‘SONGWRITERS HAVE A CHALLENGING LIFE. IT’S A CERTAIN KIND OF GRIND THAT WE REALLY UNDERSTAND.’
Pulse Music Group co-founder Scott Cutler loves this quote from Apocalypse Now filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. It’s clear that such a glass-half-full mindset is something Pulse lives by.
“[Coppola] didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the [shots] that he didn’t get,” says Cutler. “He got enough great shots to make a movie. And as long as we’re doing well, and it’s working, it’s good.”
Pulse is definitely doing well. The independent Los Angeles-based publisher, management and services company has shown a knack for signing some of the hottest songwriters amid a ten-year track record of backing talent.
Big recent hits from Pulse writers include Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode feat. Drake via OZ, Maroon 5’s Girls Like You feat. Cardi B via superstar songwriter Starrah and Camila Cabello’s Havana feat. Young Thug also via Starrah. Pulse songwriter Marty James also co-wrote the remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Latin mega hit Despacito, featuring Justin Bieber.
In fact, the company’s roster is responsible for selling over 150 million units of recorded music. Its original declaration of being a metaphorical “sanctuary” for artists, devised by its founders – songwriters Scott Cutler, Anne Preven and songwriter/producer Josh Abraham – appears to ring as true today as it did on day one.
A physical manifestation of the Pulse ‘sanctuary’ is housed behind a large grey, ivy-covered building in Silverlake, Los Angeles, one of two Pulse studio complexes in the city. The other one is a few miles away in Burbank. Designed in 1967 by architect Carl Maston, Pulse HQ feels a lot less like what one might expect a ‘traditional’ publishing company to look like.
Originally known as Soundcastle Recording Studios, the property’s two studios have served as the location of recordings by superstars like Madonna, Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Tupac, Billy Joel, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre and countless others.
The location and legacy of Pulse’s HQ sends a clear message to anyone who ventures through its gates: This company is serious about music.
“I was a published songwriter from the age of 22,” says Cutler, explaining the significance of their current setup.
“You would go into a publisher’s building and it was like a bank building; you’d get off [the elevator] on the fourth floor; you’d sit in the waiting room and you’d walk past a bunch of file cabinets to an office. There was nothing about it that felt [like a music company].”
Adds Abraham (pictured left): “When Pulse first started, we built it as if we were building a label. We only talked about Island Records, A&M Records and Virgin [as reference points].
“But particularly A&M, [whose HQ] was at the Jim Henson Company lot. There was a label inside the studios and we kind of modelled [Pulse’s building] after that.”
Between them, Abraham and Cutler have themselves co-written and co-produced songs that have generated tens of millions of sales worldwide.
Amongst many other hits, Cutler, whilst a member of the band Ednaswap, co-wrote the song Torn, covered and made world famous in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia, while Abraham has worked with everyone from P!nk to Weezer, Carly Rae Jepsen and Adam Lambert to Slayer.
They’ve been able to draw from their combined experiences in the studio and at the negotiation table to offer a “by-musicians-for-musicians” development service, which works.
“We realized at one point, that we had a lot of answers from all of our experiences,” says Cutler. “I was a songwriter, I had sessions every day. I know what it’s like when it’s going well; I know what it feels like when it’s not going well.
“I understand some of the concerns that songwriters [have]. It’s a challenging life, even when you’re doing your best. You’re constantly writing another song, you can’t really rest on the last song. You have got to keep going. It’s a certain kind of grind that we really understand.”
Cutler’s first-hand understanding of the needs of songwriters and publishers was acknowledged this year when he was elected to join the board of the National Music Publishers Association.
“It was humbling,” he says, of the experience. “I felt like an imposter on day one. Like, ‘What am I doing here with all these guys that have been doing this for so long?’
“But I got over that and I’m going to do everything I can to bring whatever voice I can bring to it. Them picking Pulse to be included was really an honor.”
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