Ritch Esra (born in December 1959) is an American publisher and music-industry expert, co-founder in 2012 of MUBUTV. Esra began working with promotion for A&M Records in 1980 in Los Angeles. In 1981 he joined the A&R Department at Arista Records, working with The Thompson Twins in the USA. He worked with publishers and songwriters on material for Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Working independently for three years from 1988 he created a video How to Get a Record Deal for aspiring music people. In 1992, he formed a company that publishes music contact directories and their updates. BMI sponsored The Independent Music Conference in Los Angeles, which Esra organized and coordinated. From 1988 till 1991 he taught courses on the music business at UCLA Extension. Since 2002 he also teaches at Musicians Institute, and he has taught classes on the music business at SAE Institute in Los Angeles. [1]
Esra has been interviewed by organizations about trends in the music industry, shifting prerequisites for artists to succeed, international markets, his catalogues and his YouTube streaming channel MUBUTV which includes video interviews and podcasts. [2] [3] [4] He has been called a music-business "insider" on such occasions, [5] with some of his own podcasts listed at Player FM. [6]
His noted conversations include interviews with Martin Page [7] [8] and Bobby Owsinski. [9]
Contributions he has made as a recognized supporter of international music projects have had continual influence. Objectives of his publications are to document and provide contact information for leading music companies and their executives. [10]
Esra and his co-founder Eric Knight have described their personal motives on the MubuTV website. [11] The channel was relaunched in 2023. [12] [13]
Esra's long association and friendship with Clive Davis culminated in an interview in 2024 with the 92-year-old producer. [14]
