Purpose Before Profit: Gongu Roach of Copyright Maintenance On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
You need passion. As I’ve stated before, I love my work so much that it’s what I go sleep doing and what I wake up to do. When you’re passionate about what you do, it doesn’t even feel like work. It feels like you’re just doing what you love which will naturally motivate you every day and will continue to throughout your career. In turn, you’ll work so much harder, and the results are extremely rewarding.
In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Gongu Roach.
Gongu Roach is a music publishing forensics expert with over 20 years of experience in the field. Known for his sharp business acumen and deep understanding of publishing rights, Roach has become a trusted advisor to artists and songwriters by helping them navigate the complexities of royalty management.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
My family’s from Harlem, NY. My family moved from Harlem to Dumont, NJ in the 1960s. Soon after, my mother and I moved to Fort Lee, NJ. I grew up in the beginnings of the hip-hop era. That’s where I saw more of the elements of breakdancing and DJing and cats, rapping and stuff like that.
I was mesmerized by that. I was on the sidelines just watching. I was pretty much amazed by what was going on. I had friends that got record deals in high school. I was classmates with one of the sons of Sugar Hill Records, and he was pretty much a big figure in school because of the success of the family. I was also going to school with Leo Brian, who was the brother of actor Taimak Guarriello who played Leroy Green The Last Dragon. He was a big deal at the time. I enjoyed that part, without that part, I wouldn’t be me. I could definitely say that.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
I have numerous interesting stories, but the one that sticks out the most is me meeting late rapper Big Pun’s wife and kids in the homeless shelter in the Bronx. Big Pun was a platinum-selling artist. After seeing her living conditions, I agreed to help her get Big Pun’s royalties back.
I had to go to court with Fat Joe and Jelly Beans over that situation. That was the most shocking thing, since I don’t really recall anybody in hip-hop trying to help Pun’s wife. Even after I got the victory in court, there were no apologies when everybody was saying disparaging things about her. I really can’t parallel anything to that because it just shows you how the music business is. I just want to be on the right side of history. I have to see the other parameters to get to the next dimension, whether it’s arguing with record labels or taking public figures to court.
I think people don’t understand why I do what I do. And the way that I go about these situations, it’s a little bit of an art, too. So, I’ve been told.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
In the beginning, I was way too aggressive. I wasn’t prepared at the time. Just looking back, I wasn’t nearly as educated as I am now. For example, I had a lawsuit with the rapper Nature from The Firm that I brought to Southern district back in maybe like 2009, 2010. I wasn’t ready to be the person to take that case. I should have given that case to somebody else at that time that knew more.
I learned from a lot of mistakes in my early court cases, but that’s what sharpened me up to be where I’m at now. I’ve gained from the losses. It’s not like I lost the cases, either. I settled those cases and did win those cases. It’s just that I could have gotten so much more out of the cases. My court drafts could have been so much more thorough just because of the education I have now, I know what I was missing. I wasn’t educated enough for what I had in my hand.
I gather my evidence a lot better now. That basically was my fault back then. I didn’t know how to prepare evidence as well as I do now. It’s escalated to the point where I prepare evidence for people and it’s not even my case.
As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?
I don’t make decisions based on emotions. That’s probably from facing numerous adversities in life and my journey through these record companies and just not really taking the business serious enough to take things personal.
I’ve seen so much adversity. I’ve seen vultures try to grab stuff from people that were in bad positions. I gained a lot of compassion for people when I saw how the industry wasn’t helping anybody. Once again, just like Liza (Big Pun’s wife), the industry wasn’t helping her at all. I had to had to go toe-to-toe with a lot of people to defend my clients. You just have to have no emotion in order to remain focused on what the end goal is.
There’s a lot of people that are in dire need of help and no one is helping them. Every day I hear about artists getting robbed by someone. It’s become the standard in the industry. I have clients that have sold 15, 20 million records still living at home with their parents. What am I to do? I’m supposed to act like everybody else and just turn my head? A lot of people, they’d rather look out the window instead of looking in the mirror. I’m just not one of those people. I’m not built like that. I’ve seen it happen to my family in this business, losing publishing or losing certain situations. Like I said, even in high school, people I knew sign bad contracts and got taken advantage of.
I feel like I’ve been the one ordained to be in this position, honestly. I’m at my best having no feelings. So, I say keep your emotions out of your work, but also don’t turn a blind eye to justice.
What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?
