Management: From Nirvana to Moulin Rouge, Janet Billig Rich

Beatie Wolfe interviews Janet Billig Rich (former Nirvana / The Smashing Pumpkins / Hole manager and Rock of Ages / Moulin Rouge Theatre Producer) about the music industry, past and present, and how she went from selling t-shirts for Sonic Youth and REM, age 16, to managing her favourite bands to becoming the youngest senior executive at Atlantic Records. Listen to this dublab radio show that takes you from grunge to broadway via the power of passion.

Orange Juice for the Ears with “musical weirdo and visionary” (Vice) Beatie Wolfe explores the power of music across Space, Science, Art, Health, Film & Technology by talking to the leading luminaries in each field from Nobel Prize winners to multi-platinum producers and hearing the music that has most impacted them, their “Orange Juice for the Ears”. Beatie Wolfe is an artist who has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN Women role model for innovation, and held an acclaimed solo exhibition at the V&A Museum.

Janet Billig Rich’s Orange Juice for the Ears

First song that imprinted? “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King
First album that shaped who you are? Let It Be by The Replacements - track played “Unsatisfied”
The music you would send into Space? “Fuck and Run” by Liz Phair
The song you would have at your memorial? "In My Life" by The Beatles
The album you would pass onto your kids? Cuz I Love You by Lizzo - track played “Truth Hurts”

The show opens with "About a Girl (Live)” (from MTV Unplugged) by Nirvana, a track Beatie Wolfe most associates with Janet Billig Rich as she is the first person credited for making the show happen.

This show first aired live on LA’s dublab radio. The podcast was mastered by Dean Hovey. For rights reasons, the music in this podcast version is shorter than in the original broadcast.