Che Pope Became A Music Exec After ‘Lesson’ From ‘Miseducation’

Former GOOD Music COO Che Pope begin as a music government got here from a missed alternative to make hundreds of thousands on Lauryn Hill’s iconic album.

At October’s Black Tech Weekend in Detroit, Pope recalled the “huge lesson” he realized from making far lower than he ought to’ve made for his work on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

“I in all probability made 20% of the cash that I ought to have made on the file,” Pope recalled, as captured by AfroTech. “I ought to’ve made hundreds of thousands and no matter amount of cash. I in all probability made within the neighborhood of $700,000 whole, whereas I in all probability ought to’ve made like $7 million.”

Pope produced two of Hill’s classics on the album, “To Zion” and “Misplaced Ones,” and may not have acquired his due, however the outcomes impressed a profession transition.

“That’s a giant lesson,” he stated. “That’s school tuition for my youngsters and so forth, nevertheless it led me to turn into an government. That’s truly why I grew to become a music government as a result of I wished to know the enterprise inside and outside.”

Pope went on to work with different critically acclaimed artists, together with Dr. Dre and The Weeknd earlier than main Kanye West’s GOOD Music as COO. He spent seven years there, one of many longest-lasting workers.

Pope exited in 2018 with the aim of launching his personal firm.

“I feel for me it was the following development in my profession. To transition from working with any person and serving to them construct their stuff to constructing my very own firm,” he informed Vibe in 2020.

“I’m constructing a music incubator, start-up,” he added. “It was actually kind of the following development in my profession. I needed to take that step as a enterprise proprietor. And that takes a whole lot of work, a whole lot of focus, and a whole lot of dedication, you recognize? It’s a kind of issues. They are saying that saying, ‘If it was simple, all people may do it?’ It’s not simple.”

In January 2022, Pope launched WRKSHP with billionaire Dan Gilbert. The music-based way of life model works to coach upcoming artists concerning the music enterprise, assist them keep away from 360-degree offers by securing possession of their work, and to assist them “revenue share from revenues derived from their mental property and most successfully monetize their artwork,” he stated in a press launch.

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