Paul Farberman: The Man Behind the Deals That Shaped Music and Film

What do Celine Dion, "Titanic," and a Spielberg film have in common? Paul Farberman.

Paul Farberman’s career spans continents, formats, and cultural icons. From representing artists at Sony Music Canada to working alongside legends like Sting and Celine Dion, Paul became one of the most trusted voices behind the scenes in both the music and film industries. He helped guide the launch of one of the most iconic songs of all time, navigated billion-dollar franchises, and now brings his experience to Broadway and beyond.

In this intimate episode, Paul opens up about the real business of entertainment. He shares what it takes to earn an artist’s trust, how major moments often come down to quiet decisions, and why staying relevant means putting people before platforms. His journey moves through record labels, studio lots, and global stages with a steady focus on integrity, timing, and service.

Don’t miss this exclusive conversation with an industry insider whose career helped shape modern music and film. Tune in to hear Paul’s reflections on creativity, connection, and what still inspires him to keep going.

🎯 What You’ll Hear:
✔ The untold story behind how “My Heart Will Go On” almost didn’t make it into "Titanic"
✔ How Paul earned the trust of global superstars like Celine Dion
✔ A rare look into the business side of film scores, licensing, and artist management
✔ Insights from decades of experience in both Hollywood and international markets
✔ Why longevity in entertainment is about people, not just platforms

💬 Ask Us:
What does legacy look like to you? Tag @NRJMediaGroup or DM us. 

🌐 Thank you for listening! Stay inspired. Stay bold. Stay Energis’d.  Visit us at www.nrjmediagroup.com to learn more and connect with our growing community.

Transcript

Paul Farberman: Industry Legend Revealed

Norma 0:18

Okay , rich pop quiz .

Rich 0:20

Oh , I like pop quizzes Hit me , I know you do Okay .

Norma 0:22

Oh , I like pop quizzes . Hit me , I know you do Okay . What do Titanic , celine Dion and Steven Spielberg have in common ?

Rich 0:30

Now , okay , okay , now , that does sound like a plot to a Hollywood movie .

Norma 0:35

Close . The answer is Paul Farberman , music lawyer , industry legend , and the calm and the chaos behind some of the biggest moments in pop culture .

Rich 0:48

Yes , and you know he's like the guy you didn't know . You knew From CBS Records that little song . My Heart Will Go On to producing Broadway shows . The man has done it all .

Rich 0:59

So many stories .

Norma 1:01

Like how that Titanic song , you know .

Rich 1:03

The little baby one .

Norma 1:04

The small film . You know , that little baby one , the small film , you know that little thing . Yeah , yeah , yeah , how that song almost didn't happen .

Rich 1:10

Crazy , huh , so so crazy . I'm still trying to wrap my head around that and you know this episode is part music history . It's part masterclass in trust timing and just showing up for people .

Norma 1:22

And also and just showing up for people . And also he somehow made time for a music festival and clocked in over 22,000 steps . I mean , who does that ?

Rich 1:30

Clearly someone who loves music festivals . Well , listen . Legend . Status confirmed . Check , let's jump in . Let's jump in , let's do it . Paul , thank you for joining us today . Great to be here . Lovely to have you here . Yes , thank you At Vitello's .

Norma 1:48

The lovely Vitello's .

Rich 1:49

Studio City the lovely Studio City . Absolutely California , the very hot Studio City .

Norma 1:54

In the velvet martini lounge right . That's what we're called .

Rich 1:56

This is a martini lounge no martinis .

Paul Farberman 2:02

Too early for a brand new drink . What's your drink of choice ? Water , okay .

Norma 2:06

Water . Yeah , you said that very quickly .

Paul Farberman 2:09

Because I've never had it . Malcolm knows I've never had a drink of alcohol in my life . Well , I mean I tasted . Yes . But as a young boy I grew up loving the worst soda pop drinks , orange Crush and Grape Crush , which are sugar and sweet . So when you're used to drinking that , when I first tasted wine or beer it was just such a foreign , horrible taste to me and I never grew up enough to acquire a taste for wine or champagne , let alone horrible alcohol and beer . So I've never been drunk .

Norma 2:45

Oh Pop , but those sugar highs are like I never have an excuse for my actions .

Paul Farberman 2:49

I can't say oh my God , I was so drunk last night . I'm so sorry you don't have an out .

Norma 2:53

You didn't discover an out .

Rich 2:55

So yeah , Well , I can't say that .

Norma 3:00

Neither can I , neither can I , I can't either .

Rich 3:03

Thank you for joining us today . It's an absolute pleasure having you here . We are honoured to have someone who's been in the industry the music industry for as long as you have , with as much legacy as you have , and the people you've worked with , the projects you've worked on . How did you get into it ? How did you start ?

Paul Farberman 3:26

So growing up in Toronto I loved music . I played drums . I think I had my first little toy drum set probably when I was like five or six years old , and then , when I was 13 , I actually got a real drum set and I had it for about a day .

Paul Farberman 3:39

A day Wait , only one day , one day because I went with my dad to buy it . We brought it home , put it in my bedroom and my mom came home and said Ruben , what are you doing ? Oh no , and you can't have that in the house . And I cried and we took them back to the store . Oh , Paul , Because she wasn't prepared for it . Okay , so she calmed down and eventually I did get another set of drums . And yeah , when I was 13 , it was the Beatles invasion and all the British invasion and all that . So I played drums and I just grew up loving music .

Paul Farberman 4:14

When I went to college , I didn't like a lot of young people . I didn't have any real goals in mind . I didn't really know what I wanted to be . I went through and just took whatever courses I thought would get me the best grades and finished college . And then , what do you do ? I didn't really know what I wanted to be . I went through and just took whatever courses I thought would get me the best grades and finished college . And then , what do you do ?

Paul Farberman 4:32

I didn't know what to do , but I come from a nice Jewish family . What do I become ? A lawyer or a doctor ? So I went to law school . I had a lot of my friends , Not because of any great passion to be a lawyer , but even while I was in law school , at the college , I took a performance workshop where I played jazz and drums , not for credit , but just you know . I was lucky when I graduated Not at first , but I graduated from law school and , like now and even back then , it's difficult to find jobs coming out of law school and there was a job on the board of school about some lawyer who needed just this one guy out in this sort of east end of town and this is in Toronto .

Paul Farberman 5:09

In Toronto . Okay , my parents said , well , you should go for the job . So the guy hired me and I didn't want to do it . My parents said , well , look , you'll make some money , You'll get some experience . And then a month later , walk into the office . It was just a two-man office out in the sort of suburbs . There was a note and he was firing me at the guy saying that I wasn't bringing in enough business . All for a month . Yeah , wow , and just for us at a law school , yeah , and I found that what he really happened is he found another lawyer who was moving to Toronto who was , you know , more experienced , and he brought him in and I was gone . And I was gone .

