Safta Jaffery is the founder/owner of one of the first producer management companies in the UK, SJP/Dodgy Productions. The producers in his company have produced albums for artists such as Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Roger Waters, Rolling Stones, Razorlight, Supergrass, Coldplay and The Cure, among others. The company's producers have amassed over 150 Certified platinum, gold and silver sales awards all across the globe. Jaffery is also the co-owner and managing director of the music publishing company Taste Music Limited and the artist management company (and former record label) Taste Media Limited. Taste Media has managed and produced a number of high profile artists, most notably discovering, and representing the rock band Muse.[1]
Contents |
Jaffery started his career in the late 1970s and early 1980s working in the A&R departments for Dick James Music, Decca Records, MAM Records and Magnet Records. In 1985, Jaffery set up the producer management company SJP/Dodgy Productions. The original roster included John Leckie (Stone Roses, Radiohead),[2] Mark Dodson (The Who, Anthrax), Pete Hammond (New Musik/Latin Quarter) and Chris Cameron (Hot Chocalate, George Michael). Other producer clients added in the 90’s included Michael Brauer (Coldplay/The Kooks), Ian Caple (Tricky/Tindersticks), David M. Allen (The Cure/The Charlatans),[3] Chris Kimsey (Rolling Stones/ INXS), Mark Plati (Prince/David Bowie), Chris Allison (Wedding Present/Shack), Tony Mansfield (B52’s/Aha) and Nick Griffiths (Roger Waters/Pink Floyd).[4]
Present clients include John Leckie, Ron Saint Germain (311, Tool, Bad Brains) Laurie Latham (Stereophonics/Jools Holland), Chris Brown (Beatles Anthologies/Starsailor) and the Animal Farm (Rosalita/One Night Only). These producers have amassed over 150 Certified platinum, gold and silver sales awards.
In 1994 Jaffery was asked by the Yamaha Music Foundation, a Japanese music production company, to assist them in widening the appeal of the Japanese group Chage & Aska outside of the Pacific Rim. The group had sold 45 million albums in their region, but had not been successful yet elsewhere. Jaffery devised the concept of the international collaboration featuring western pop stars recording the songs of Chage & Aska. After meeting with heads of major record companies in Los Angeles, Jaffery secured fifteen major international artists to record the album, and was awarded the title "International Executive Producer" to produce it. The resulting album entitled One Voice featured the artists Lisa Stansfield, Apache Indian, Michael Hutchence (of INXS), Rick Astley, Cathy Dennis, Maxi Priest/Shaggy, Wendy Matthews, Marianne Faithful, Alejandro Sanz, Londonbeat and Boy George. The album, which began under Jaffery’s direction and supervision, was licensed to EMI Premier in the UK for world distribution. To date the album has achieved sales of 500,000 units worldwide.
In 1996, Jaffery co-founded two new companies, Taste Media Limited and Taste Music Limited. As co-owner and managing director for both companies, Jaffery secured numerous territorial worldwide license record deals with various independent and major labels with a portfolio of artists including Muse, Vega 4, One Minute Silence, Shed Seven, Sundae Club and Serafin. Under his management, the company’s artists sold more than 5 million copies across six album releases combined, achieving numerous platinum awards, one IFPI award and 15 gold award sales discs. Artists represented by Taste Media also achieved Brit Awards, Q Awards, NME Awards, Kerrang Awards, Music Week Awards and MTV Awards. In 2005, Warner Music purchased Taste Media Limited, although Jaffery retained the name logo and brand and re-launched the company in 2008.
Jaffery retained the highly successful music publishing company Taste Music Limited. Presently the company represents a wide range of quality songwriters, artists and bands including Muse, Shed Seven, Buffseeds and Sundae Club. New signings include the Animal Farm co-venture projects Rosalita and Ejectorseat. Internationally, Taste Music has partnered with the likes of Warner Chappell Music UK & Spain, Universal Music Germany, Mushroom Music Australia, Naive SA France, Watanabe Music Japan, Cafe Concerto Italy, Strictly Confidential Benelux and Sony ATV Music Korea, amongst others. In 2010, Taste Music was sold to Warner/Chappell Music.
Jaffery was introduced to Muse in 1997 through Dennis Smith, co-founder of Taste Media and owner of Sawmills studio where Muse recorded their first EP.[5] Under Taste Media, Jaffery was able to manage Muse. In 1998, he secured a six-album co-label record deal with Maverick Records in the US, Canada and Mexico, and a three-album co-label licensing deal with the small UK division of Mushroom Records – an Australian label, for the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Taste Media signed a six-album record deal with Muse in 1998, under which Jaffery and Smith would manage the band for free, having already been contractually granted the recording and publishing rights. Together, they executively produced the band’s first 3 studio albums, Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry and Absolution. In 2005, Jaffery and Smith relinquished their roles as Muse’s management, although they still retained their record contract. After the three albums had been delivered, all of the international licensing deals expired and both Maverick and Mushroom Records were bought by Warner Music. Muse’s contract was sold to Warner, with Jaffery retaining the Taste company name and logo. Jaffery bought out Smith’s stake in Taste Music, and remains the publisher for Muse’s first three albums.[6]
In 2007, Jaffery was voted onto the board of AIM (Association of Independent Music). He traveled to China and while in Shanghai was approached by the Chinese band The Honeys. They asked Jaffery to produce their second studio album entitled Water. Also in early 2008, through an invitation by the British Council, Jaffery and producer client John Leckie traveled to India, and held auditions in New Delhi, South Mumbai and Bangalore. From thirty local emerging rock bands they selected four bands for Leckie to produce. The bands Medusa, Indigo Children, Advaita and Swarathma each recorded two tracks at Yash Raj studios in Mumbai with John Leckie and Dan Austin.[7] Jaffrey is presently exploring the idea of setting up conferences in India to infuse western music business practices and establish mentoring programs so that each territory could learn from each other and be brought closer to augment their cross fusion activity.