Interview: Shabs Jobanputra, MD Relentless Records

30 November 2017 - Editorial

Shabs Jobanputra, MD Relentless Records, uses the label’s 18th anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate its most recent achievements, its “rough diamond” A&R strategy and explains why Sony is still the right home for it

There’s a positive buzz in the air in the Relentless office when we visit. It is, in part, the everyday fast-paced nature of a label, but it’s also unmistakably the feeling of things moving in the right direction. 

Label co-founder Shabs Jobanputra tells us how he’s working harder than he ever has right now - no small proclamation from someone behind an 18-year-old label that has fared a sometimes-rocky life. Starting Relentless in 1999 as a JV with Ministry of Sound (now label mates within Sony), Jobanputra successfully caught, and part-orchestrated, the noughties garage wave, being responsible for the early careers of the likes of Daniel Bedingfield, DJ Pied Piper, So Solid Crew, Artful Dodger and Craig David. After MoS, it found a new home within Virgin EMI and the label moved on quickly, getting behind Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Seth Lakeman and Roll Deep amongst others to sell in excess of five million albums in the UK between 2003 and 2007, before Jobanputra took up the role of President at Virgin Records UK, leaving Relentless on the backburner. However, a move to Sony in 2012 saw the iconic label revitalised and it’s been working tirelessly ever since, to once again place itself one step ahead of modern pop culture.

Despite reaching a notable anniversary, you won’t find Jobanputra looking back. “Anyone in any business gets to small milestones, which are great, but you either look back or you can look forward, and I’m very much looking forward” he tells us. There’s an incredibly firm focus on the now, not least the latest achievement of two of Relentless’s breaking acts (Tom Walker and Not3s) making the BBC Sound Of 2018 longlist; the handiwork of a different style of A&R, he explains. 

A well-documented turning of the tide has arguably seen artists in a stronger position than ever before, confident in their careers and with clear ideas of the paths they should be taking. From Stormzy landing an independent No.1 album, to Stefflon Don signing her own label to Universal (and then signing herself), the power shift appears in full swing. “If you’re going to go after the semi-obvious, the semi-obvious don’t need a label. If they’ve got clear direction, know what they’re doing and have a decent team, then they just don’t need it”, Jobanputra tells us. Recognising the landscape, and continuing to work within the label’s original framework of avoiding A&R tussles, what this means for Relentless is finding the “so called rough diamonds” and spending time with them. “We can afford to give them time because we’re not sat looking at the roster asking why certain things aren’t making money, and if they’re not, we're not cutting them, because we’re not that type of label. We don’t have many staff so our overheads are low and we don’t have loads of acts. I’m not carrying things I don’t have to carry which means we’re able to concentrate on what we do have and get really creative” he explains.

The deliberately small roster allows the label to be more nimble, reacting to culture, but also nurturing those who are on the cusp of it, and in a climate where breaking artists is taking much longer, it’s an obviously valuable asset. A self-described “guerrilla force” of a label, Jobanputra goes on to clarify: “We’ve always had the independent mindset of can-do, will-do, break down a wall and do it on a six-pence – that’s what we’ve always done. We want artists to know that they can do a deal with us because we’re going to let them do their music and take their time, we’re not trying to fast-track something and have them fall into one of 90 odd acts on a label.” However, being smaller in size but still competing for the limited spotlight places on offer, such as Spotify and radio playlists, means working harder, something Relentless clearly prides itself on. “We’ll always have to pedal faster and move a bit quicker” we’re told. “If you take the Darwinian notion, I don’t think it’s survival of the fittest, it’s survival of the quickest. You can’t operate in today’s market and ponder.” 

Perhaps the most recent example of Relentless’s fast-moving nature was its deal with reality TV stars Chris and Kem, whose single Little Bit Leave It held three weeks in the Top 40. “My thing with Chris and Kem is that it’s modern culture today. You’ll make money from it, it’s a quick deal, right onto social media, you can see where it’s going, it’s relevant, it’s current, it’s now and we’re part of the conversation.” A glance at the current roster reflects these qualities throughout, mirroring popular culture and dialogue. BBC Sound Of 2018 longlister Not3s began picking up heat when his debut single, Addison Lee, found viral fame near the start of the wider industry taking interest in the afro-bashment trend, and Relentless were right there with an offer. It’s a similar story with fellow BBC tip Tom Walker and heavily tipped 2017 artist Nadia Rose. “I’m not sure Nadia Rose or Tom Walker would’ve been on any of the other labels when we first signed them”, Jobanputra notes.

Ensuring the label stays on the right side of breaking culture going forward, last year it also struck a deal with YouTube channel LinkUp TV and will release an album with them in early 2018. “They’re at that point where urban culture is now and Relentless had that in the past, so it was an obvious fit. However, the thing that makes independent businesses great is their sense of survival and LinkUp’s area of business is YouTube money and ours is recorded music. We made it very clear that we weren’t going to touch their money, we’re going to build a new stream of income for them. That relationship we hope is going to expand into something new in 2018.”

With all the talk of independent mindsets, it’s easy to forget that Relentless has been operating within the Sony infrastructure for the last five years – a pairing that seems to be working. Jobanputra says: “The culture is great, we feel what we’ve got coming is great and the team feels good. We’re all very happy right now, Jason [Iley, Chairman & CEO Sony Music UK] is happy, I’m happy, Sony Music globally is happy. The point of Relentless being here still feels good and I think the role of Relentless is clear. We're here to be different and make money, but we still have our own culture. We’re different to Ministry of Sound, Syco, RCA and co; we clearly have a different position.”

Looking to the future he tells us that he wants to “keep doing brave things” and working with artists who wouldn’t necessarily get a chance. “When we’re on things that no one else can see and they’re working, that’s when we’re successful” Jobanputra quips, as he leaves to sign a new artist.