Paul Farberman 5:41

The lawyers that I had articles for , like Paul , they can't do that to you . And we sued him for like wrongful dismissal and settled shortly after for no money , really , but enough for , you know , go out for a nice dinner . And they paid all my legal fees . But I learned a very valuable lesson very early in my career as a young , young , young lawyer , and that is how traumatic a lawsuit can be . Because when we filed the papers on my behalf for the claim , his response was full of lies and windows and I was like anytime there was any paperwork I'd go berserk . So we just settled it .

Paul Farberman 6:22

And it just taught me that as difficult it is for people when you're involved in a lawsuit you want to try and settle at all costs . It just you know the worst cases . Of course I'm not involved , was never involved with family law , but in divorces you know the husband or wife will file a petition and the other one will respond with all kinds of things and all of a sudden what might have been not such a bad divorce becomes fire because of the lawyers and the things that are necessary . So whenever it's possible , I tell people to try to take a deep breath if there's a way to resolve it .

Paul Farberman 6:51

And then the other thing you know , if you've ever been in a courtroom not that I was a trial lawyer when you go into court you could be telling the absolute truth , but you're nervous , you're shaking . Oh yeah , the judge and jury only see what they see , right ? The other person could be lying through their teeth , but they're the most convincing liar , right ? They only see what's presented . So it's no matter how good the facts are . You really want to try whenever humanly possible , but it's difficult because people get so emotional . So I learned a valuable lesson about you know law and the courts and that was really early on .

Norma 7:23

I mean , talk about , that was your first gig and you were already practicing law .

Rich 7:27

So how old were you at the time ? 22 , 23 ?

Paul Farberman 7:31

Graduated college . So then I didn't have a job spoke to a guy who my sister was friends with , who was a lawyer doing music work , and he didn't need anybody . But he told me it was like in a house , this thing , and it was him and another lawyer there . He said Paul , I really don't need you , I can't pay you anything . But you know there's a basement , downstairs there's a desk . If you want to clean it up , you know you can have a desk and I'll pay you like $50 or $100 a week or something you know , just a normal thing to you can do some things . So I said okay , you know another example of life lessons about taking shots of anything I don't know . Not more than four or five , six months later , the other lawyer left Instead of hiring someone else . He said Paul , come on upstairs , you've got a real office . And now I had a real job with a lawyer in the music industry . So that's .

Norma 8:22

Oh , so that's how you got introduced , and it's funny how you just waited it out too , and that's how you got this open opportunity .

Paul Farberman 8:28

Yeah , and in Toronto at that time . Now there's many , of course , but there were only three lawyers who were doing any amount of real music industry work , so I was lucky and went from there .

Norma 8:40

Did the drums come back in your life during this time , because I know you spoke about it when you were young

From Toronto Law School to CBS Records

Norma 8:45

.

Rich 8:45

No , no , have they ever come back ?

Paul Farberman 8:47

No , I realized when I was young and playing drums in bands . I knew a few other drummers who were incredible , but they literally lived and breathed . That was their life . I think they only slept one hour a day and I realized I loved playing drums , I loved being in bands , I loved music . I didn't only slept one hour a day and I realized I loved playing drums , I love being a band , I love music . I didn't have the dedication to make it my whole life . There were other things in life besides that , and so I kept my love for music , but not performing .

Paul Farberman 9:16

I did have some friends , yeah that's true who've gone on to do some pretty incredible careers in the world of music .

Norma 9:22

You could live vicariously through them , and then , you could be associated to the music . You enjoyed being a lawyer . You enjoyed working right . You enjoyed your job .

Paul Farberman 9:30

Obviously at this time , right after college , I didn't practice law very long only for a few years and I enjoyed it . What I didn't enjoy was the business of being a lawyer , and what I mean by that is I enjoyed the work , I enjoyed the clients , but you'll go out of business if you're not being paid and paying the bills .

Rich 9:47

Yeah , the business of the business .

Paul Farberman 9:49

Yeah , and I wasn't good at chasing down people for money and getting retainers and you have to do that .

Norma 9:57

Right .

Paul Farberman 9:58

And there's a lot of deadbeats in that business too . And literally I was working with a partner going through our list of receivables one night and all these deadbeats . Oh , this one owes us that money and this one . How are we going to collect that ? Maybe there's something else . And there had been a job available at CBS Records , sony Music . The business fairs person left and they were looking for someone . I knew about it for many months , but I had no interest in going to work . I was this young kid at a college . I was like fighting for the rights of young artists . I liked to go to work for CBS Records , like the big corporation .

Norma 10:32

Exactly the big corporation .

Paul Farberman 10:34

That's not for me . They're the enemy . I'm the indie . So what changed your mind ? Well , going through the receivables , I went . You know what I'm going to call the president of CBS , who I knew very well because he represented people on the label , and I went in for the meeting and I went guys sounds great , and if it doesn't work out , I could—he offered me the job on the spot .

Paul Farberman 11:01

I was kind of lucky because they had—a few months ago , by the way , they had interviewed— there were very few candidates in Canada who had any kind of expertise in the area . So when I came in , they were almost desperate for someone . They were prepared to bring someone up from the States for the role . So they offered me the job . And the guy who left , who I knew , I called him . I said Rick Bernie offered me the job . And he said oh , paul , it's a great job Because he'd gone on to some other thing . And so I took the job and there I was Vice President of job because he'd gone on to some other thing , and so I took the job , and there I was vice president business affairs for CBS records .

Rich 11:29

Yeah , yeah , so what was ? How long were you there ? What was your ?

Paul Farberman 11:32

I was there for five years , okay , and the best thing that happened to me there played a major part of my life . I was very lucky when they signed a young girl who didn't speak English . She was 16, 17 years old , named Celine Dion . Lucky because I met her then and , as you know , we can talk about later . I eventually went to work full-time with her and her husband , , but I met them by being the lawyer who did the contract they first signed her on .

Norma 11:59

so she was how old do you say at that time ?

Paul Farberman 12:01

She was , I think , 16 , almost 17 . And in fact I met René , her husband . First time I met them she was in Paris recording a French album , okay , and I happened to be in Paris on some other reasons and I met Celine and René in Paris , coincidentally for the first time , and then we signed this contract and then I became very , very good friends with her and her husband over the years , even though I moved shortly after here .

Rich 12:29

So you were at CBS for five years .

Paul Farberman 12:32

Yeah .

Rich 12:33

And then you came stateside . I did when did you land ?

Paul Farberman 12:38

A man named Miles Copeland hired me . He and his partner , Jay Boberg , had a company called IRS records . Mile , of course , managed his brothers banned the police . His brother was through a Copeland at this point . The police had disbanded and miles were still managing sting at the time , and he had a record label , IRS Records , with such groups as REM on it , a lot of great British bands , a great time to be . But he brought me and they sponsored me for my visa .

Paul Farberman 13:09

I was gonna say that's a big deal to bring someone in from another country well , particularly because there was no shortage of young law students who have music industry experience here in Los Angeles . Yeah , in fact , I'm not taking anything away from my talents , but I've been so lucky . Oh , you didn't say you're really good at what you do , but I'm so lucky about so many things and luck plays so much of a role in so many people's lives . Yes , they like me , but they could have hired someone here and I'm lucky because they hired me , but they still I don't know if you have to they had to go through the process of advertising the position . They actually interviewed people . I was already working there and I felt bad a little . These people were coming in for interviews for the job that they weren't going to get and they were able to get me my visa and justify it because they did have an operation in Canada and because of my expertise in Canada . That's what got me the job . The job .

