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aryn
Rachtman has left her mark on the music industry.
Karyn Rachtman developed an ear for music at an
early age. In fact, she was born into a family where
music was a part of everyday life: Her father managed
'60s and '70s talents such as Gary Puckett, Flash
Cadillac & The Continental Kids, and her brother,
Riki Rachtman, is a former MTV VJ turned disk jockey.
Who
would have thought that a childhood hobby of making
compilation mix tapes for friends would turn into
a highly successful career?
"I
would always be the one that said to friends who
were breaking up with somebody, 'Let me make you
a tape of five songs that will make you feel better,'"
Rachtman reflects. "I loved doing that. It never
crossed my mind that somebody could do that for
a living."
Rachtman,
a former high school drop-out turned hairdresser,
got her first big break in the music industry in
1984, when an executive at Cannon Films hired her
as an assistant in the firm's music department.
"I
didn't even know how to type or how to write a letter,"
Rachtman recalls. "I learned how to file, how to
answer a phone, and how to take a message. Luckily,
Cannon was doing 16 films at a time, so I also learned
how to clear music and negotiate the licenses for
the songs in the films and all the other rights
one would need to acquire."
Within
a few short years of her first days as an assistant,
Rachtman became one of the most sought-after independent
music supervisors in Hollywood.
Today,
having worked on some of the most critically acclaimed
films of our time (films like "Pulp Fiction," "Reservoir
Dogs," "Get Shorty," "Boogie Nights," "Clueless,"
"Bulworth," and "Reality Bites"), Rachtman's ability
to marry the director's vision with music is unparalleled.
"I
only do movies where a person will walk out of the
theater and say, 'I've got to have that record!'"
Rachtman says. "I make souvenirs you just have to
own."
Making
Her Moves
In 1994, after Rachtman had spent years working
as an independent music supervisor and establishing
credibility in the industry, Capitol Records came
knocking on her door. Rachtman accepted Capitol's
offer to become vice president of soundtracks and
A&R, with the stipulation that she be able to supervise
music in a select number of films and work from
home after she gave birth.
After
a brief stint at Capitol, Rachtman left to spearhead
a new soundtrack division at Interscope Records.
The first project of her new post was the "Bulworth"
soundtrack. That album was hailed by Rolling Stone
magazine as "one of the tightest hip-hop-influenced
albums of the decade." It spawned the #1 hit "Ghetto
Supastar" by Pras (of the Fugees), featuring Ol'
Dirty Bastard (of Wu Tang Clan) and Mya.
Number
one hits and Rachtman go hand in hand, it seems.
She
placed Lisa Loeb (then unsigned) on the "Reality
Bites" soundtrack, and the soundtrack in turn launched
Loeb's career with the #1 hit single "Stay."
The
soundtrack to Nickelodeon's feature film "Rugrats:
The Movie" was no different. Rachtman was music
supervisor and executive producer of the album,
which included the #1 hit "Take Me There," in which
she grouped Blackstreet, Mya and Mace.
Taking
a Breath and Taking Stock
After
collaborating with some of the greatest directors
of our time (names like Quentin Tarantino, Amy Heckerling,
Ben Stiller, Warren Beatty, Barry Sonnenfeld, Robert
Rodriguez, Paul Thomas Anderson, Allison Anders,
Mike Nichols, Lisa Cholodenko, and Andrew Davis),
and having served as music supervisor and/or executive
soundtrack producer on projects that collectively
sold more than 40 million copies in the United States
alone, Rachtman decided it was time to take a year
off from the world of music in film to pursue her
dream of being a mother and making education more
fun.
In
doing so, she expanded her own music supervision
company into a multi-faceted corporation, One Gazillion
Inc.
One
Gazillion is now comprised of three divisions. Mind
Your Music, the music supervision arm of the firm,
specializes in soundtracks for today's hottest movies.
Hip Kid Hop has released the first-ever series of
Read & Rap-A-Long children's books packaged with
CD singles, all of which have been written and performed
by hip-hop stars. You Rock will offer a book and
CD series, each of which will relate to the content
of the standardized tests used in most states and
make learning more hip. The first installment in
that book/CD series is "You Rock: The SAT Vocabulary."
Doing
Great Work and Loving It
Under
the Umbrella of the Mind Your Music arm, Rachtman
has re-emerged as a music supervisor on a select
number of films.
Her
more recent work includes "Laurel Canyon," the Lisa
Cholodenko film about the dysfunctional relationships
surrounding the life of a record producer (played
by Frances McDormand), and the Andrew Davis film
"Holes," starring Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voigt.
In
a nod to her dream of making education fun, Rachtman,
through her Hip Kid Hop division, has teamed with
well-known artists in the hip-hop community, as
well as Scholastic Inc., the world's largest and
most respected children's book publisher.
Hip
Kid Hop celebrates the poetic talents of today's
hottest hip-hop stars with a powerful, fresh approach
to communicating important life lessons to children
between the ages of four and 10. Each 32-page picture
book is packaged with an original, two-track CD
that includes the song version of the story performed
by the hip-hop artist themselves, followed by a
music-only track, so children can read and rap along
on their own - karaoke style.
"The
first time I heard hip-hop, I was mesmerized by
this unique style of poetry set to music," Rachtman
says. "Twenty years later, when I saw my young children
rapping along to the latest hip-hop hits and memorizing
all the lyrics, I realized how rappers' unique form
of storytelling is a wonderful way to teach children."
One
of the first releases of the Hip Kid Hop series
is LL Cool J's "And the Winner Is," a story about
a young basketball player who learns the importance
of both winning and losing gracefully. In it, he
explores themes of good sportsmanship, humility,
and belief in oneself.
Another
early release was Doug E. Fresh's "Think Again,"
which tells the story of two kids in school who
dislike each other because of their differences.
The two kids soon discover that they have more in
common than they thought and that color is only
skin deep.
Rachtman's
third division, the education-oriented You Rock,
also has been busy. Rachtman teamed with Michael
Moshan, David Mendelsohn, and text writer Michael
Shapiro, to create the "You Rock" SAT vocabulary
and CD series.
You
Rock is designed to appeal to parents and students
by offering a way to supplement what is being taught
in school. The series is a unique and effective
educational concept that entertains by combining
hip music, off-the-wall humor, and sound teaching
strategies. The CDs contain nine or 10 songs that
use the alternative, pop/rock, and hip-hop styles
that kids enjoy. The text is fun, engaging, humorous,
and speaks specifically to today's youth. Similar
to the "Hooked on Phonics" and "School House Rock"
products, the "You Rock" series captures the attention
of youth who have been raised on video games, the
Internet, and MTV.
Making
a difference is what Rachtman, a mother of two from
Malibu, is all about.
(This
article is reprinted from the Fall 2003 edition
of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright
2003, Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole
or part is prohibited, except by permission of the
publisher.)
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