WARNER EXEC TO BRING SUNSHINE TO CHARITIES
ALICE LIPOWICZ
As a publicist for many years, Ken Sunshine often met rock artists backstage who politely posed for his camera. He has hundreds of photographs of performers like Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie in the basement of his house in the Hamptons.
But now that he's Ken Sunshine, senior vice president for Warner Music-U.S., a unit of the world's largest record company, Warner Music Group, he's getting a different reception from the stars.
"They definitely know who their record company is. It's more of a personal and professional relationship," he says.
And he's quickly sensed that "it's not cool" to take photos anymore.
A background in both the music industry and New York politics has propelled Mr. Sunshine, 45, into the job of supervising Warner Music's public relations and legislative activities. He is also developing a new charitable foundation that reflects the concerns of Warner artists.
Did PR for Babs, Dems
Before Warner Music, he ran his own public relations firm for three years, representing clients including Barbra Streisand and the Democratic National Convention.
A native of Long Island, he majored in industrial relations at Cornell University and attended the Adelphi School of Social Work before starting a career in politics and media affairs. He and his family live in Manhattan.
He was special executive assistant to former Mayor David Dinkins from 1990-91, and worked on the election campaigns of President Clinton, former Gov. Mario Cuomo and Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-Brooklyn, among others.
Mr. Sunshine also had a long tenure as public relations director for the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers, based in Manhattan.
He comes to Warner about six months after an executive shake-up in which the top executives left or were replaced at each of the company's major labels-Atlantic Group, Warner Brothers and Elektra. Mr. Sunshine was brought into the company by Warner Music-U.S. Chairman Doug Morris, who came aboard last July.
But the new management team appears to be operating smoothly. The Atlantic Group just hit a year-high weekly market share.
The industry on the whole had record earnings in 1994, with the Warner Music labels churning out $720 million in operating income on about $4 billion in revenues.
"The industry is doing very well and has great prospects for the future," Mr. Sunshine says. "You have to be savvy because it's very volatile."
MCA sale complicates life
It's also very competitive. The recent sale of 80% of MCA Inc.'s shares to Seagram Co. has complicated the picture because Seagram owns a 20% share of Warner Music's parent, Time-Warner Inc. Warner and MCA compete in the movie, television and record industries, among others.
In his new job, Mr. Sunshine is forming the Warner Music-U.S. Foundation with a focus on youth programs and other charitable activities that reflect the interests of Warner artists. Madonna, who's raised money for AIDS research and for saving the rain forest, and R.E.M., are Warner artists who may be approached to get involved.
"We think the artists will be excited about the foundation. It's really unique and special," says Mr. Sunshine.
And "if the acts are happy, they stay here," he adds.
Another one of Mr. Sunshine's chief duties is promoting legislative priorities for Warner Music in Washington, including expanding protections for artists' copyrights. He's been traveling to Capitol Hill to meet with the Recording Industry Association of America to coordinate efforts for a bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, that would grant recording artists the rights to digital transmission of their music.
Mr. Sunshine expects to draw on his expertise in both politics and music on the job, as he did recently in representing Ms. Streisand in her recent controversial speech in defense of federal arts funding and artists at Harvard University. As her publicist at the time, he took an "understated approach" and simply allowed Ms. Streisand to have her say.
"She looked people right in the face and said `This is how I feel.' I admire her greatly for that. She says what she thinks," Mr. Sunshine says.
He hopes that the Warner foundation will be equally candid but he expects that it may be challenging to balance the artists' political interests with the interests of Warner Music.
"It could be tricky, but we've never been accused of shrinking from controversy," Mr. Sunshine says.