Norma 14:05

Okay , well , you then . You were the best candidate for that position .

Paul Farberman 14:08

Yeah .

Norma 14:09

There you go , thank you , I'm helping . I'm helping your alter ego here .

Paul Farberman 14:14

Yeah , and I loved uh good working there .

Norma 14:18

Wow , that was , that was a big move for you then , and I mean , look at some of the artists , no it was a big move because I didn't really know anybody in LA .

Paul Farberman 14:26

In fact , I remember the first night I got here . I got to my apartment and the power haven't turned on and it was night and there was like no lights . I remember crying , thinking what am I doing ? Why am I here ? No , what am I doing ? But I also thought it was one of the situations where I knew , if I stayed in Canada , very likely I could have been the president of CBS Records . If I stayed there , I could have been . You know the old saying , you know a big fish in a small pond , but I would rather be a small fish in a big pond . You know , like other parts of the world , I wanted to be in America . I wanted to do more with my life than just what I could do in Canada . So I thought , if things don't work out , I can always come back to Canada and do what I was doing .

Rich 15:11

So moving from CBS to IRS . . . Right , what was the difference ? I mean obviously coming to the States , but in terms of the caliber of artists you worked with , you say it was a lot of great British bands , british bands Did you find it was a big difference from moving one to the other ? Working in the States , did you find there was a big change in terms of how things were done ?

Paul Farberman 15:35

Yeah , because in Canada again it was CBS Records , but I was dealing with just local Canadian artists . It was frustrating , and even the president of the company in Canada , a guy named Bernard DiMatteo , was from New York and he came up from international to run the Canadian operation and he was frustrated . He became fiercely proudly Canadian . He was frustrated by the incredible success Canadian artists were having in Canada who were unknown in the States , and so he actually said I'm not going to sign any of them anymore . He felt so bad for the artists that if he signed them they weren't going to get a good shot internationally . He'd rather see them signed to the American company directly . It's interesting To this day Celine Dion is probably the only Canadian artist on the planet Earth who to this day remains signed to Sony Canada .

Paul Farberman 16:26

The big , big names that are out in the world who are Canadian were not signed to the Canadian record companies , and I'm proudly Canadian-American . No one's more proud of Canada than me . I go back a few times a year . Everyone who knows me knows that . And yet it's disappointing and frustrating for Canadian artists . There are a number of big acts there who just can't get , they can't cross over .

Norma 16:48

Well , that's the thing about the United States , right ? And for any other country or any artist , whether it be a film or any industry , breaking into the US is a big deal , right .

Paul Farberman 16:59

Yeah , look , there are artists from England , big artists in England . Don't make it here , yeah , let alone artists from other countries where they're not in the same language .

Norma 17:08

And I would imagine , if you're working with these artists too , it's like I mean , first of all , they have to have the competitive edge right , and there's also other expectations , I would imagine , because when you make it here and then you have an album and you do , or anything in your profession , what's next , and then what's next and what's next , and it's that pressure of constantly getting better and delivering the results right as well yeah , absolutely .

Rich 17:31

I would have thought , also , being in america , the , the delivery and everything how many else is done here must be totally different to how it was done in canada . You are on an international stage here , right , and you know the artists you're talking about . Say they're British artists , The Police or Sting or whoever else it might be REM , colossal bands with a huge following . So it must have been a bit of an eye-opener coming here from Canada .

Paul Farberman 17:56

No question . And then the other thing that was so different is the IRS records offices at the time were on Universal , the movie Studio lot , and I got to be friendly with people at Universal Pictures . One day Burt Berman , the head of the music department for Universal Pictures , his business affairs guide , left and he said , Paul , why don't you come work for me ? I don't know anything about the film and TV business , I know music , but from a record company point of view . And he said , Paul , don't worry about it .

Norma 18:25

And again , Paul , do you have a lucky charm in your backpack ?

Rich 18:29

No , because , we don't rub

The Move to America and IRS Records

Rich 18:30

ourselves up against him .

Paul Farberman 18:32

He hired me over other people who I know personally who were far more qualified because they were doing the same job as some of the other studios in town . That's my entry at Universal . But again , you know know , being in Los Angeles and work for a record company there , that's the thing there's . You've got film and tv and commercial . There's so many other things going on that people you can be exposed to .

Rich 18:56

How did your role change when you went to Universal ? Did you ? Was you covering a greater portfolio of artists ?

Paul Farberman 19:04

Well , yeah , I mean , whereas IRS was pretty much rock and roll , when you're making movies , you could be dealing with composers or soundtracks and artists who are doing opera , classical country , western , rap , every style , and it was . I just loved the .

Norma 19:21

You could choose , almost . You got exposed and were you looking for that , for that more exposure outside of just the music ?

Paul Farberman 19:28

I wasn't looking for it , it just presented the opportunity presented itself .

Norma 19:31

Here we go again with the Lucky Charm .

Paul Farberman 19:33

Yeah .

Norma 19:33

That's awesome .

Paul Farberman 19:35

There's an interesting story about Celine and my first job there . My first week working at Universal Pictures , I had made plans already to go up to Canada to see the music awards up there it's called the Juno Awards , that's like the Brit Awards or the Grammys . But I just started a new job and my boss , bert , said well , paula , it's okay , you can go up there . Bert had told me on my first weekly job , the two most important people you need to know in this job are a guy named Mike Gorfain and Sam Schwartz . They have a music agency here called Gorfain Schwartz Agency and they represent John Williams and James Newton Harbour . You know most of the biggest , biggest composers on the planet Earth and you've got to get to know them because I'm going to be negotiating contracts for those composers for films . So they happened to be coincidentally in Vancouver , where the Junos were that year , and that's where I first met them Vancouver , where the Junos were that year , and that's where I first met them . Celine sang at the Junos that year but she was really still unknown in the States and they came up to me and said Paul , do you know this girl ? She's incredible . I went yeah , I just spent the whole day with her . I introduced him and they said we have an idea .

Paul Farberman 20:39

Steven Spielberg is doing a new movie called American tale 5 goes west . It was a sequel to American Tale . It was an animated thing Mouse , yes .

Paul Farberman 20:49

The first movie had a huge hit by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram , called "Somewhere Out There . They said we would love Celine to consider doing the song . So I come back to work and I'm like I'm just a week on the job and now all of a sudden I'm talking to my boss about Celine Dion doing a Steven Spielberg movie . It's like this is crazy , I'm pinching myself . Linda Ronstadt , this is probably a story that's never been told . Linda Ronstadt turned down the song , didn't love the song , so they were looking for someone else . So Celine recorded the song . Somehow Linda Ronstadt got looking for someone else , so celine recorded the song . Somehow linda runs that got a hold of it and heard the song . She went oh , I want to do it . And steven spielberg rightfully said well , who is celine dion ? It's linda runs . That she already gave us one hit . We're gonna go . And I remember Sam and Mike said paul , don't worry , Ja mes Horner was working on I think it was called "Hook or something a Dustin Hoffman movie .

