A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BIG JON. (cover story)

A warehouse worker walks into a small recording studio in Virginia and asks if anyone has ever heard of a guy named Big Jon. The room falls silent. "Big Jon Platt?" someone asks. The workman, whose song was recorded on a demo, says this Big Jon guy offered him something called a publishing deal. They accuse him of lying.

From small towns to major cities, practically everyone who wants to make it in hip-hop wants to "get with" Big Jon Platt, EMI Music Publishing's executive VP and head of urban music. Usher calls him an idol maker. Island Def Jam Music Group chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid tags him a hitmaker.

During the 11 years since the former Denver DJ hooked up with EMI to sign songwriters, Platt has changed the landscape of music publishing and redefined the publisher's role. But what is it exactly that makes talent like Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Usher, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams sing Platt's praises?

To answer that question, Billboard hung out with Platt one spring day as he went about his business in New York.

11:30 a.m.: A hired driver welcomes Platt and Billboard, opening the door to a black SUV at a Manhattan hotel where Los Angeles-based Platt is staying. Almost immediately, Platt's cell phone rings. After listening to the caller for a moment, he laughs, "Stay out of the magazines and send me some music!"

With a click of his thumb, Platt's on another call, rattling off names of top managers to a writer/artist who is looking for representation. Next call: Platt asks the caller whether the songwriter in question is just looking for a big check or wants a publishing deal in which EMI can use its resources to build a catalog, i.e., a full repertoire of a writer's songs that can generate revenue for years to come.

Revolutionary thinking, all before noon. Building a catalog in hip-hop music is something relatively new.

"There is a business attitude that hip-hop music in general isn't catalog music," Reid says. "When Big Jon started to sign writers like Jay-Z and Kanye West, I think many publishers had to stand up and take note that it was real songwriting. It wasn't just samples and 25 writers trying to split up a song. They were actually guys who could craft music from scratch and be majority writers, in some cases 100% [share] writers. Publishers really didn't pay attention to hip-hop before Big Jon."

As the SUV weaves through New York traffic, Platt handles another half dozen calls before beginning a lengthy conference call. He's negotiating with a songwriter's representatives who want another advance. Although Platt says no to the proposal, his tone never turns negative. He patiently explains another advance is not possible because the writer's first advance was based on the expectation that a greater number of songs would make it onto an album. Even though the album is selling, because songwriting expectations were not met, the writer's advance is not yet recouped. EMI has to recover the first advance before giving a second. Typically a publisher like Platt would have lawyers negotiate the deals, but Platt prefers to handle the basic terms himself.

Platt pulls out his BlackBerry, responding to text messages without missing a beat of the negotiations. He places the device on his legs and pulls out a second ringing cell phone. With a phone on each ear, he handles the calls with amazing ease.

Noon: Two guys jump into the SUV--Atlanta-based manager Bernard Parks Jr. and DJ Toomp, who produced/co-wrote T.I. hits like "What You Know," a No. 1 Hot Rap Song in April, and "U Don't Know Me." Platt has set up meetings to introduce Toomp around town.

"In writing, it's not just about physically doing the work," Usher says. "You've got to place it. Big Jon's got the right relationships. He takes pride in being able to put young entrepreneurs in this position to have bigger dreams."

12:15 p.m.: At EMI's offices, Toomp burns his beats to CDs to give the executives.

Platt checks in with EMI chairman Marty Bandier and meets with creative/A&R director Jessica Rivera to explain certain deal terms. He's paying it forward. Platt has been mentored during the years by Bandier and executive VP Jody Gerson. "I was happy to bring him into an inner circle and teach him whatever I knew about the music publishing business," Bandier says. "He just soaked it up like a sponge. In no time at all, he was out on his own making whatever deals we both thought were appropriate."

12:45 p.m.: Arrive at Sony BMG Music. Anton Marchand, VP of A&R for Sony Urban, promptly sends text messages to Jay-Z and others in their network of friends, joking about Platt arriving with Billboard shadowing him. Marchand cranks up the sound system to hear Toomp's beats on huge speakers. As everyone listens, Marchand and Platt furiously punch their BlackBerrys, responding to the messages the joke spurred. Marchand slowly burns some of Toomp's beats to a CD for the label's artists to hear.

Record executives say that they have come to depend on Platt to develop talent. "He doesn't just place a song and walk away, or introduce you to a writer and walk away," Reid says. "He'll go inside. I call it 'go into the hood.' He'll go into the hood and make sure you get a hit record. He's a really rare commodity."

2:20 p.m.: Toomp is all smiles after meeting with Jay-Z. Legend has it that Jay-Z, upon hearing someone's beats, will stand next to an artist and start rapping. Toomp just experienced it himself.

