From Discovering INXS to Finding Global Hits — Kim Frankiewicz

How are global hits discovered—and who spots greatness before everyone else does?

In this episode of She Creates Noise, Sarah sits down with Kim Frankiewicz, winner of the Seymour Stein Global A&R Award and EVP of Worldwide A&R at Concord Music Publishing, to discuss how talent is discovered, developed, and sustained in today’s borderless music industry.

From early roots in Australia and formative years connected to INXS to signing writers across multiple continents, Kim shares why songs, character, and long-term vision matter more than hype.

We talk global trends, K-pop, Afrobeats, AI, leadership, and what separates one-hit moments from lasting careers.

If you want to know more about:

•  how global hits are found 
•  music publishing and songwriter careers 
•  K-pop, Afrobeats, and worldwide trends 
•  what A&R really looks for 
•  building careers instead of one-hit moments 
•  AI and the future of music 
•  women leading in the industry 
•  how introverts can lead successfully 

A rare insider conversation with one of the most respected global talent executives in music.

If you care about artist development, music publishing, and the future of A&R in a global, AI-tinged landscape, this conversation will reset your compass. 

https://www.instagram.com/kimfrankiewicz/

Transcript

Mission: Spotlighting Women Behind the Music

Introducing Kim Frankiewicz

SPEAKER_04 0:24

Hi, you're listening to Sarah Nagurney and welcome to She Creates Noise, a new podcast spotlighting women who power the music industry, coming to you from New York City. Now, if you don't know me yet, here's a little background. I'm a songwriter, producer, manager, educator, and mentor. I've written platinum-selling songs, had tracks on Grammy-nominated records, and released music on both major and independent labels. I've been a jazz singer, a jingle singer, toured with big bands, and became a pop artist, and I've performed at festivals across the US, Europe, and Asia. These days I focus on writing with and developing young talent. In the coming weeks, I'll be pulling back the curtain on the music industry's female change makers. Some are close friends, others I'm just getting to know, but all have reshaped the business in profound ways. My goal here is to help listeners better understand how the music business really works, and just how instrumental women behind the scenes have been. You'll hear from both sides of the desk artists, producers, managers, label executives, lawyers, women making things happen, but often without the spotlight on them. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Now let's dive in. Today's guest is one of the most respected and globally influential AR leaders in music publishing, Kim Frankowitz. As EVP of worldwide AR at Concord Music Publishing, she leads a powerhouse international team built on artists' first values, creative excellence, and a truly global reach. Under her watch, Concord has grown into one of the world's most innovative independent publishers, representing nearly a million copyrights at artists like Tyla, Omar Apollo, A. G. Cook, Fraser T. Smith, Jin Jin, and Amy Wadge. Kim's journey started in Australia with In Excess before taking her to New York, London, and beyond, signing and developing acts like Daft Punk, Kaiser Chiefs, Mark Ronson, and Kathy Dennis, as well as brokering major catalog deals with Pink Floyd and Genesis. Jill Collins. She's been named to Billboard's Global Power Players and UK PowerPlayers lists, honored by Music Week and the music business worldwide. And next year she'll be receiving the prestigious Seymour Stein Global AR Awards at Muse Expo in Burbank. Welcome to the podcast, Kim. Thank you so much. CPA sniff so lovely to have you today. Kim, thank you so much for coming to the podcast. I'd love to talk to you a bit about your experiences and how you got into this crazy business. From Sydney to London and New York, your career has been defined by both global reach and deep artistic relationships. Looking back, what early moment or decision set you on this path? Tell us a bit about your journey.