Rich 21:46

Yeah about Beastman .

Paul Farberman 21:47

Yeah , James Horner was doing the score for that . We're going to go down and speak to James when James speaks to Spielberg . When it comes to music , he'll listen to James because we want Celine Right . But he didn't listen because it was Linda Ross . I didn't tell because it was Linda Ross that I didn't tell Rene right away . I knew he'd be devastated . Remember , I'm not working for him anyway . My boss , bert , and I we actually flew to Montreal to break the news to Rene because there had already been stories in the Montreal papers I actually have so it was already published .

Paul Farberman 22:14

I have copies of the newspaper still at home , the Montreal Gazette . Celine Dion starring a new Steven Spielberg movie . It's like like big success . Nobody knows her in the States . I know it sounds crazy . It's one of the few times I saw Rene kind of get teary-eyed and so emotional it was like devastating and he didn't know how to tell Celine the news . It wasn't just that , it was a Steven Spielberg movie and a great song with James Horner . She loved the song . It was called "Dreams to Dream . The first song she ever recorded in French was a song her mother wrote about dreams , so she really related to the song Very personal .

Paul Farberman 22:48

Very personal . Renee never told her and the record company Sony was kind of pissed off and that's when they decided she got presented with the opportunity to do "Beauty and the Beast with Peeble Bryson . So Rene kind of finally went slim and they said I have good news and bad news . You're not doing this but you're going to .

Norma 23:07

And she was devastated Because she was more attached to the personal story right , yeah , that's what happened .

Paul Farberman 23:14

But , as karma works in life , "Beauty and the Beast really launched Celine in America in many ways , and Dreams to Dream by Linda Ronstadt came out and never saw . I mean , it was released , but it never was a hit Right , right right , so it was meant to happen . Yeah .

Norma 23:32

And you know , in hearing your stories of , first of all , going back to the look like you were just , you were in the right position , you were being pulled into but in getting pulled , it's like you were taking leaps as well .

Paul Farberman 23:47

Right , you were doing well . I've been lucky . I never pressed my luck like , Celine's husband , and became a gambler in Vegas I'm not a gambler , yeah , you were smart .

Norma 23:55

You were smart with your luck , so tell us about because you spent a long time with celine .

Paul Farberman 24:00

Yeah , 70 , 17 years At the label and then I moved down here and the reason I got so close to them was when I moved here . She came to record her first English album here , after having had a French album for Sony , and she recorded at David Foster Studio in Malibu . Now , remember , they knew nobody , she didn't even speak English barely and they had no friends here . So they said , paul , come hang out in the studio , have lunch , have dinner , and then over the years , while I was , you know , working at IRS and working at Universal and then Fox , they would always come down to do a TV show , an award show , a recording session , a photo session , a video shoot , and they'd always call me and we became good friends and you know , sometimes we would talk about it seriously , sometimes jokingly , but Paul , one day you're going to work for us , one day you're going to work for us . And eventually it did happen and I went to work for them full-time for a long period of time .

Norma 24:52

Yeah , but what you were doing before , just to kind of contextualize your work you were mostly negotiating deals on behalf of the Composers , Composers for films and then a Fox the same thing .

Paul Farberman 25:05

When I went to Fox after Universal , which I'll tell you about another interesting life lesson to pass on to people . But I went to Fox and the same job and was negotiating the composer agreements for all the films and for TV and overseeing the licensing . I had a staff of people there who were doing licensing music for films and also composing new music not just songwriters besides composers and doing soundtrack deals , which in those days of course it's almost disappeared now soundtrack albums In those days people bought even just score albums from movies . People would buy them . So that was a big part of the business .

Norma 25:44

And I think a lot of people forget that , from a content perspective , the rights are very tricky when it comes to music , I think , and the music makes a lot of the content .

Rich 25:54

It's very emotive , so it brings it to life , it is actually , if you think about it , so it's "Guardians of the Galaxy , the first film they did . They had the most amazing soundtrack was all from the 70s and 80s and all of a sudden you download the soundtrack . Some really , really , really great songs on that .

Paul Farberman 26:11

And it brings the characters and one of the problems , as you both know very well from your own experiences a composer can't write the music until the movie's done . He has to see the movie , and by the time you get to Lysa Music done , he has to see the movie . And by the time you get to licensing music , oh , there's no budget left .

Paul Farberman 26:26

We spent all the money , there you go , you're right , Paul , and so in those days getting money in advance , like from a record company for a soundtrack was really helped get the music done .

Rich 26:37

but yeah , licensing songs , it all costs money , but the budgets evaporate by the time they get to the music department it's a shame because , as you say , a film that the score , the soundtrack is what makes the film oh , it does , it does we've discussed this before , but occasionally , when I'm flying over here I'm watching a film , when I have the headphones and start to fall asleep , you realize how little dialogue there is in a film and how much of the film is actually music , be it a score or a soundtrack .

Norma 27:07

It's quite surprising actually well , and the musical score is part of the story . It's that one part in the film , or whatever in the series , that it's supposed to elongate like . It takes you through . It's a raft , it takes you through this emotions and it's it's almost a continuation , but it's an emotional story , right , and so it's a pivotal time in the film . Actually .

Paul Farberman 27:29

Yeah , so I really enjoyed my years at Universal and Fox working in film and TV music .

Norma 27:34

Now you're with .

Norma 27:36

Now you're with , can we ?

Norma 27:37

just start talking about Celine .

Rich 27:39

Sorry , I just want to go back to Celine , if you don't mind .

The Story Behind 'My Heart Will Go On'

Rich 27:42

So from Universal you went to work for Celine and Renée .

Paul Farberman 27:45

No , from Universal I went to work for Fox . And here's the other little life lesson I loved my job at Universal and I loved my boss I mentioned the guy who hired me was a guy named Burt Berman . He went and left to go to another studio and then my best friend at the studio who worked alongside me , Harry Garfield , became the head of the music department and he was my boss . Like this was so great . But then the same job came open at Fox . It was the exact same job , same title , right , but the salary was $50,000 , $50,000 more . And this is like 25 years ago or something . I mean $50,000 now would be a lot , but then it was really that's a lot of money , Paul .

Paul Farberman 28:27

I would have stayed at Universal , but they couldn't buy .

Norma 28:30

Because you had an offer . You showed them like .

Paul Farberman 28:34

So I left , and here's another story I probably never told outside of close friends , but it's fine , it's worth repeating because it's a good lesson for people . I went to Fox and I loved the people there . I loved the job and I couldn't have been happier . But things sort of changed once I was there and I wasn't happy with some of the people that that I was working with . It was a different setup there . Nothing to do with my dear friends robert craft or matt walden , who the people I primarily work for .

Norma 29:03

but yeah , that's a disclaimer , it changes attention everybody .