Platt signed Jay-Z to EMI nearly 10 years ago. "It took me a while to really talk to Big Jon," Jay-Z says. "We came from a place where we had friends already, although I trusted him as far as handling the publishing. When we bonded, I could see that he's a special guy. In a game where people are taking other people's publishing--how it can be viewed as a shady business--he gives you 100% confidence that the business is being handled correctly."

Jay-Z likes Toomp's beats; he calls one of his best friends and sends Toomp to see her.

2:30 p.m.: Toomp hands his CD to Platt, who promptly hands it back to him.

"You give it to her," Platt says. "If I give it to her, then I have the relationship with her. You've got to have the relationship with her. I already know her!"

Beyoncé is gracious and welcoming as she stops her recording session after Jay-Z's phone call to hear Toomp's beats. Producer/writer Rich Harrison laughs and jokes with Platt in the studio, thanking him for the "gift basket"--a big royalty check.

Platt signed Harrison after hearing one song--before any release. Platt expected the first album Harrison wrote would result in an artist selling 2 million copies, but it barely went gold. About a year later, Harrison was in the studio with Beyoncé, co-producing/co-writing "a little ditty called 'Crazy in Love,' " which hit No. 1 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 2003 and stayed on Billboard's charts for 41 weeks.

Platt "hears it early," Jay-Z says. "He travels in the circles, so he knows what's happenin' on the street a little earlier than some of the guys that are flyin' at 50,000 feet."

Platt says he does not bet on records, he bets on writers.

"The first person to ever cut me a real check was Big Jon Platt," Usher says. "There's many milestones in your life that you will remember, but the day that you get a real publishing check is the day that makes a real difference, and you begin to understand. He gave me an opportunity to be taken seriously as a songwriter in this industry."

In the studio, Toomp plays his first beat. Beyoncé whispers, "That's hot." She says it again for the second and third tracks. When the sixth beat hits, Harrison walks up to the board and cranks up the sound.

After several more tracks, Harrison says, "Yo! Let us breathe for a minute! You are hittin' us over the head!" Everyone laughs, and the music stops. Toomp hands Beyoncé his CD. Their relationship has begun.

"Man, Big Jon, I don't know how you do it," Toomp says, walking out of the studio. "Every time I'm with you, you change my life."

3:15 p.m.: Over plates of pasta, Platt advises Toomp. They talk about the state of the music industry, the range of publishing royalties in videogames (5%-15% of net revenue) and which Toomp beats should be available to what acts. After Toomp's success with T.I., many people have been pressing to use his beats. It has been challenging for him to figure out when to say no and how to handle that pressure.

"Don't wake up with a no on your mind," Platt advises. "Listen to each opportunity that matters. It's their job to push on you because you've got the heat. If an artist doesn't bring a spark to you, your job that day may be to say no. It's no different than your job going into labels and trying to get on projects. When they say no, it's not personal to them. You just didn't come up with the goods that day. Don't internalize it."

Other writers value Platt's advice as well. "People usually don't take the time out, educate you and try to take you to the next level," Williams says. "But Big Jon does. This guy affects people's lives in a very positive way. When I first got a chance to work with him, I knew I was in the big leagues. He's the guy you want to run something by."

Platt's hands-on style is what separates him from other publishers. "Kanye is a perfect example," Reid says. "When the record is done, Big Jon is in the office wanting to know, 'What are your singles choices? What's your marketing strategy? How far are you gonna go with this?' If he has something to say about it, he'll say it. And there are times we'll factor those things into the plan."

This kind of involvement typically falls within the role of a manager rather than a publisher. "Sometimes I have to tell a manager, 'Just sit back and let me help you look good,' " Platt admits.

Managers do not seem to be put off by Platt's style. "There's a calmness about him that's nonthreatening," Reid says. "He's gonna give great guidance, pure honesty. He's not trying to leverage it to be the manager one day or take the client, so he's not a threat in that sense."

4 p.m.: Both cell phones start ringing. "Now my day really begins," Platt says.

Producer/writer Rick Rock is on the line. Can Platt get Duro to mix a track featuring Snoop Dogg for hardcore rap collective Federation's new record? Platt makes a call, then gets Rock back on the line. "[Duro] says you've always got an open door. He can fly out tomorrow," Platt says. In less than five minutes, Platt arranges for the track to be transferred to Duro and sets up a mixing session.

Why is a publishing executive arranging a mixing session? "They're all EMI writers," Platt shrugs. Rock, Duro and Snoop.

"Big Jon wears an A&R hat, a publishing hat, a lawyer hat, an A&R admin hat, an accounting hat," says West's manager G Roberson, who calls Platt "the mediator."

5:30 p.m.: With Toomp and Parks back at their hotel, Platt prepares for a meeting with soon-to-be-signed songwriter Kristal Oliver. He meets every songwriter he signs in person.

"I like a certain type of person and a certain type of songwriter," he says. "Most of my writers don't drink and don't smoke. They're about business." He does not mean that this is a requirement to get signed, but he explains, "They want to learn, they want to be the best."

