When you have music and culture in your blood, sometimes it doesn’t matter what line of work you pursue as these elements will eventually be incorporated into what you do.
Norman Hall was born into a family that has musical interests in its bloodline. His father is a jazz aficionado, his late sister worked with Hal Jackson of Inner City Broadcasting and his son is a Gates Millennium Scholar at Berklee College of Music. He also has a sister who is a jazz vocalist, a brother-in-law who composes music, one niece who is a classical vocalist, and another niece who works for a music label in Nashville. What is there for someone like him to do?
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Hall to discuss his interest in music, the reason his company MV Soul Concepts produces the Annual Summer Madness Music Festival and Conference in Martha’s Vineyard, and the business with which he is currently involved.
BlackEnterprise.com: With the background you have in investment banking, what made you decide to get into doing events?
The reason I became involved in music events and conferences is twofold. I have several family members with careers in music currently or heading in that direction, and the other (capitalistic) is business related. I am involved with the launch of a disruptive new technology platform that addresses two core problems every artist and label is experiencing. Namely: 1. The saturation of streaming services throughout the market that has gutted margins, and more importantly, created little to no incentive to actually buy music anymore, and 2. Current IP (Intellectual Property) and DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) protections cannot keep up with how technology has evolved.
I have been connected to the music industry from birth, as my father Dr. William M. Hall is a jazz aficionado and nurtured our family with a music education that formed our connection to early life and culture. His nickname is “Dr. Jazz†and his music archives have been the source of college libraries and music collectors around the country. My late sister, Pamela A. Hall had an illustrious career in the music industry after graduating from Howard University and working with WHUR-FM. Pam was hired by Hal Jackson of Inner City Broadcasting (WBLS-FM New York) as their music director straight out of undergraduate school. My family exposed me to nearly every music form that existed in my youth, and that motivated me to continue this interest whenever possible for the sake of learning more about myself and other cultures through rhythms, beats, vibrato, and other forms of musical expression, which are all human connectors.
How did you become involved in MV Soul Concepts?
I became involved in MV Soul Concepts when a family friend that I grew up with on Martha’s Vineyard in the summers introduced me to the music event and conference last year. I discovered that he and another childhood friend,
Sean Porter, promoter and event organizer and Janon Costley, the brand liaison and sponsorship expert were putting these events together and they needed a “person on the ground†they could rely upon to get things done, so I said “sign me up.†I also have a son who is a Gates Millennium Scholar at Berklee College of Music, a sister who is a jazz vocalist, a brother-in-law who composes and arranges music, their daughter who is an up-and-coming classical vocalist at Baltimore School for the Arts, and another niece who is an A&R representative for a music label in Nashville, who is also a spoken word artist. These are five selfish reasons for me to be in the business.This is the second Annual Summer Madness Music Festival and Conference making last year’s the first. What prompted MV Soul Concepts to start the festival and conference?
The founders saw that music festivals and conferences had become far and few between in recent years, and that a destination like Martha’s Vineyard would be ideal to attract music industry professionals, artists, fans and folks who love good music and enjoy connecting with people while learning about the industry and having a good time.
What are your expectations of this year’s event based on how last year’s went?
Last year was more or less a proof of concept (POC), with one artist, the conference, a beach BBQ and jazz brunch. What we
witnessed was that a mixture of music idioms suited the demographic we targeted and participants embraced the concept with great enthusiasm. This year’s events will take it to an entirely new level, as we feature more than 11 different artists, DJ’s and entertainers, several Grammy winners and nominees amongst them. I expect that the world will take notice of a unique event centered around bringing folks together to learn, laugh, play, and get down to business, all in an atmosphere which is magical and tasteful. We will begin to cultivate new relationships and bring old ones back together with the Martha’s Vineyard Summer Madness Festival becoming a springboard for new talent, where industry experts and business people coalesce and in a creative atmosphere, spawning the evolution of new music creation and relationships within a myriad of genres.What’s the significance of blacks vacationing in Oak Bluffs?
Black folks vacationing in Oak Bluffs play a significant part because it is a place where people want to be during the summer. My partners and I were fortunate enough to grow up in families who became homeowners in Oak Bluffs more than a half century ago, so we would spend time on Martha’s Vineyard with our families in this special place, where a great deal of our highly valued life experiences occurred and life-long friendships born and maintained throughout our lives. Our motivation is to share this unique environment with more people so they might be exposed to its rich history and enjoy its magic, while experiencing good music, making new connections and having fun.
This year’s theme is “Ladies First†and it’s basically an all-ladies lineup.  Why is that?
MV Soul Concepts will develop a new theme for our events each year and we wanted to follow up with a celebration and recognition of our women, because it’s the mothers, sisters and wives who are the backbone and strength of our families, supporting our men and families as business opportunities are pursued. We were desirous of acknowledging this during the 40th Anniversary of hip-hop and spoken word artistry by putting “Ladies First.†It also coincides with Queen Latifah and Monie Love’s “All Hail the Queen†album released in 1989. The industry has underestimated the power and influence of women and we want to not only acknowledge our women’s talents and skills set, but also educate and remind folks in the industry, and in general, just how important and significant our sisters are as agents of creativity, evolution and taste in music and entertainment.