Paul Farberman 29:06

But there were other people there , and there were days of Harry at Universal called me up and said , Paul , you know , the guy I hired is not working out . I'd love you to come back , but I still can't pay you any more money . I would have said I'll be there tomorrow , Harry . And so the lesson is when you're leaving a job , you know the players , you know the people . You've been there . You know what it's like the good and the bad and the ugly Wherever you're going , how green it seems and beautiful and bright . If you're going , you don't know until you're there on a day-to-day basis working with people . So you really have to think long and hard is it worth it if I'm going , you know , just because I'm getting more money ? Is that really going to make me happier ? And so I always tell people that story , you know just think it through when you're thinking .

Norma 29:51

It is true , and it's so easy to get drawn by the money . But it's and as you get older at least I'm feeling it now it's the people that I really want to be around , less the money so to speak .

Rich 30:02

Something I've learned over the years is yes , be successful , be the best you can be , but success will bring the rewards . But if you are constantly looking I'm saying you work for a second , but some people constantly chase money you're never happy because you never got enough well , you're constantly chasing , yeah , and that's what happens . So so to have done what you , you know , kind of highlights , and to and to have gone back to where you were happy at Universal must have been a relief actually to other thoughts of going back .

Paul Farberman 30:31

But then I got rescued from Fox by Rene and Celine .

Rich 30:34

Oh , so you never went back .

Paul Farberman 30:36

The timing was , I was there . We were , you know , doing the "Titanic movie . I did , James .

Norma 30:41

Horner's that little film . So that was going to be my question . How did that come about ? Tiny film ?

Paul Farberman 30:45

Well , I did James Horner's contract . I was having breakfast with Rene . They were in LA and he was keeping me waiting for a long time , which was First of all . I cannot say enough nice things about Rene and Celine . There are no finer people on the planet . They treated me and they treated everybody around them so well , with kindness and love and and and and . Really I have only the most wonderful memories of working with them . They were doing titanic and while I'm sitting there he was having breakfast . He was late . He apologized and he told me why me , why the thing he was dealing with . And I said to him sort of jokingly oh , renee , if I was working for you , see , you wouldn't have to do all those things , I'd be taking care of that . And he went you're right , paul , that's it . Come work with me . And he literally that day told me to come work with him . I gave my notice to Fox and they were very happy because I'm going to work with Celine Dion . Good for you , Paul , that's important to them .

Paul Farberman 31:41

And so now I'm sitting in my trailer on the lot at Fox , I've given my notice . Mike Gorfain from Gorfain Schwartz called me and he says Paul , listen , james has now finished the score for the movie and now that he's finished it , it cries out for a theme . There's a song that just keeps recurring , recurring , and he thought there should be a song , so he called his lyricist , will Jennings . They wrote a song . Your bosses don't know about it , james Cameron doesn't know about it , John Landis , the producer nope , the producer doesn't know about it , because when that movie was being made , James Cameron and the director and John Landis , the producer , were adamant about it being sort of a real-life historical drama where the only music in the film would be original score . You know the orchestra was playing as the ship was going down , but no Mariah Carey , Whitney Houston , Celine Dion , big ending songs or anything like that . And if you think back , there were no toys at McDonald's or Burger King . It was not that kind of .

Norma 32:33

There wasn't a massive licensee . No .

Paul Farberman 32:35

But we liked to play the song for Celine , so I called Rene . They happened to be in Vegas . This was long , long before her residency in Vegas , but they used to love to go to Vegas anyway and she performed there . Just , you know , the odd concert Flew to Vegas with my girlfriend , James Horner Sat at the piano and played Titanic and tried to sing the song that you really can't sing .

Paul Farberman 32:57

It's true that Celine really didn't like the song , that much , couldn't really relate to it . And Rene had the idea right then and there to say , well , why don't we have Celine demo the song ? If you know , if , if James Cameron has never heard the song , let him hear it with Celine , not just some demo singer . And then we didn't come here to insult Celine . She , you know she was already a big star and asked her to do a demo when he goes . No , but that's how it should be done and it's true that that's what she did . And and the story didn't end . Then she did the song and obviously played it for James Cameron . He still wasn't so sure and Sony wasn't sure .

Paul Farberman 33:29

And I remember sitting in a screening room , at Paramount Pictures screening room in New York , on Broadway , with Renee Inslee , with James Cameron , John Landau , some of the executives from Sony Music . There was one person there , a woman who was a survivor from the ship yeah , and I remember sitting behind Renee and Selena . They were like sobbing with tissues . The next day we had a meeting at Sony and , no matter what you read or hear , sony was not really convinced that she should do this picture it was . The version we saw was probably about 30 minutes longer than the final long version . Anybody who remembers when that movie was made and you would if you read the holly reporter of writer into the trades all you were hearing about was the fighting on the set of mexico yeah , and this is a real life travesty of the budget oh , this is a real life disaster movie .

Paul Farberman 34:18

They can never make their money back , let alone show profit . Nobody wanted to go near the picture , so why would you want to attach your star artist to the picture ? But Rene and Celine were just so moved by the love story . It really moved them . I remember like yesterday Rene stood up at the meeting and said no true words . He said I'm a gambler and I'm gambling on this one . Cameron was so insistent about not being part of the movie . When you're at the movie theater watching the movie , you don't hear Celine's voice until the movie is completely ended . When the credits start to roll , usually the songs start near the end , but no , it was like the movie ends .

Rich 34:53

Now you can play the song but that was forgot to be one of the most iconic soundtrack songs . Well , interesting .

Paul Farberman 35:00

you say soundtrack because james horner put a score album out of just score . But , including my heart , will go on 25 , maybe 30 million copies worldwide , which is beyond crazy , and Celine's album with that song 30 million . So James Horner's one song is on about 60 million albums and you can probably count the number of artists who have sold 60 million albums in their entire career .

Norma 35:24

But , it just shows you the power , too , of what film does with the song . I mean , we were interviewing terry nunn , right ? She talked about take my breath away , right on top gun .

Paul Farberman 35:33

I mean , these movies do really catapult , right and that movie came out , you might remember , on christmas oh , I know , at the time it was still nobody knew , knew what to expect .

Paul Farberman 35:43

And on New Year's Day I remember it , new Year's Day John Delp , the executive at Sony who was in charge of Celine , called me and said Paul , I'm trying to find Rene . Do you know where I can find Rene ? The song is exploding . They were kind of caught off guard in a way . They didn't expect it to be like that number one on like spanish charts where everything was in spanish . It was everywhere . And by the time it actually was released by sony as a single , he was probably only number one for one or two weeks because it was already well in the uk , but

Working with Celine: Trust and Management

Paul Farberman 36:11

in the uk it was at number one for absolutely ages weeks .

Rich 36:14

The other .

Norma 36:14

That's the other thing , the global effect . Sometimes it's an , it's just a little bump here , but around the world and you're talking about time , I where .

