Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden on music company MDDN

From party animal to corporate operator is quite a transition.

Good Charlotte front man and co-owner of MDDN Joel Madden. Picture: Jonathan Ng.

Credibility is everything in the punk rock world but it turns out the same goes for business, as heavily tattooed Good Charlotte front man and unlikely corporate mogul Joel Madden has discovered.

After releasing five studio albums and touring the globe countless times, the rock singer decided to change gears and start MDDN, a music company that manages artists and works across branding, music production and technology.

Madden launched the company with his identical twin brother Benji – Good Charlotte’s bass player – in 2015 and the company now manages a diverse roster of artists, including Jessie J, Sleeping with Sirens and Antiflag.

Shedding an identity as a rock and roll party animal isn’t easy. Madden says MDDN is often seen by others as a vanity project, and admits that in the early days it was difficult to get people to understand the company’s mission.

“We’re more established now because we had artists who had faith in our company, and we have a great group of people now who prove it every day,” Madden tells The Deal. “Ultimately we want the artists to get there faster. We want them to invest in themselves and think of themselves as entrepreneurs.

Joel Madden: not just a rocker

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We know they’re capable of so much more; they’re not just the singer in a band or just a rock musician. They often get underestimated, as I did, and we want them to accomplish things that seem impossible and really prove to themselves what they can do.”

Good Charlotte has been a band for more than 20 years and for Madden persistence has been a big ingredient, whether it is relentless touring, as a judge on Channel Nine’s The Voice, or now running a multifaceted business. Many of the group’s fans have stuck with it and still sing along to every word, even if they are now in their mid-30s and far removed from their teenage years.

“For all business owners, I always tell them it’s a day-by-day process; you just have to go at it every day for a long period of time,” Madden says. “Like music, you have to throw everything you have at your business, and eventually it starts to work. It took us four years, and now we’re a real music company and we’re a company that artists consider when they want creative management or creative direction.”

Madden says that authenticity is crucial in cutting through the noise, and maintains his values are grounded in empathy and transparency – things that he concedes are rare commodities in the music world.

“Sadly, in the music business we don’t have a lot of empathy,” he says. “So we [at MDDN] try to be very much by artists, for artists, trying to focus as much as possible on them and their experiences. We want them to take themselves seriously, and make sure they value themselves.”

Madden says that knowing your audience is crucial – it’s the way that you can then give them special experiences that they will cherish. All entrepreneurs need to be creative and be clear about what they represent – and what they don’t.

“My brand is not for everybody, and I’m okay with that,” he says. “I want people to feel truly connected to it. That’s what all the really great brands have – they have people who call themselves lifelong fans. If you stay true to what your brand is, that’s what you can accomplish.”

The singer loves Australia, having toured here more than a dozen times. He has been based here for long stints as a judge on The Voice, and was in town for Advertising Week. He calls Australia his home away from home, and says some of his best friends live Down Under.

“I have a real community here, in my life outside of what people get to see,” he says. “It’s just a great place to be. Everyone’s so nice and I never have a day I don’t feel welcomed and happy and glad to be here. Whether it’s in music or business, the people in Australia work really hard, are super humble and extremely talented. I love being around that energy.”

The Deal - September 2018

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