Why I had a SHOCK!-er

Cos I interviewed general manager of the Australian branch of the world's largest indie record label, Shock! That's all really...

THE LOVE AFFAIR OF CLIVE HODSON’S LIFE

Clive Hodson, the managing director of Shock Records, has a secret, albeit, inanimate lover. For music is not just a passion or even the catalyst for a successful career to Hodson, but a lifelong romantic pursuit.

Hodson has wooed the music industry like a coy lover. Indeed, when he speaks of what he does, recounting the past thirty odd years, a quiet passion enters his voice.

“People like the touch and feel of records.” He says with the slightest quiver in his voice, as though being spiritually caressed by the latest Long Player off the press.

Born and raised in Perth, Hodson started off in music by trekking around in the Tarago touring with his band, which he still professes to miss. However, his choice of instrument sealed his fate as a potential rock star.

“Being a horn player, I was the first guy in the band to get turfed,” says Hodson. “If you play guitar or drums you have a chance, but unless no one really does that horn playing type of thing.”

“You’ve got to know where your strengths are. And I was a good musician, but I wasn’t a great musician, I did it for around ten years, so it took a while for that reality to dawn on me.”

With this insight in tow, Hodson couldn’t still his inherent passion for all things musical. In 1979 he started managing the record label, Phonogram (eventually to be renamed as PolyGram).

It was a momentous day when Hodson had finally confirmed a recording deal with his first band.

“It was the Eurogliders and that was for an album, Pink Superblue Day, which was their first album,” Hodson recalls. “They were a Perth band and I sort of met them and started courting them when I was in Perth. But I was going back and forth from Sydney to Melbourne the entire time I was director with PolyGram so it was a bit hectic for me to pin them down.”

Tenacity was required in order to win them over, nothing would deter the eager suitor in his attempt to cement this musical partnership.

“I met up with Brian Peacock, the manager of the band in Melbourne, and I chased him into a toilet and made my intentions clear until eventually, he let me have my way.”

Ultimately, the marriage was a happy one. “A fantastic debut album, and of course, they had quite a lot of success,” he says, unable to contain the note of pride over his firstborn.

Ten years followed and Hodson wanted to further his advances toward musical courtship. In 1989, he ended his relations with PolyGram to set up his own business in artist management and business consulting.

“But it appeared that PolyGram still had me in their sights, I was back there within two years, I took on a sales and marketing role in both Mercury Records Classics and Jazz division, before a new division formed called PolyMedia.”

Hodson remained faithful to PolyMedia until 1999, when a merger with Universal records spelled out Hodson’s redundancy.

The path to true love never did run smoothly.

“A low time,” he recounts, eyes downcast in memory of this former relationship. “But for me timing is everything. I’ve had a very lucky life. Whether it’s been orchestrated or it’s been orchestrated by me, the timing has always been right.”

And straightaway it happened, with Hodson again, exercising his tenacity and continuing in his attempt to settle down in the music industry. After starting a new company, Consultainment, he initiated a live venue space at the Rocks in Sydney and received major backing from Sony Entertainment to establish a music industry coaching plan.

Not that Hodson has much of an interest in the mainstream. As head of ABC music overseeing commercial exploitation from 2002, he – somewhat regretfully - left in 2006 to take over Shock - the country’s largest independent record label.

“It was forced upon me to a certain degree,” he says. “I’d spent five years at the ABC and they were going through quite a big transition – in that they were really looking at whether they wanted to be commercial.”

Pausing reflectively, he says enthusiastically: “The fortunate part about Shock is that it, like myself, is fiercely independent and therefore it can shape it own destiny. I think this might be it for me. I’m in it for the long haul now.”

Challenges to Hodson’s livelihood are presented daily by the influx of peer to peer music file sharing, leaving the record industry to plummet over the last decade or so.

Hodson shrugs this off, instead rising to the challenge. “I think that YouTube and MySpace have been fantastic for independent bands and Shock are very much giving an opportunity for these bands to have a physical presence in the marketplace.”

He also has a handy resource. “I have a great teacher in my youngest son. He keeps me up to date with what’s happening on myspace, he almost acts as a researcher for me,” he says.

There are times, however, that Hodson turns off the CD player and indulges in an occasional dalliance with another artistic body.

“Me and my son love to talk about books together,” he says with a smile. “He reads them online though, whereas I still remain old-fashioned in that respect.”