Paul Farberman 36:21

I travel a lot and I sometimes say , oh , I worked with Celine Dion people , maybe in China . And if you say , oh , titanic , they know . Everybody knows that song . Some people might not recognize the name Celine Dion , some few people , but some Everyone knows that song .

Paul Farberman 36:37

They know the song when she's on tour . When she was and we were on tour , it would always be the last song of the show , and when we would do like runners , when we'd be leaving the stadium , she would come off stage . The car is like right there in the building and gone , and so I know that for my ride .

Rich 36:57

I better be there .

Paul Farberman 36:58

And everyone knows I always said I never want to hear two words come out of Celine's mouth Where's Paul ? Yeah , not that she's , he's already in the car . Yeah , I know , but I don't you know . So , but it happened one time in Paris when we entered the arena . We all got off inside a certain gate and then , oh , show's getting . I go there , song's on , there's nobody no cars . They had changed the . I go there , song's on , there's nobody no cars .

Norma 37:28

They had changed the departure date , but no one told me .

Paul Farberman 37:30

Oh no , so you got stuck .

Norma 37:30

Well , not for long , not for a moment You've had the whatever you want to call it luck or benefit and hard work of working alongside these great people . I mean legends . What are some of the things you learned from working close to somebody who's just artistically talented beyond I mean worldly talented ? What are some things that you learned , whether it be personal or business practice , or that you could share from your years in the industry ?

Paul Farberman 38:03

Artists are human human beings and they have different temperaments . And some , like Celine , are incredibly gracious and wonderful and sadly there are some who they just feel like they are better than everyone else or something and they're not kind , they're not nice to people . Some of them like that , who they're like that at the height of their career and they get very humbled because no one's career lasts at that level forever and eventually they come down to earth . Actually , as they get older they get a little wiser , realize she's , I was an asshole . But there are different temperaments and different people . For the most part , I like to think most people are pretty good , but the bigger the artist , the more pampered they are . Whether it's a musician or an actor , people are afraid to tell them no or to give their honest opinion . They're walking on eggshells .

Paul Farberman 39:04

They constantly feel like they have to be pleased or they , yeah , and and they're concerned about their own jobs , so they don't want to offend the artist in some way and think , oh , you know , I don't want to risk my cushy job right .

Norma 39:16

Well , and you're also . Your job is to protect rights , right and and negotiate . So I would imagine that you probably have seen the reverse , where people have taken advantage of an artist or didn't necessarily know what they were , what worth they had , right , by lending their art yeah , with Celine .

Rich 39:33

So your role was purely as a lawyer , or did you expand that role while you were with them ?

Paul Farberman 39:39

often until this day people say , oh , paul was Celine Dion's attorney . I was never her attorney . She always has had and has an attorney , an outside attorney who's in private practice . I was part of the management team with Renee , together with a great guy named Dave Patel , who's been involved with her for many years and was part of the management team . Of course , because of my background , the emphasis was more on the business-related parts of her career , but because it was a small operation and she was , you know I was there for the best years of her career . Really , I mean not that there's still not , hopefully , best years coming ahead .

Paul Farberman 40:13

You know she's dealing with her health issues , so there was so much going on , so I would do whatever it took . And if Renee said , can you get me a cup of coffee , I'd get a cup of coffee . I'm not too proud to say no , that's not for me . You just pitch in and do whatever it takes at any given time and there's always unforeseen things come up and , for example , when we were on the road , there's no need for a lawyer to be on tour . I never , any time that I was out on tour with them , felt like geez , what am I doing here . I've got nothing to do . Something seemed to always come up that we'd have meetings about not necessarily legal matters , but business matters , business meetings or just other things that you know .

Paul Farberman 40:54

it was good to have another body , a business meeting you know Renee and Celine trusted me blindly .

Norma 40:59

That's it . It's trust and that's where I was going to get it .

Rich 41:01

There are things they trust me with that just with your working with the people that you were working with selene , yeah , you that trust has that . You have to have that trust because obviously the conversations you're having those are intimately private and how easy the things to get leaked out .

Norma 41:17

That element has got to be crucial yeah , it's no question about that and leveraging your expertise , because at this time you've you've been in the industry , right , you know your stuff , and so it's also being tapping into someone that's you're negotiating . I'm sure , um , you've been in the industry , right , you know your stuff , and so it's also tapping into someone that's negotiating . I'm sure you were involved in global deals , too as well .

Rich 41:33

So coming away from Celine , so you were with her for the period of time you were , but then what came next ?

Paul Farberman 41:40

So when Renee got ill , they were sort of reevaluating the organization and everything , the financial guy , everything , just looking at numbers . They said they really didn't want to afford the luxury of keeping me on the payroll . It was not my decision to leave , sure , but I could not have left on better terms . Renee called me up , you know , gave me a nice severance package and I could not have left on better terms . In fact , when he died , less than a year later , I was one of the people Celine called and asked to speak at his service . Oh , that's nice , because she knew I was not just a workroom , I was a friend , Because I was a friend before I went to work for him . He was my friend .

Paul Farberman 42:21

It was one of the most difficult things I've had to do , but I did it . Before the service , they wanted all of us to practice our speech and they had a teleprompter . I've never used a teleprompter in my life and I didn't want to because I thought for me it would be distracting . So I knew what I wanted to say and you're speaking from the heart .

Paul Farberman 42:37

Yeah , so I didn't use the teleprompter Good , and I've continued to have a good relationship with Celine and her entire team and have been actually involved with some things over the last few years and continue to , you know , be in discussions with them about certain projects . So , and people

Post-Celine Projects and Global Work

Paul Farberman 42:52

, even though I've been gone working with her seven , eight years , maybe people will still call me about Celine-related matters . Were you there in Paris , I would have been there . I just , you know I don't work with her . It wasn't the reason for me to be there .

Paul Farberman 43:06

When I left I decided well , what am I going to do now ? I thought I would become a manager of talent and I considered some talent and then I decided I just didn't have it in me . I know how much time and effort and money is involved in developing a brand new artist , to the point where they make money , and so , as a manager traditionally working on a percentage basis only , I knew that if I'm developing a new artist , I'm not making any money for two or three years at best , and that's if everything goes right and we really get lucky . Now , that being said , I would never discourage and people know me , on the contrary , I encourage anybody to pursue their dreams and have their success . I just don't want to invest my life at this point in my life in that , so I just decided to take advantage of the many contacts I've had and people I've got to know and work on other projects . So I do a lot of things for people outside of America who maybe want to do some things here but they don't have the relationships or contacts I have , so they will hire me to do things .

Paul Farberman 44:15

There's a company in Japan involved in a lot of the ticketing system for sporting and concert events in Japan , but they have this new technology . They wanted to meet with the people here , like a Ticketmaster or Access and other companies in the States . I've worked with an artist in Korea . There's a wonderful company in Salzburg , austria , moon Lake Entertainment , a man named Hannah Shaw who does a lot of documentaries , sports music , different categories and a few years ago he was doing a documentary about it sounds crazy , but just about the . A few years ago he was doing a documentary about it sounds crazy , but just about the one song , silent Night , the Christmas song , which was written by people in Salzburg 200 years ago . So they did a recreation , dramatic documentary kind of thing . Basically hired me to help get some artists you know prominent artists to the song and I guess the biggest artist I was able to get for them was Kelly Clarkson , who did an incredible version with the .

