Top Independent Publisher & Manager: Alan Melina of Sunset Blvd./New Heights Entertainment
Alan Melina
Update: Alan Melina's firm New Heights Entertainment is currently enjoying great success. They manage Red One (writer/producer for Lady Gaga) and Adam Anders (producer of the Glee soundtracks), plus other hit clients.
Alan Melina has been a prominent music publisher for the past three decades, enjoying success both as a senior executive for major corporations, and as an independent entrepreneur who now heads his own publishing and management companies. Melina has built a reputation as a hard-working, ambitious executive, who is well-connected and gets results for his songwriters, producers and artists.
Currently, Melina is President & Managing Partner of Sunset Boulevard Entertainment publishing company, and Managing Partner of New Heights Entertainment management company. Sunset Boulevard publishes hits by such artists as O-Town, Toni Braxton, and Luther Vandross, and the company now has a catalog of approximately 6,000 copyrights. New Heights manages record producers, and sets up and manages production deals and label deals. A recent result of the two companies’ synergy is the success of J Records artist, Olivia. Melina first brought Olivia to the attention of Clive Davis (CEO of J Records), which led to clients Joshua Thompson & Pic Conley writing and producing her hit, "Bizounce."
Melina, who lives in Los Angeles, began his career in the late ‘60s while attending the University of Sussex in England. He booked and organized concerts with major British acts, and subsequently launched his own company, Big Ear Promotions. He also explored interests in record production, promotion and songwriting, before focusing on publishing when he joined Chappell Music’s London office in 1978. During the next several years, Melina signed publishing deals with the Cult, Billy Bragg, Dead Or Alive and Terry Britten, and he became General Manager of Chappell.
In 1984, Melina accepted an offer from Paramount Pictures to relocate to California, to run the West Coast office of its publishing division, Famous Music. While at Famous, Melina signed publishing deals with Sade, Martika, Steve Hackett, Animotion and Michael Jay, among others. He also worked on multi-platinum, soundtrack albums such as Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun.
Then in 1990, Melina made a major career move, leaving Famous to launch an independent publishing company (now known as Sunset Boulevard), in partnership with managers Ned Shankman & Ron DeBlasio. Melina was successful in having Sade and Michael Jay sign new deals with him at Sunset Boulevard.
“It was my goal to start an independent publishing company before I was forty, and I was pleased to make it happen,” recalled Melina. “My strategy was to create a publishing company which would synergize with the management strengths of the parent company (Shankman DeBlasio Melina Inc). We also focused on developing writer/producers, helping them secure production work, in addition to placing their songs on albums, and in film and television.”
“My vision has been to be a publisher who also thinks like a manager,” added Melina. “We try to utilize the combined skills and resources of our management and publishing businesses to deliver results for our publishing clients.”
During this period, signed and worked with many writer/producers, including Greg Mathieson, Gina Gomez, Martin Adkins, Billy Morris, and Sheldon Reynolds of Earth Wind & Fire. The company published a number of hits, by such artists as Blackstreet, K-Ci & Jo-Jo, SWV and Luis Miguel.
Recently, Melina launched New Heights Entertainment, which is a new management entity. Longtime associate Laurent Besencon has become a full partner with Melina in this venture.
Melina has also become active in purchasing classic, publishing catalogs to add to the Sunset Boulevard holdings. The company has acquired the catalogs of Con Funk Shun, David Batteau, and a portion of the rock band, X, catalog. Sunset Boulevard is also in the process of purchasing several, additional catalogs. To handle its expanding, administration duties, the company utilizes the law firm of Cohen & Cohen.
“I believe this is a great time to be an independent publisher,” said Melina. “In this age of corporate mergers, our company can give closer, personal attention to our writers and clients. We are definitely results-oriented. We work very hard, making sure our writers’ music is fully promoted to labels, and to the film & TV studios. We set up collaborations, and we strive to create a strong synergy between all of our writers and producers.”