Early Career: Newcastle to INXS

SPEAKER_05 3:23

Okay, well, firstly, thank you for having me. It's an interesting journey because it was a journey that happened by accident. I had left school, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was quite young. And I went off and did, which you did back in back in those days, a secretarial course. And then I had an office job. And one of the ladies in the office, her husband was a promoter in the city where I grew up, the city called Newcastle, which is two hours north of Sydney. He was looking for a secretary, which is what we were called back in those days at the time. And she said, Oh, do you think it's something you'd be interested in? And I was like, sure, you know, I could go and see bands for free and hang out, why not? And so I met with him, he offered me the job, we started working together. The ironic thing about it is so he booked all the clubs and pubs in Newcastle, the city where I grew up. And I was only 17 when I started working with him, which meant legally I should not have been in those pubs and clubs, but back then they they were not as strict as they are these days. And so, yeah, so I started working with him. Like the Australian touring scene was very, very, very healthy. We'd have lots of Australian and international artists on the touring circuit, and Newcastle was one of the stops on that touring circuit. So we would have so many great bands come through, and we would book them into the clubs and pubs that we represented. And through that, there was a young band from Sydney who I loved, so I gave them a residency at one of our clubs, and that band was a band called In Excess. Obviously, I became friends with the band and their management, and I decided that I loved the music industry, and also something that I'd noticed, and there was only one other woman that I dealt with in the industry, and I was like, you know what? I want to be a successful female in the music industry. I was out on a mission because I straight away I was like, there's one woman I'm dealing with here. This is ridiculous. And so then I knew, you know, to better my career, I had to move to Sydney. So one of the agents that I used to deal with a lot, I'd mentioned it to him, and he went, Oh, I'll give you a job, just come. So I said, okay. And then Inexcess's manager, Chris Murphy, got wind of that and rang me, and he said, No, no, no, come and work with us. And so I went to Sydney to meet with him, and he played me, he said, you know, listen, this is gonna be the band's next single, and he played me a song, and I went, Oh my god, yes, I'm gonna come and work with you. And then that song was a song called Original Sin, which was one of the first songs that got in excess international recognition.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yes, nice.

SPEAKER_04 6:16

So so lucky and natural, it just kind of flowed. And in those days, you could kind of fall into things in a bit more.

SPEAKER_05 6:24

Oh, absolutely, yes. It was and it was yeah, very much yeah, sliding doors moment, I always say. So great. And so I mean deservingly, but I just mean there was a kind of an ease about he just found things and no, absolutely. Whereas these days, you know, kids have to get internships and yeah, it's it's much harder to get a break.

SPEAKER_04 6:42

Yeah. So how long did you work with them?

Pivot to Publishing and Long-Game Thinking

SPEAKER_05 6:44

I worked with Chris overall for 14 years, I think it was in the end. He had the management company, which obviously was very successful and excess went on to become one of the biggest bands in the world, which was an incredible journey for me to be a part of and experience. And then he, Chris, all he was very smart and a great entrepreneur, and he wanted to set up a publishing company. He'd set it up, but he wasn't really doing anything with it. And then he took me out for dinner one night and said, Oh, I really want you to go and run the publishing company for me. And I was like, uh-uh, no way, boring. And then he's like, Look, think about it. When you're in your 50s, do you still want to be in management having to be out on the road? Having, you know, you'll have to be you have to be available 22 hours a day. Yeah. And I was like, no. And he went, well, go and learn publishing because you can grow gracefully in that business. And thank God I listened to him and I said, okay, I'll give it a shot. But if I don't like it, I'm coming back to management. He's like, absolutely. And one of the best right decisions, yeah, that I made for my career to go and learn publishing.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

Sage advice, and you were very uh mature for your age, you're just still a teenager or you were a little in early 20s at that time.

SPEAKER_05 7:59

Early 20s then.

What Makes a Signable Artist

SPEAKER_04 8:00

Early 20s, yeah. Wow. That's that's great that that happened for you. Now you've worked with everyone from emerging voices at the time like Tyla, Omar Apollo, and Mark Ronson to icons like Pink Floyd and Genesis. How does your creative process shift when you're championing new talent versus working with legacy catalogs? And also, what makes the talent you signed stand out? Two questions there, I know.

SPEAKER_05 8:25

But yes, yes, yes. Well, the first question look, you just adapt to the needs of the artists at the time. So if you know if there's something going on in the Tyler world, you go into the Tyler world and adapt to that. If there's if there's work that needs to be done in the the Pig Floyd catalog world or the Genesis world, you adapt to that and and just jump in.

SPEAKER_04 8:48

When you find uh Mark Ronson or Omar Apollo, I mean, obviously they're amazing, but there there are a lot of amazing young talents out there. How do you know that it's the right thing for you to sign? What stands out? What makes that extra X factor happen for you?

SPEAKER_05 9:05

Because I'm the the worldwide head of AR for Concord. I have 30 AR people around the world that work with me. And, you know, so someone like an Omar was signed by, you know, Jeremy Yohi in our New York office. But the whole point, you know, with my team, I always say to them, it's about we have to be passionate, we have to care, we have to really believe in what we're signing. And I always say, with our roster, I want I want everybody to be proud of what is on our roster. So it's like we curate the roster. It's very important that you know, we're proud of who we're working with, we're passionate about who we're working with, and that's how we make the decisions.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

CPA's nice.

SPEAKER_04 9:51

Right, that makes sense. I guess maybe I was thinking also earlier in the day, you know, early on in your publishing life when you were signing talent. What what was it? I mean, some people say, you know, work ethic or a point of view, or you know, what what would be something like an example of someone like I really felt it because well it always it always starts with the music, obviously, number one.

SPEAKER_05 10:15

And then when when you meet with the artist, it's all you know, if you go and see them live, you want to see that they've got the star quality and that they can deliver. And then when you meet with them, you want to make sure that they are committed and passionate and really want it and are prepared to put the hard work in.

SPEAKER_04 10:32

Hard work, it's funny how hard work really becomes almost the biggest separating point because I've met so many talented people that just don't have the work ethic and you don't know right away. It doesn't always show up right away. I spoke to another AR woman and she was saying, Yeah, I don't know, I've never worked with anyone who didn't work really hard. In a way that's terrific, but it's also maybe they were sort of filtering before they got to her. But sometimes, you know, there are people out there that do a great show, but they're just not where they need to be.

SPEAKER_05 11:00

Yeah, and then sometimes, you know, people do get a I don't think as much nowadays, but I do remember, you know, like in the late 80s, early 90s, a lot of artists didn't necessarily want that commercial success. They wanted to stay cool and indie. But I don't feel that as much nowadays because it's just hard work to break anywhere these days.

SPEAKER_04 11:22

Yeah, well, I guess when people could sell records or even CDs, their income was more defined.

Global A&R: US, UK, and Beyond

SPEAKER_05 11:27

Exactly. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 11:28

The music industry is more globalized now than ever. Streaming social media and borderless collaborations are changing AR. A lot of people have said that the American music industry is myopic when it comes to international talent. And I I know you've you've both worked in the US and the UK, and I've spent quite a bit of time in the UK. How different do you notice the ways of working with talent are in, let's say, the US and the UK and also Australia? Do you notice that the US seems to kind of think, oh, only the United States matters is in terms of artists, or what have you noticed in this international career that you have?

SPEAKER_05 12:06

In terms of today, in the world that we live in, I don't think that is as much the case because an artist can break from anywhere nowadays, like out of the blue, whether that's going viral on TikTok, or you know, you just have a moment with streaming, and then all of a sudden you your audience is finding you, and it's not as dictated as it used to be. It was controlled more by the labels back in the day because they could decide who they were signing, who they were they were prioritizing, who they were putting their money into. And that still happens, but less and less because things can break from anywhere. That's very true.

SPEAKER_04 12:45

So it's really because of the internet and everything, it's changed so much.

SPEAKER_05 12:48

No, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 12:49

Because I remember when I was an artist and I was talking to a publisher, I think it was here in the US, but I was doing a lot in the in the UK, and he said, you know, if you get a cut in the UK, I'm not gonna count it against songs that you owe me. It's not the same as getting a cut in the US, which you would that would never happen today, right? What do you think? No, I don't think so. No. No. And I I won't mention his name, but it was kind of like, what? I was like, what? I just remember that, so I was like, that's crazy. But I mean, so talking about this international thing, where are the biggest opportunities for truly international artist development coming from over the next few years as you see it?

SPEAKER_05 13:29

Development as in what do you mean there?

K‑Pop, Afrobeats, and Next Markets

SPEAKER_04 13:33

In almost like what's next internationally. It's kind of a kind of a vague thought.

SPEAKER_05 13:37

Well, look, it's exciting internationally when you see what's going on, you know, with all out of Korea with K-pop and what's been happening in Africa. A lot of the the Nigerian artists who have broken internationally, and you mentioned Tyler early, like she's from Johannesburg. The borders are down, properly down, and it's exciting. And I feel it's just a matter of time before India starts breaking more artists internationally. That like it's much more accepted, and people are looking for those artists in different territories as well, which is exciting. Yeah, it's exciting.

SPEAKER_04 14:16

I bet it's a lot more fun too for you.

SPEAKER_05 14:18

Yeah, yeah. No, it is, yeah. And you know, the whole K-pop thing is fantastic because we're constantly plugging songs in that territory and getting carts, and it's fantastic for the writers and the producers. It's a great income for them. Yeah, that's that's a place where they sell, they still sell CDs. Oh, yeah, incredibly so. Yeah.

Artist Integrity vs Metrics and AI

SPEAKER_04 14:40

It is a great market. Uh now you've spoken about artist first values in an era of instant metrics and viral success and a very crowded musical arena. What are some practical ways AR teams can protect artist integrity while still building commercially successful careers? I mean, I guess that talks a little bit to AI and such. I mean, I know this is a giant issue, but you could have a broader interpretation of the question just in terms of artists protecting artists.