Rich 45:14

Vienna Boys Choir and Vienna Film Festival . I think I remember that .

Paul Farberman 45:17

Yeah , and it's been televised in 180 countries around the world . What an interesting story that definitely no one knows . But no big secret . You heard it first . Yes , exclusive . I literally approached Justin Bieber's management and Andrea Bocelli's Of course , andrea Bocelli have a long relationship because of Celine and I could actually show you in writing emails where Justin Bieber and Andrea Bocelli agreed to do the duet of Silent Night together and it only didn't happen because of scheduling . No , yeah , that's a shame .

Norma 45:50

Yeah Something that needs to be put back on the calendar . Yeah , well , yeah .

Paul Farberman 45:55

Han is talking about that actually , but yeah , it never happened .

Norma 45:58

Christmas is coming .

Paul Farberman 45:59

But now we're working on a new project . It's , I think , the 60th or 75th anniversary of "Sound of Music is coming up next year 60th .

Paul Farberman 46:06

60th yeah , of course a lot of it was filmed in Salver . I've interviewed some of the Von Trapp family who were living in Vermont . I interviewed some of the living cast members from the show , filmed a lot of it in the original places in Salver and he's had Walt Rafanassiaff , an incredibly successful producer , to produce songs . We've had like Babyface and Pentatonix , and a bunch of other artists do some of the classic songs still in developing .

Rich 46:33

Do you still get a kick out of what you do ?

Paul Farberman 46:37

Absolutely yeah . I mean , people say , paul , you're 72 years old , aren't you ?

Rich 46:42

You don't look 72 years old , thank you . I probably look more like 72 years old than you do .

Paul Farberman 46:45

Aren't you thinking about retirement ?

Norma 46:47

No , I don't think you can .

Paul Farberman 46:48

I don't even think about it . I think I have as much energy , or more than ever , and still get very excited by working on exciting projects .

Norma 46:58

Keep doing that . You know , paul , it's funny . You're hearing , I heard you people were giving you opportunities and especially with the new artists , that you're working and you're I feel like you're now offering and helping other people come in and so you're like the entry point and you're sharing that and providing , helping other people gain .

Paul Farberman 47:15

so last weekend , I went to a concert here in LA on the grounds of SoFi Stadium at Hollywood Park called Hard Summer , and I'm not embarrassed to say I didn't know the names of any of the artists on the show , although my , my daughters did uh , except for one and the one I went to see , because it was an artist from Toronto named Nellie Furtado and her musical director , dean Jarvis , is a good friend . He says Paul , we're doing the same way , come over . And I went over . It was a really , really young crowd , like young , you know , teenagers and you very young , mostly house music , electronic music and stuff . I was watching at one point in LA and these two girls came up to me and said how old are you ? Oh , no , and I went 72 . And they went no way , no way , show us your driver license . Why would I lie ? I'm not going to you know . They said how old are you guys ? 22 ? No , we're 26 . We came down from Oregon .

Rich 48:07

I said oh , okay , well , that's nice .

Paul Farberman 48:10

I said yeah , I have daughters that are like 21-year-old twins and they wanted to come . They couldn't come this weekend and they went . Oh , God bless you . You know it's wonderful . And I walked away and then me a little like a tiny , it turned out to be like a glass turtle or something . I thought it was an edible . It was another story . I don't do drugs , which is another crazy story , but I thought that's what it was . No , I have no advice , but it was glass , it wasn't . So we just want to give you this gift , for you know , God bless you and your family . Okay , and then I left the area because I didn't want to be seen talking to these two scantily clothed young girls .

Norma 48:51

Yeah , yeah , yeah , giving you something , giving you something . Yeah , yeah , yeah , like okay , I'm getting out of here .

Paul Farberman 48:54

Oh , that's lovely , but I actually had a great time there .

Norma 48:58

I see , because you're still young at heart .

Paul Farberman 49:00

And I watched some great time . That's good . And I walked miles that day . Yeah , the grounds , it's so big that sofa I stayed outside . They had five stages . I don't keep track of my steps , but that day I thought I'm going to look at my phone and I did 22,529 steps last Saturday night , which is crazy .

Rich 49:22

That's a lot . Yeah , it's about 10 miles .

Paul Farberman 49:25

Yeah .

Rich 49:26

You did the math .

Paul Farberman 49:27

It's insane . But everything was so far apart .

Rich 49:29

Right . Some people get to a certain stage in their life and then can't do this anymore . But when you've got a passion for something , it really shows and that passion never dies If you enjoy what you do . What's the expression ? If you enjoy what you do , you'll never work a day in your life .

Norma 49:47

Well work a day in your life .

Paul Farberman 49:48

Well , the other exciting project I'm working on now is a broadway musical .

Broadway Musicals and Staying Passionate

Paul Farberman 49:50

Yes , tell us about obsessed , um . So I've been friends with diane warren , the 14 or 15 time nominated for for an oscar songwriter for films , written so many incredible hit songs for so many artists . She wrote some of celine's biggest hits . Another friend of mine was in town a few years ago . We were having lunch . Diane was talking about someone had written a Broadway show . My friend , arit , as her name , said . Well , what happened was well , you know , it takes a lot of time and money . And Arit said , well , send it to me . And she read it , loved it and said I'm going to do this , put her money where her mouth is . She managed an incredible presentation .

Paul Farberman 50:26

It wasn't just a reading in the sense of a traditional reading of a play . A Tony Award winning choreographer , director , cast who are people who are on Broadway , other Broadway shows and live music . He worked with the writer on the story and it became a great story as well , great music , and it was incredible . It was really . I introduced her to Michael Cole , who's a presserio producer of music Broadway . They're now partners . They're working with Diane and with Joe DiPietro , the book writer and in development . Now for what will at some point in the next year or two . Yeah , I was going to ask you . It takes time but it'll get done . Of course , diane Warren is not a household name that the public knows , but they know so many of her songs that have just been huge that must be amazing to work on and her story .

Paul Farberman 51:17

it's a great story where it's written .

Rich 51:19

Yeah , but that must be amazing to work on as well , for yeah , so different .

Norma 51:23

You're dabbling in a whole bunch of different things , which is cool .

Paul Farberman 51:25

This is what I enjoy , yeah okay .

Rich 51:28

So look , we're at a point in the show where we would ask our guests to pick a card from the deck that's in front of you any card and ask the question if you would answer it , and then Norma and I will answer it as well yeah okay , quite deep and we asked that take a beat but read it out loud so we know what the question is .

Norma 51:49

Any part to any card . Pick a good one malcolm has to do .

Rich 51:54

Is he got the wrong answer ?

Paul Farberman 51:57

you want to read it out . Yes , please what negative trait do you publicly laugh about but secretly know you have to fix ?

Norma 52:04

oh .

