Can Perez Hilton save the music biz?

(Credit: Michael Tucker)

Perez Hilton: music mogul? It may seem like a strange new career path for the controversial gossip blogger, but Hilton (Mario Lavandeira to his family) has been laying the groundwork for his professional ventures into the music industry for years, helping to break acts like Lady Gaga and Mika through the influential “Listen to This” section of his blog and hosting parties at Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival that have featured appearances by everyone from Kanye West to Katy Perry.

This year, Hilton has gone all-in on his musical endeavors, launching his own label, Perezcious Music, through Warner Bros. Records, and putting on the 17-city Perez Hilton Presents tour. Headlined by two of Hilton’s favorite artists, New Zealand synth-popper Ladyhawke and Norwegian garage-rock spitfire Ida Maria, the tour will also spotlight Perezcious Music’s first signing, a French electro-pop artist named Sliimy (pronounced “Slee-mee”), in select markets. [Update: as of Sept. 21, Ida Maria has dropped out of the tour due to "exhaustion." She is being replaced on all remaining dates by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Hilton has not made any comment about the change on his Web site.]

Putting his name on the tour is a double-edged sword for Hilton, a relentless self-promoter who is nonetheless well aware of his detractors. “I’ve read some comments like, ‘Oh, I love Ida Maria’ or ‘I love Ladyhawke, but I don’t want to go because it’s Perez Hilton’s show,’” Hilton sighs. “That’s stupid. Get over it.”

From his home in Los Angeles, Hilton talked about the tour, the label and what he has in store for a music industry in dire need of a shrewd manufacturer of buzz.

How did the idea for the label come about? Did you approach Warner Bros. or did they approach you?
I approached a lot of people, and it came about through a lot of hard work. I had to demonstrate that I’m more than just a blogger and offering more than just my Web site. I bring experience, ideas, relationships and much more to the table. We’ve already been able to create great opportunities for Sliimy, my first artist. We launched this amazing Twitter campaign, where we had everybody twittering, “Who is Sliimy?” Everyone from Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus…

Yep, that was the first time I heard about him.
Yeah. And then I also got him opening slots, opening for Britney Spears this summer in Europe, opening for Katy Perry. His music is gonna be on the season premiere of “90210.” And this has all been my doing, because of my relationships with people. I’m taking this endeavor on because I think it’ll be fun, but more importantly, I think I’m gonna be good at it.

How do you discover new music? What are your sources?
I discover all the new music I listen to the same exact way—through my readers. People email me suggestions and I listen to every submission. Most of them are crap, but every once in awhile, there’ll be something really good that comes through. But yeah, I don’t read any of the music magazines; I don’t read any of the music blogs; I don’t go to music stores. I don’t even browse through iTunes.

When did you first launch the “Listen to This” category on PerezHilton.com?
Oh, god—years ago.

Was that part of the original plan—to promote artists you like?
No, that happened organically, just because I love music so much. It’s the same reason people send suggestions of artists to check out. Music-lovers like to share good music with other music-lovers.

So tell me a little bit about the Perez Hilton Presents tour.
Well, the tour starts September 10 in Atlanta, so that’s really soon, and I’m very excited. In addition to the great lineup, I’m also working on some really cool, fun things and surprises for people to really make it an event and something that will be very buzzed about. I want everyone telling their friends what a great time they had. I want people tweeting that it was awesome. And I want to thank them and reward them for coming and supporting the music. It’s not about supporting me—I want people to get over the fact that, yes, I’m putting this on, but… A lot of people don’t like me. I’m very self-aware. People either like me or loathe me. There’s very little in-between. But they should get over the fact that it’s “Perez Hilton Presents” and not let that interfere with them going to see an artist that they like on the lineup.

Have you been getting a lot of resistance from people to the idea of Perez Hilton as a tour promoter and a label owner?
Oh, absolutely, and I’m OK with that. That’s not gonna stop me.

Do you think it has to do with your reputation as a blogger—with people thinking, “Well, he doesn’t know anything about music”?
No, definitely. The people that have hesitations with it, it’s because of who I am. But if people are aware of what I’ve done in the music world and who I’ve supported in the past and the events that I’ve put on and the music that I’ve recommended, then they get over that. I love celebrity gossip and I love working on my Web site—I’m not gonna knock that, I love it. But I’m passionate about music.

Once artists are affiliated with your label or your tour, are they immune from getting slagged on PerezHilton.com?
No. If they’re messes, they’ll be talked about.

If [Ladyhawke’s] Pip Brown commits a fashion faux pas, you’ll call her out on it?
Mm-hm. Yeah. Or if Ida Maria is a hot mess or something, yeah.

Have you signed any other artists to Perezcious?
Oh, yeah. Lots of them. I’ve signed some amazing people. But unlike others—like Justin Timberlake—I don’t like to talk about all these artists I’m working with until we’re ready to release music.

So Perez the gossip blogger doesn’t want people gossiping about his recently signed artists?
Well, I want it to be all about the music. And when we first come out of the gate with someone, there’s gonna be initial buzz and I want to really capitalize off of that. I don’t want that buzz to fade away. That’s the main reason.

And in this day and age, you’ve got to come up with some creative ways to generate that buzz—like having all your famous friends tweet about Sliimy.
Well, I’ve already got ideas for all my other artists.

I’m sure. Some new tricks we haven’t seen yet?
Absolutely!