart