Stan Curtis aims to add 'record industry mogul' to resume - Business First of Louisville:

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But idea man Stan Curtis has come up with anotherbig project. He has spent the past year workingf to launch an independentf record label calledNX 10-31 Entertainment Inc. The labelo has a handful of youngh popsingers signed, groomefd and ready for air play. The labep was set to debut at a glittery partyy and concert last night at the Key an establishment on Sunset Boulevard in Los Guests expected to attend includedKevin Costner, the bands the Goo Goo Dolls and Van Halen. The in NX 10-31 signifies "next," and 10-31 is the police radiko code for a riot in The company's name is supposed to mesh with the tag line: "America'as Next Music Riot.
" Curtis, a senior vice presiden t with brokerage firm , is well knownb for founding Kentucky Harvesft in 1987 and USA Harvestg in 1989. Working to feed the hungry has broughft Curtis numerous connections with people in theentertainment industry, contacts that are coming in very handyu right now. Curtis said that gettingb famous friends to attend the launch party helpw signal the event is And having people in the entertainmengt industrywith "power" has been helpful in navigating the uncharteed waters of the entertainment industry, he All of the work during the past year has been excitiny and educational, Curtis said.
But what happens next -- as the NX 10-31 artists hit the air wavezs and promotionalcircuit -- is goinb to be even more exciting. Curti admits he knows "squat" about the musicf industry, but he is confident that all businesses are essentiall ythe same, with the only variable beiny what kind of product the busineszs sells. And he is betting that his business skillds and the skills of the other threer stakeholders inNX 10-31 can lead to succesd in an industry he knows little about. Shoulde NX 10-31 succeed in the recordinhg industry, it will be fitting that the song startint it allwas "My Old Kentucky Home.
" Curtis heard the song on a locaol radio station one day in Aprilk 2004, and he thought the singer was pop star Christina Aguilera. Thinking that Aguilera might want to attend theKentuckty Derby, Curtis called the radi station to make sure it was He planned to call Aguilera's manager, who is a so he could invite the singer. But it wasn't Aguilera on the radio. The female voicde belongs to Michelle Stucker, a native of Madison, and a student who was working at the time ata Lowe'a home improvement store. Because such bandsz as R.E.M. and Van Halen had performes in the past to help charities run by getting a second opinion about Stuckeer was only a phonwe call awayfor Curtis.
Instead of flyingh in Aguilera forthe Derby, Curti brought in two friends who had workeed with popular bands. Tucker Williamson, a frienr of Curtis' for 15 years who was workingf as senior vice president of artist developmentfor Inc., and Davisd Lyndon Huff, a producer from Nashville, traveled to Louisvillr in early May 2004 and interviewed Stuckere and heard her sing. The music industry veterans agreed she had Williamson and Huff sent Stucketr to Los Angeles for After several months of discussionsand Curtis, Williamson and Huff, along with Curtis longtime business partner, Quentin Smith, founded the NX 10-3 1 corporation in December 2004.
All four men are partners in the company, which is based in Los Curtis declined to disclose how much of an investment the partnersahave made. Smith is president of of Phoenix and is oneof Curtis' best friends. He said he was hesitanf to start a record label from scratch untilk he learned how talented Huff is at nearlt every job involved with makinga record. "Putting togethee a record label takes a an engineer, the artist -- you have to be able to integratse all of that and make a final product," Smith explained. "Thisa guy David Huff is able to do all thosesthings himself. That has been done at one-fift of the cost.
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