UBR Spotlight: Producer Leon Huff On Success In the Music Industry

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Renita D. Young kicks off the first new show of 2012 with producer and record industry entrepreneur Leon Huff who, along with partner Kenneth Gamble, make up the prolific Gamble and Huff songwriting duo. Gamble and Huff pioneered the Philadelphia Sound when they formed Philadelphia International Records, leaving a lasting impression on the music industry. At it’s peak, their company rivaled Berry Gordy‘s Motown Records in the size of their company and the popularity of their music. Both were once among the nation’s largest black-owned companies.

Gamble and Huff have written over 3,000 songs, including numerous top R&B and pop hits, working with renowned artists such as Patti LaBelle, the late Teddy Pendergrass and The O’Jays, just to name a few. The duo has earned more than 300 gold and platinum records, BMI Songwriters Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among other honors. Huff joins Young to share his insights on the music industry and how his passion for music paved the way to entrepreneurial success.

Also, UBR Contributor Samantha Pass speaks with Hollywood executive and serial entrepreneur Arthur Wylie, author of Only The Crazy and Fearless Win Big!: The Surprising Secrets Success in Business and In Life (BenBella Books). An executive at Global Entertainment Holding’s Film Fund, Wylie also oversees his own wealth management group, specializing in helping companies through business planning.

In addition, in my first “Alfred’s Notepad” segment of the new year, I share some advice for those first-time entrepreneurs starting new businesses in 2012: Don’t become isolated. I share why it’s critical to actively network with other entrepreneurs in your city and industry by joining local business organizations, networking via social media and attending events such as the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, which will be in Chicago, May 23-26, 2012.

And finally, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today business correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.

If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, connect with me at BE Insider, the social media network for people who are serious about Black Enterprise. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each week for UBR Spotlight, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.