Paul Farberman 52:05

What negative trait do you publicly laugh about ?

Norma 52:08

What negative trait .

Paul Farberman 52:11

I'm supposed to answer first . You are , if you would .

Norma 52:15

Unless you need a beat and then you could pass and then we'll come back to you . Do you need a minute ?

Paul Farberman 52:20

No , I mean a minute , but I mean , Of course . The obvious answer is I have no negative traits , but of course . But I have more than one . Well , certainly not drugs and it's not alcohol . I don't know if one would call this a negative trait , but everyone who knows me knows my passion .

Norma 52:43

Oh , I like how you're spitting it .

Paul Farberman 52:45

Passion and love , I guess more than music , certainly as much as music or more for food , but not just food the worst food on the planet , like Randy's Donuts and ice cream and all the worst things possible . I've been working on that . Okay For weight loss , I don't believe there's any great secrets of Zempik or this fat diet or that diet or anything . I've actually just lost 20 pounds and I'm continuing to do it , but it's been rather simple in a way , because there's no secret in my mind .

Paul Farberman 53:21

Everybody knows if you continue to eat a pint of ice cream every day and donuts and cheeseburgers and french fries and a whole pizza at midnight , you are not going to lose weight and you are going to gain weight . But if you cut out these things you know everyone has a good sense of eating salads and eating grilled fish and meat , and eating what's healthy and what's not , and not deny yourself or starving from having some treats every now and then , but by really cutting back and eating much smarter and exercising . I think it's no secret , anybody can do that . So I don't know if you call that a trait , a negative trait .

Norma 54:01

But you're answering the question . Our guests get to answer the question or anyone gets to answer the question With food .

Rich 54:06

It's like everything in life , it's moderation , it's just finding that balance .

Paul Farberman 54:10

I know I was drinking my water .

Norma 54:14

Rich .

Rich 54:14

I'll let you go next .

Norma 54:16

Why ? Because ?

Rich 54:18

you need a minute .

Norma 54:21

I need a beat . What negative trait ? I'm going to read it again . What negative trait do you publicly laugh about but secretly know you have to fix ? I have like two personalities , I feel . There's corporate Norma right , who can become very intense and bossy , and then there's like relax , fun , loving Norma right , which is the one at home . And so there's times when I will say , well , did you do

Reflection and Advice: Get Out There

Norma 54:48

this ? What about that ? What about this ? Hang on a minute , hang on , hold , hold , please hold . And it comes across like holy crap , she's like she's being really bossy and it's just because I'm processing . Look , I'm justifying my negative trait . I'm thinking about okay , if this happens , then these other five things are happening , and so I use those words to give me a minute and a beat or just to ensure that everything has been thought through . But it comes across like I'm being bossy or I'm being and I'm looking at you because she's being bossy because I'm being bossy .

Norma 55:22

So so yeah , that's my response . Anyway , I'll be quiet now .

Rich 55:27

Okay , now it's your minute . You've got no minute . I'm just going to hold on a minute .

Norma 55:31

Am I getting ?

Rich 55:31

that you released the hold . Thank you very much .

Rich 55:35

I think one of my negative traits which I laugh at and I know people around me do is I'm not the most patient of people . Oh , I've seen that to get things done , I like to move quickly , even with the finger snapping yeah , yeah , nice and loud . Yeah , I'm used to using them , I know it's I like to . I like to get things done quickly and sometimes just slow down a little bit , and I am working on slowing down a little bit , but that that I would say I'm sure it's plenty other people . So I've got more negative traits than that . I probably don't want to air them publicly . That's probably one of my biggest ones , where I'm just too quick sometimes in terms of how I respond . Take a step back .

Paul Farberman 56:13

And I'll be bold now and say I tend to be sometimes like a real-life Larry David from Caribbean Enthusiasm . I have no tolerance for so many things and I want to express myself that way , but try to hold back as much as possible . But I don't hold back enough and my daughters in particular are constantly Dad . You can't say that Dad . You can't . Dad . What are you doing ?

Rich 56:38

I get told I've got no filter . Yeah , that's what I get .

Norma 56:41

Well , actually this is a great segue to the final part of our hour is ? You don't have to hold back , you can be Larry . But one thing we'd like to ask or have our guests is if they could share some feedback and kind of talk to our audiences . So now that you've , you know , in telling your story I know there's that young boy , that young Jewish boy , that grew up in Toronto , right , there was that young boy , that young Jewish boy that grew up in Toronto , right ? And if he could give advice now and talk to our audiences and maybe the things that he's learned or you know , things to avoid , like what would you share with other people now ?

Paul Farberman 57:19

In , whether it's your career in music or film or TV or theater or anything at all , any profession nothing to do with entertainment industry get out there and not stay home . I always tell people , you know they say , oh , should I go to this convention or should I go to this expo , should I go there ? And I said can't guarantee if you go there you'll meet anybody , it'll be worth your time , but I can guarantee if you stay home , nothing's going happen . So I encourage people within means , like you know , even if there's some convention or some conference and you know , maybe they can't afford to attend , you know what ? You can go down to the hotel , hang out in the lobby , because you're nothing at lobby . You might not , but you might have the opportunity to bump into someone , be surprised , someone you could never possibly ever get through their secretary on the phone to have a conversation with .

Paul Farberman 58:13

And it's happened to me and it's happened , I'm sure , to both of you . Whatever it is you're doing , to get out , if you're shy , to try to go with friends who aren't just meet as many people network . I mean . I think sometimes my friends will joke oh , paul , you go to the opening of an envelope , you know , but yeah , it's not , it's not so untrue , but that's , I think , been part of how I've been successful is by getting out there and getting to meet a lot of people and help me get get through in some some ways to things , so that that may be some that's good advice .

Rich 58:45

It's . It's great advice actually .

Norma 58:47

Let's get out there . And then also , too , when you put yourself out there , you wonder oh , why isn't anything happening to me ? Well , if you're not doing anything different , right ? If you're not out there , if you're not visible , then how are people going to know about you if you're not visible ? So , if you're not visible , so , yeah , I think that's great advice , thank you .

Rich 59:06

Thank you very much for being our guest . It's been an absolute pleasure having you on .

Speaker 3 59:12

No , thank you . Thank you for tuning in to Energis Podcast , where ambition meets achievement . If today's stories energized , you share this episode with someone who needs that spark . Stay connected , Subscribe to our newsletter at nrjmediagroupcom and follow us on social media for more powerful insights . Until next time , stay inspired , stay bold and keep striving for greatness .

Rich 59:45

Energy's podcast is produced and hosted by Norma Garcia and Rich Reid the incredible talent behind us . We are highly engineered and edited by Rich Evirs . Our seriously curated director is none other than David H Tanaka . Our talented music composer is Steve Devaney . Our devotion to motion graphic designer is Mike Macklin . Our very spirited technical advisor is Tracy Williams . Our amazing marketing manager , Lauren Carter . Our man of many words publicist is Josh Gershman . And introducing our producer's assistant , Blake Miele . Energis Podcast is brought to you by NRJ Media Group .