SPEAKER_05 15:09

Yeah, well, look, there's always going to be great artists. There just is. You know, music is part of so many people's lives, and you know, songwriters, artists, musicians are always going to be there, and there's always going to be great ones. And yeah, AI is a very touchy subject, and who knows where this is all going to go. But my gut feeling is music is so emotional. It's, you know, until AI has emotion, you know, there'll be noise out there, definitely, but the real music will always win at some point.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

I mean, like Timberland signed an AI orders, whatever that means, right?

SPEAKER_05 15:51

Yeah. As I said, there's going to be noise out there, and there's going to be people experimenting and music's going to come out. Like I'm having friends who send me their music that they've made on AI. I'm like, oh my God, this is doing my head in. Like, this is just going to get out of control. Because everyone all of a sudden thinks that they can make a song, write a song, and be an artist, but there's so much more that has to go into it. And as I said, and a big part of it is the emotion and the truth and the honesty and the feeling, and you know, that's where it all starts, just doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04 16:26

Point of view. Yeah. I mean, actually, a very respected songwriter, artist friend of mine. I just tried Suno because the producer was just not finishing it. It was scary, you know, how good it did sound. I mean, it was still kind of cheesy, but we were like looking at each other, going, Oh my god, this the future is here. And it was it was spooky. But again, no emotion. The singer sounded like vanilla, and it was just odd, you know, an interesting and worrying trend.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 16:56

No, absolutely. And we just have to sit tight. And we've hey, we've navigated so many things over the years in the music industry, so many disruptors, but real talent wins at the end of the day. Yeah. And we have to make sure of that.

Instinct Over Virality: The Seymour Stein Lens

SPEAKER_04 17:10

I I think I do think that's true. So, anyway, I want to bring up, you know, many congratulations because you're about to receive the Seymour Stein Global AR Award, which honors executives who combine vision discovery and artist development at the highest level. Seymour was known for trusting his gut and betting on acts before the world caught up. How do you balance instinct with data and market trends in your own approach to signing and nurturing artists?

SPEAKER_05 17:35

I'm still old school, and it I stick to my guns on this, and I and I teach my team this as well. It's like yes, we can look at streaming numbers and social media and things like that that kind of help us see that there's something moving, but at the end of the day, we've got to love the music and want to nurture it and work with the artist or the songwriter or the producer. It's still, it's like, as I was saying earlier, do we love this? Do you know, do we love the people? Do we love the music? Do we love if we don't if we don't love that, but it's you know, streaming a gazillion streams, then we shouldn't be doing the deal because you're doing it for the wrong reason.

SPEAKER_04 18:23

I mean, there was a trend for a while of people just signing things that that were going viral and the people couldn't deliver because it was some quirk, it was some a nonsensical reason why it went viral. No, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

Yeah. And we never got caught up in that ever. It we just stuck to our guns. It's like, you know, if you believe in in the music and the artist or the songwriter, producer, then it will all work still.

SPEAKER_04 18:49

Very exciting. I know that's next, the the award is gonna be next March, right, in Burbank.

SPEAKER_05 18:54

Yes, yes, yes, yes, at Muse Expo with the lovely Sat Gisler. Yes. Will you be in do you come to New York at all? I was just in New York. Um, but this award is yeah, in LA, but I was in L in New York for the for the week for the N MPA AG and song around the whole of that. And that's where I met you actually. Yes, it was. You're correct.

Advice for Emerging A&R Leaders

SPEAKER_04 19:16

Yes. With another future guest. Receiving this award places you among a very select group of industry leaders. Can you pass along some Seymour style piece of advice to the next generation of AR professionals? And if so, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_05 19:33

Well, once again, going back to you have to be passionate. Like if you're going, if you're doing a deal with someone, you've got to be going into it for the long ride, not for the short ride. And you have to have the passion for the music and the artist. And I always say I get a bigger kick out of re-signing someone than the first time we sign them because that means that it's working and everybody's doing a good job, and you're enjoying, we're all enjoying what we're doing. But it really is about believing and knowing that it's not going to happen overnight. You've got to put the legwork in, the hard work in, and everybody does, and stick with it and be passionate, most importantly.

Women’s Progress and Real Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_04 20:21

What role or what changes have you seen, I should say, for women in the music business? I know you mentioned very early on you said, wow, there are no other women here. How have you seen things change? I know there's the challenges for everyone in any business. What could you say to young women that want to get into this business?

SPEAKER_05 20:40

Yes, there it has changed, very much so. In a good way, like there's so many more wonderful, wonderful women in the business now. It's a tough career for a female. It's not a nine to five job at all. Like I'm out still to this day, you know, sometimes on average three nights a week, whether that's going to gigs or having to go to a dinner or this or there, though I travel a lot. You asked me earlier, like, do I have children? No, I don't have children, and probably there's lots of reasons for that. But I was in a career that it's tougher to make that decision to be able to do both, and just because of the nature of the career, especially in the AR world, as I said, because it's not nine to five and it takes up a lot of your time.

SPEAKER_04 21:23

Right. I mean, I yeah, I think it's also easier now for younger women because there have been some accommodations made for them to have kids. And I've seen some of the, let's say, 40 somethings I've interviewed do have kids. So I just think that you were a trailblazer. I don't know how old you are, but I think you're older than 40. Um, and uh I do think, you know, like I I'm interviewing sort of, you know, like I'd say 40 to something or other aged women, and the experience of the younger women is has been an easier road. I mean, there are still challenges as there there will be, but I think it has been a little bit better for them because of people like you who just worked your brains off and and you had to show that you were better because women had to do that. Be just be great all the time and not not have enough time for for a family.

SPEAKER_05 22:18

And also I think, you know, husbands or partners, I should say, help out more these days as well, don't they? Times have changed. Times have definitely changed.

SPEAKER_04 22:25

So I just wanted to ask something a little, you know, off the beaten path, like some kind of unexpected story or some artist that you signed that was particularly surprising, or something that I we haven't talked about that might be unexpected.

SPEAKER_05 22:39

I look at myself as being an introvert, and also I'm someone I absolutely hate public speaking and even doing things like this. Um, I hate talking about myself. But public speaking, I get really, really nervous. And when when I tell people that, because I'm always out and about and socializing, and you know, you have to be, you know, that, you know, there and in in the moment, if I say to people, actually I'm an introvert, they just get look shake their head and go, There's absolutely no way, but I I am. I'm much happier sitting at home being quiet than being out and about.

SPEAKER_04 23:19

I guess I guess people wouldn't know that because you are in charge of so many people and you're running such a big organization that we we wouldn't be a natural thing, people would say about you. No, exactly. Is there anything else you that I haven't brought up that you feel we should talk about?

SPEAKER_05 23:36

Uh not that I can think of. I wish yeah, no, I think we're I think we're good.

The Introvert Behind the Power Seat

SPEAKER_04 23:42

Do you? Yeah, I mean, I think we've covered a lot of things. It's it's it's such an interesting story. I love how you started at 17. That's that's just great. And from Australia to England, you know. So where do you like living best?

Closing Credits and Sponsor Thanks

SPEAKER_05 23:56

Um, look, I l I love Australia because that's my my home country. I l absolutely loved, loved, love living in New York. But, you know, I was in my 30s and having lots and lots of fun. Um, and but you know, when I got to London, I just felt this was the place I wanted to settle. I guess because, you know, you got Europe on your back doorstep, I'm six hours away from New York on a flight. Still way too it's still a long way to Australia, but it's just been lovely to be able to have the experience in all three countries, really.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

Yeah, I think England is really great. I love the business there and I love the people. And you can have a house with a backyard and still live in London, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_05 24:42

Yeah, there's lots of greenery, yeah, lots of parks and greenery, and yeah, it's lovely in that respect. Yeah, it's more livable than New York, much as I love New York. Yes, yes, it is very much so.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

Well, thank you so much, Kim Frankowitz. It's been lovely to have you on the podcast. So interesting, and I appreciate you making the time.

SPEAKER_05 25:01

No, well, thank you, and I hope that all this has all been okay for you. It's all been terrific. Thank you again. Thanks, Sarah.

SPEAKER_04 25:12

I'd like to thank today's sponsor, Herd City, the premier audio post-production company servicing the advertising, motion picture, and television industries right here in NYC. I'd also like to thank Antello, aka XON, for singing the She Creates Noise theme that I wrote. Thanks for listening to She Creates Noise. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, rate, and share. I want to thank the team here: Blair Riley, Yelena Stevanovich, Emily Wilson, and the Master of Engineering and Grammy Wendy Cooper Anderson. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

She creates noise. She creates noise. She creates noise. We hear her voice. She creates noise.