THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010 — More even than most entrepreneurs, Marcus H. Mitchell merits the description "one-man band." An urban-jazz saxophonist, producer and music executive, he's cutting a profitable path through a tough industry — and calling his own shots all the while. He inked his first record deal at age 21, a coup he set in motion while still in high school by cold-calling an upcoming music exec by the name of Mathew Knowles — who had great faith that his oldest daughter, Beyoncé, was headed for big things.

These days, Mitchell, now 27, runs MHM Entertainment Group out of Temple Hills, Maryland, a town of under 10,000 just a few miles southeast of Washington, D.C. Eight people (several of whom are members of his band, The Marcus Mitchell Project) have positions in his company. It's a growing enterprise — MHM includes a record label (24th Music); a media group (383 Communications); a publishing venture (Three Sheets of Music); and an investment operation (Armdeonce Ventures). 

Running the company — to say nothing of recording and touring — keeps Mitchell furiously busy. But that's exactly the point. "I saw the situation in the music industry, that CD sales were going down, so I wanted to get involved as quickly as possible and as much as possible," he says of his early career. "It's harder work, but our goal was to structure the business in several entities. We act like a major [label], but we have a lot of control."

•••

The music industry can be a very tough place to get a foot in the door. How'd you manage it?
I got into everything by accident. I was trying to make connections within the industry to get signed by the time I got out of college. I sat down with Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father — and talking to him, it struck me afterward that I wanted to get into music on the business side, too. With Mathew Knowles's help, I was able to establish 24th Music in college, and I had a distribution deal with EMI/Lightyear at age 21.

Having Beyoncé's dad on your side has got to help. You're from Houston originally — was that how you got hooked up with him?
Believe it or not, my cousin lied to me and told me Mathew Knowles used to manage his group. This was in the early days, and Mathew would still answer the phone at his office in Houston. I called him and was able to get a meeting. He said, "I don't know your cousin, but I'm on the verge of starting this company. I don't know if you've ever heard of Destiny's Child, but we're starting to do big things."

How is your current business structured?
24th Music is now kind of a skeleton of [Knowles's] Music World Entertainment. I've since added a lot of other things to it. I saw the situation in the music industry, that CD sales were going down, so I wanted to get involved as quickly as possible and as much as possible. It's harder work, and we don't have the dollars the [major labels] do — well, they don't have as many dollars anymore, either — but our goal was to structure the business in several entities. We act like a major, but we have a lot of control. Just this week we signed an exclusive distribution deal with Best Buy. We had a deal with EMI, but we looked at the numbers and realized Best Buy was the way to go. Obviously it'd be good to have music everywhere, but if we have one chain we can get our music in, we can focus on that, get out and do grassroots stuff.

What's your schedule like? How do you split your time between the business and creative sides?
Mondays and Tuesdays are office days, when I'm trying to close deals. Wednesday through Sunday, I play. The new record, All Access, is our first live CD. We wanted listeners to envision us at a concert, but without all the clapping and noise. It's a very clean record, not a lot of reverb. It's straight raw. We're very excited about it. I hit the road this Saturday, actually; I'm starting my tour in Raleigh, North Carolina, near where I went to school. The Raleigh area, Houston, L.A. — those are all good markets for us.

How about Washington, D.C.?
As far as being a musician and being able to perform? You have U Street in D.C., and just outside you have Bowie, Maryland. All across the DMV [D.C., Maryland and Virginia], there are plenty of opportunities to perform.

What about from a business standpoint?
The major thing D.C. lacks is this: Every time I go to Los Angeles, I'm going to meeting after meeting with producers, executives, TV people. From the business side, D.C. can be very rough. Whenever we go to L.A., we get so much accomplished. On the other hand, out there, of course, there's so much competition. So D.C. does have its pluses. I enjoy it.

It has a reputation as a place that rolls up the sidewalks and shuts down early.
I was just in D.C. on Tuesday, and it looked like it was the weekend. It's always crazy down there.

What are the hot areas to hang out?
Adams Morgan, Georgetown and U Street are the premier spots. If you're into the political scene, there are a lot of swanky places on Capitol Hill where a lot of political leaders will stop, sometimes when I'm playing, to have a drink. [Former D.C. mayor and current District Council member] Marion Barry is sometimes at this venue I'm at twice a month, the 21st Amendment on Capitol Hill.

How about the president?
I haven't seen him, but of course the Obamas do get out. When they first came to D.C., Michelle was spotted at my favorite restaurant, Georgia Brown's. Sometimes they'll get out and tie up traffic, yeah. But they're not at my gigs yet. •

Recent Interviews