Industry Power Player Malcolm Miles Knows the Music Business Inside

Industry power player Malcolm Miles knows the music business inside and out. In 1997 he began as a promotions intern on the street team at New York’s Bad Boy Records and soon found himself in a highly coveted position at Mix Show Radio. Roughly a year later he accepted a new position, this time as the National Director of Promotions at Bad Boy. Here, Malcolm is credited with breaking some of the 90s most successful records including Carl Thomas’ I Wish, which spent six weeks in the Billboard number one spot and 112’s Peaches & Cream, which earned the group a Grammy nomination and remained in the Billboard Top 40 for twenty-five weeks. Malcolm’s keen ear and promotional expertise was instrumental to the success and development of many Bad Boy acts including: Black Rob, Shyne, Faith Evans, Mase, G-Dep, Puff Daddy, and the late, great, Notorious B.I.G. In the year 2000 while many people anxiously anticipated a technological crisis Malcolm was comfortably settling into position as Senior Director of Promotions at Clive Davis' newly cultivated label, J Records. Malcolm's unwavering dedication to excellence contributed to the climate of success at the label, which soon began to flourish. Malcolm worked closely with Olivia, the label’s first artist, Maroon 5, Wyclef Jean, Luther Vandross, Angie Stone, Jimmy Cozier, and Alicia Keys whose debut album, Songs in A Minor, earned five Grammy Awards and international multi-platinum status. Malcolm continued his work with Alicia on her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, which became the third most successful album of the decade, and her second album to debut at number one. The album’s first-week sales total 618,000 and it spent a total of 88 weeks on the charts. Malcolm also worked alongside Busta Rhymes introducing his songs Break Ya Neck, which ranked at or near the top, on eleven charts worldwide, and Pass the Courvoisier (Part II) landing on three US Billboard charts and the UK singles chart. Four years later Malcolm accepted a position as Vice President of Promotions at Sony Urban where he assisted in cultivating many of the label’s artists including: Mary Mary, Lyfe Jennings, Nas, Ginuwine, DMX and John Legend whose first album Get Lifted debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. Also to his credit, Malcolm broke the Three 6 Mafia hit, Stay Fly, which peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the group’s most successful songs to date. In 2006 Malcolm moved into his current position, as Vice President of Promotions at Cash Money Records (YMCMB) where he has continued to break records and cultivate new artists that are adored the world over. In the past six years, Malcolm has celebrated tremendous success with two releases from Lil’ Wayne. Tha Carter III, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, in June 2008. First week sales totaled 1,005,545 copies and the album sold nearly 3 million copies by the end of that year. Tha Carter IV, released in August 2011, also debuted at number one and sold just under a million in its first week. Malcolm was also instrumental in the success of both Drake and Nicki Minaj’s introductory albums. Thank Me Later, Drake’s first solo effort, debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 selling 447,000 stateside and became certified platinum in Canada is just one week. Take Care, his sophomore release, also debuted at number one with 631,000 copies sold. Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday debuted at number two with first week with sales of 375,000 copies, the second-highest sales week for a female Hip Hop recording artist in history. The roster at YMCMB has grown to include some of the most sought after artists in the industry today including: Busta Rhymes, Tyga, Mack Maine, Mystikal, Bow Wow and Chris Richardson, just to name a few. Malcolm’s recipe for success includes working hard, staying humble, and the precise amount of arrogance. He has a unique and undeniable business savvy that he used to successfully navigate a notoriously competitive industry and all without a college degree. Still, there is much to come from Malcolm Miles, just wait and see. .

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