It started with my uncle losing his 25% share of James Brown’s song “It’s a Man’s World.” There were forged signatures involved where the record label was able to obtain his publishing back in 1998. In those days, I used to be with him a lot and we were going to court to try to get his publishing back.
I helped him in his last dying days trying to get his publishing back. I went through thousands and thousands of pages, running back to court and understanding that part of the business. I fell into it pretty much just due to him. When I needed to touch up on what I didn’t know, I had the owners of Sugar Hill Records to consult me. After I saw my uncle’s royalties get stolen, I realized that this was happening to other people. I started to see other artists in the music industry go through the same situation. So, that’s what made me feel that this was a mission I had to continue. Up to about 2005, we were trying to fight to get his publishing but to no avail. I pretty much knew the publishing system by then and how the money is received and how the money is paid out. I looked at that as a way to help other people.
The first person I found was the rapper Nature from a well-known rap group The Firm. He was my first client. He had a whole bunch of problems with his catalog. I was able to get him a payment and I got that same label to fix someone else’s music catalog. A lot of people do not really understand the value of their catalog due to the fact that they’re not collecting 100% of their catalog. So, you’ll sell it at an under value because you’re unknowingly not receiving all of your royalties. This mostly happens most to late artist’s estates. I help a lot of estates.
Like I said before, the Big Pun estate, DMX’s estate, and the William Hart estate (The Delfonics singer), they’re just inheriting their catalog. So, they don’t necessarily know the full value of what they’re inheriting and that’s where I come in. I pretty much give them a structure. I let them know what money is supposed to come in and when they can expect a payment. A couple of them are interested in understanding the royalty statements, so I’ll teach them how to read a royalty statement. It’s an educational moment. In this instance, I get to share the knowledge I have so that my clients can protect their interests. So, it’s also a teaching moment, which is also important. Now they could do their own security.
The thing about it is, everybody’s supposed to know the value of their whole catalog. I’ve seen many catalogs be sold for way under value, and then the company will come and then fix the catalog up. It’s like they didn’t buy it for that actual price should be because they found more than what you knew about. I want my clients to understand what the catalog is and what the value of the catalog is.
After helping people, I was also able to educate them in the business of collecting their royalties. Now, they know when to expect their money, they know what to look out for. So that way people don’t take from them again.
Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?
A standard plain vanilla business, I would say, it definitely doesn’t cater to you as much as I do. Not only do I change people’s lives financially, but I pass on my knowledge because I genuinely care about my clients. If you hire another company, they will just treat you like a number. My company is more boutique, so I don’t microwave my services. These companies are more like microwave. I’m more like a hand cook. I put all the ingredients together with care because I love what I do.
I maximize situations because I work slowly. I gather more evidence, and as I gather the evidence, I teach the client. I show the client the process and they get to I see whole situation, so they could see it for themselves where the issues lie in their case.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
I’m passionate and love what I do. For me, it’s more than just a job. It really is a life mission to help people, so they don’t go through what I uncle had to endure. It’s the reason I wake up every day. It’s what I go to sleep to and what I wake up to.
I had another guy that was in the publishing business, and he was dying in the hospital. From what I was told, even to his dying day, all he was worried about was taking care of the publishing splits and asking, “Is this correct? And is that correct?” I feel like I’m going to be just like that, I’m going to die thinking about this publishing business. Catering and helping all these people, it’s like a badge of honor. It feels great to say, “I got a client a couple of million dollars when they had nothing.”
The metrics that I use to evaluate success is really about seeing people in better financial situations. After I’m done with a case, my clients can afford to move out of their family’s homes and just be able to afford the basic living standard after being taken advantage of for so long. I really do feel like I’m opening doors that other people really haven’t seen. And because of that, my clients continue to recommend my service to other people. It’s at a point where I’m hiring additional staff because my plate is overflowing!
Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?
I felt like I was making an impact is when I received a contract to consult for Cash Money Records. That was probably the biggest conglomerate I might have dealt with. After I did that, I felt like I was going places. I felt like I was being more appreciated in the business. Just to convince them to say, “Yeah, we’ll work with you.” That was a big thing. Because a lot of these people, you can even tell them the truth and sometimes they just don’t want to hear it. Sometimes people get angry. Everyone reacts differently, but they were open. I had a pleasure working with them.
Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
There’s definitely been times I’ve executed situations for no profit at all, just to help a client that was down and out. There’s been times where I felt so bad for the client, I just let them keep everything because the story was so bad. There were times where I’ve said, “Okay, I did all this. It took me two years, but you can have it. When the money comes in, you can have it.” I don’t take it because they need it more than I do.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business?