A group gathers in the EMI conference room and listens to recordings of Oliver's songs. "We want to be a big part of your career to put it to the next level," Platt tells her. "I push hard. All I ask is that you work as hard as we work for you."

8:30 p.m.: Platt meets lawyers Matt Middleton and Nicole George for dinner. Amid the laughter, they talk about mutual friends, business matters and who's hot on the streets.

Platt finds talent in numerous ways. Sometimes he receives music from attorneys, managers and his current songwriters. Other times, he hears songs during recording sessions. Whatever the source, he relies entirely on his gut instincts to sign a writer.

11 p.m.: Back at the hotel, Platt orders warm peanut-butter cookies and water and takes two more meetings--with an indie publisher and a songwriter's lawyer.

1 a.m.: Platt is still working. Billboard calls it a day.

What advice does Platt give his songwriters? "If you really want to write songs, then write songs every day," Platt explains. "It's that simple."

Harold Lilly, the former Virginia warehouse worker who is now a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, can attest to Platt's magic. "Ever since I met Big Jon, I don't believe in writer's block," Lilly says. "Doctors don't have doctor's block. Teachers don't have teacher's block. You just do it. Big Jon says, 'You got to write the bad songs to get to the good ones, and you got to write the good songs to get to the great ones.' "

Since meeting Platt, Lilly has co-written the Grammy-winning Alicia Keys song "You Don't Know My Name" (produced by West and Keys) and co-produced/co-wrote Jamie Foxx's single "Unpredictable," among others.

"Big Jon is passionate about music and about changing music," Williams says. "When you're looking at those great pivotal moments in music in the last 10 years, those are always Big Jon moments."

PHOTO (COLOR): BIG JON's day runs the gamut from studios to frantic phone calls, boardrooms and everything in between.

PHOTO (COLOR): PLATT listens to recordings of songs written by soon-to-be-signed songwriter KRISTAL OLIVER and welcomes her to the EMI Music Publishing family. DJ TOOMP burns CDs of his beats for artists and executives to hear as manager/business partner BERNARD PARKS JR. helps him select the top 10 to pitch.

PHOTO (COLOR): Beyoncé's reaction has TOOMP and PLATT riding high; Platt checks in with MARTY BANDIER

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By Susan Butler

Big Jon Platt often sits down with his songwriters to figure out what percentage of each song a writer owns.

"A lot of people just do these albums and think that the publishing kind of takes care of itself," Platt says. "We can't do anything without song splits."

For Kanye West, clearing samples is the primary goal.

"Big Jon gets me way better rates and way better splits," West says. "That's one of the best things about having him as a publisher."

"Diamonds From Sierra Leone," the first single from West's album "Late Registration," included a sample from "Diamonds Are Forever," penned by John Barry for the James Bond movie of the same name. The sample was impossible to clear at first, says G Roberson, West's manager. "Big Jon played Inspector Gadget and helped us get to the man. He's a real lifesaver," he says.

Roberson says it's all about the one-two punch: You release one single to set up the second.

"Can you imagine if we never dropped that record? Without us dropping it to follow through with the second punch of 'Gold Digger,' who knows where we'd be at?" And given that part of the track's appeal is because of elements included from another great song, Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman," who knows indeed.

PHOTO (COLOR): Artists like JAY-Z and KANYE WEST rely on Big Jon to keep their interests at heart.

drive \driv\ n (1) In 1978, Platt travels hours by bus to watch the Denver Nuggets practice. Coach Donnie Walsh makes the "Big Fella" their ball boy. (2) During the 1980s he becomes top Denver DJ. He loans Public Enemy his equipment for a concert. Two years later, Platt hosts a Public Enemy show in Denver, and Chuck D tells him: "What are you going to do with your life? Every time I come to Denver, you're the man here. But unless you dream bigger, that's all you'll ever be--just the man here. You've got something to offer the music industry." (3) Follows Chuck D's advice and lands USC basketball players an EMI publishing deal in 1992. He commutes back and forth between Los Angeles and Denver. (4) In 1993, he turns the EMI Music Publishing conference room into his office. Executive VP Jody Gerson says: "He was literally holding court, having meetings in an office that did not belong to him. I kept asking, 'Who's the dude in the office, and how much money are we spending on his phone calls?' The response was, 'Who cares? He's terrific.' " (5) Creative manager post opens at EMI Music Publishing in 1995. Platt says: "I'm going to take this opportunity and will show you how much I'm worth, then we'll talk about money." (6) He meets Jermaine Dupri through Gerson and builds relationships with his "first wave" of writers, including Warryn Campbell, Mike Mosley, Tamara Savage, Walter Milsap, AZ and Jay-Z. (7) In 2005, Platt is named executive VP and head of urban.

PHOTO (COLOR): The BlackBerry may be man's best friend. Constant communication is the thread through BIG JON'S day.

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