Rob Christie Producer | A&R | Studio Manager I Musician
Rob Christie loves playing Beach Volleyball and music. His Motto: It all starts with A GOOD SONG.
Christie is a 2 x Grammy Award winning Music Producer who wears many hats. He's an Indie record label owner, and Studio director for Universal Music’s - Republic Records Studios, a recording studio for the #1 Record label in the world.
In 2008, he founded and served as President of A&R at LA-based Robo Records, an independent production company & record label. His productions have appeared on Billboard Top 40 (Pop / Jazz or Country) and Billboard Top 200 Album chart with artists to include Ringo Starr, Martina McBride, Sarah Vaughan, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Al Green, Dean Martin, Chris Botti.
Rob's second home, Republic Records has been recognized as the industry’s #1 label over the last 10 years. It is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning superstar artists such as: The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Drake, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Post Malone, Metro Boomin, Stevie Wonder, among others.
Rob's credits on his discography include music supervisor, A&R, and digital mastering. He worked as an A&R manager at Capitol Records for over a decade. Christie received a string bass major from CSUN. Rob works with more established artists. Among artists Rob has produced is Angelina Jordan who signed with Republic in 2020. Angelina’s videos have received over several billions views on YouTube. She has given her talent to fundraisers for the Rainforest Alliance at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and Ein Herz für Kinder in Berlin where she helped raise over 21 Million Euros for children and families in need.
We met up with Christie in August for this Q&A exclusive to studioexpresso
SE: You wear many hats - in addition to being a musician, label owner, you have credits to include producer, A&R, studio director, music supervisor. which title fits you best?
RC: Do I have to choose? Well, I’ve been back working for a major label for several years now, so the “label owner” title has taken a back seat. My bread & butter is definitely Studio Director. However, I’m still very attached to the world of A&R, and I’m very proud of the time I spent as an A&R Producer for Capitol-EMI. Regardless, I’ll always be a student of music.
SE: What are your thoughts about how artists can thrive in today's streaming world? Do they release an album or just a song, how to crank up the volume on distribution, and taking your career to the next level?
RC: That is the age old question that everyone, including myself, wants to know. I can tell you one thing for sure: It all starts with a GOOD SONG. It’s important to have a LOT of content out there to get streaming money. But whether you release an album or a single, the MOST important thing is to have a catchy song that people connect with. It’s a little easier said than done, of course, but keep swinging. Like the saying goes, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.
SE: How is Managing a studio owned by a label different ? What are some of your responsibilities besides scheduling staff and making sure things run smoothly at Republic studios?
RC: Running a label studio is a pretty good situation. We don’t have to market like other commercial studios. No website, no social media. Anonymity is key for the higher-end sessions. We just have to keep the artists happy and provide a creative environment. We run pretty lean on staff. So, I really do have to wear a lot of hats. It ranges from high-end recording and creativity to occasionally plunging toilets! You name it.
SE: Your Indie label is called Robo Records. What would be your advise to an artist who wants to start their own indie label or production company?
RC: As I mentioned above, being an indie label owner has taken a back seat for me these days. However, I had learned a lot, and I do have a lot of advise. Most of it is fairly obvious, but sometimes tough to hear. For one, it takes money to make money! Like any business, you really have to have a passion for your product…and be incredibly discerning about what to put your money and time into. It’s important to know that anything is possible, and you CAN reach mass media as an indie. However, if you do get to that level, you have to remember that you need to sustain it to survive. That’s the hardest part.
SE: What's the job of an A&R Producer?
RC: When I was in that world, my main focus was to curate the music from an incredible catalog of artists, new & old. A large part of the gig was listening to countless hours of tape in the studio, remixing, remastering, etc. We would often record new music for more established artists or estates. I didn’t really spend time in clubs, looking for new artists and recording new bands (thank God). A lot of the gig dealt with sync placements for TV & Film, Soundtracks, or even compilations for different brands, like Starbucks, or Time-Life, etc. That all starts with an incredibly vast and nerdy knowledge of the world largest collection of music.
SE: You've recently been in some popular videos, where you play the piano for singer Angelina Jordan. The Elvis tribute of “Suspicious Minds” has garnered about 7.5 million views so far. Tell us about that collaboration.
RC: I met her when she was 14 years old, after an incredible run on America’s Got Talent. The label’s marketing department had her come in and just record some scaled down versions of her original songs. We started with a beautiful song she co-wrote called “Million Miles”. We had such a good time making that, plus it received millions of views, so we decided to do some more. Those are basically all her ideas, and I was fortunate enough to be able to sprinkle in a little secret sauce. Check out her version of My Funny Valentine. I’m really proud of that one as well.
She is the real deal.