You got to be passionate about your craft. You just can’t do it just because other people are doing it, and it sounds cool. The people that are at the best of what they do, at least from what I was told, they’re like me. They sleep short hours. They go to sleep thinking about their craft. They wake up to their craft. You have to be really passionate; it’s got to be a lifestyle.
That’s just how I look at it. My job is a lifestyle. It comes first before anything. If you think like me, you’re going to get places. You have to do a lot of studying, too. I grew up with a lot of people trying to get into business for themselves and were just as smart as me. They had the same resources, but they weren’t studying. They were just thinking they’re talented, but they weren’t getting the reps in. A basketball player will shoot a thousand jumpers every day, they’re getting the reps in. You have to start somewhere and get some type of experience in what you want to do. Start the earlier, the better.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . You need passion. As I’ve stated before, I love my work so much that it’s what I go sleep doing and what I wake up to do. When you’re passionate about what you do, it doesn’t even feel like work. It feels like you’re just doing what you love which will naturally motivate you every day and will continue to throughout your career. In turn, you’ll work so much harder, and the results are extremely rewarding.
2 . Resources are important to have for your purpose-driven business. I mean, without the resources, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today. Resources can be anything from industry relationships to knowledge and education about your craft. Having resources enables you to do your job efficiently and clients need to see that in order to trust you with the task they are hiring you for.
3 . You also need to have some capital. Without capital, you’re not going to move as efficient. You have to put some capital together, even if it’s a small amount. The small deals turn into big deals.
4 . Accessibility is essential. You should be accessible to your clients. Whether it’s an office set up or you’re only a call away and can meet up with them to talk business. Your clients need to be able to feel like they can count on you.
5 . And the fifth thing, is being able to put together statistics. That’s how I get clients. It all starts with different levels of what client you’re dealing with, but I think it’s good to boast about your stats. You have to let it be known. That’s what drives my business. When they see I might have won somebody a million dollars, all of a sudden, I get five more clients that week. The stats enable your clients to trust that they’re in good hands.
I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?
Well, the team came along the journey just from trial and error and prior. I got one person that has been in the industry since the ’90s. Man, some of the most famous people didn’t like that side of the business. They heard me talking back in 2017 and called me up and said, “Hey, I want to be on that side of business. It seems more honest. I’m going through a lot of stuff over here on this side of the business with dishonesty and people hiding checks from each other.” I got that person on board, so we’re synergistic with the approach.
I got another guy that was doing the same thing that I was doing. We just talk all day about different cases, and it’s exhilarating. It’s probably how a detective is on a murder case. They do what they do because they’re passionate what they do.
I almost like being lied to. It’ll keep me up all night, and I’ll be doing research on the phone with my partners, just talking about it and trying to figure it out. It’s like just trying to solve a puzzle and we enjoy that. That’s our game of exhilaration, just trying to figure out how the money’s flowing from company to company and who’s lying to who. It’s a good business.
Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
I’d be happy if I can get my business to a higher numerical digit, maybe like a nine-figures or so. That’s what we’re striving for, to build up the company as much as we can to see what the evaluation is at the end of the day. We’re just trying to get our stats up from every angle. We made a good amount of money for people last year. So, we sit back, and we talk a lot how we can expand, how we can stretch your parameters in the industry to get more money out of the opposition for those that were being taken advantage of. I mean, that’s a daily concentration. So, we had a revelation a couple of weeks ago on some new approaches that will bring the company to a higher a Ievel. Stay tuned!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would inspire being to be honest. Unfortunately, that’s what I’m based around in the industry, it’s dishonesty and disloyalty. That’s what this industry is based on. No one’s trying to fix the royalty system. For the rest of your life, you’re going to hear about people getting robbed of royalty payments. If honestly was instilled, you wouldn’t have me meeting a Liza Rio in a homeless shelter after her husband made platinum-selling records. I got I got a client that should have a couple of million dollars in his pocket. Unfortunately, he’s homeless and we’re trying to fix that as we speak.
There’s a lot of dishonesty in this game. People need to be more transparent. These individuals, they’re chameleons in this business. So don’t turn a blind eye to justice.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
Your readers can follow me on Instagram: @gonguroach and subscribe to my YouTube channel: @GonguRoach.
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
Purpose Before Profit: Gongu Roach of Copyright Maintenance On The Benefits Of Running A… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.