Opting for music over medicine 10 years ago, producer/composer Scott Jacoby has since collaborated with John Legend, Fabolous, Vanessa Hudgens and rising Atlantic newcomer Laura Izibor. He also won a best comedy album Grammy in 2006 for his engineering work on Lewis Black’s “The Carnegie Hall Performance.”
Now he’s determined to craft another success story by way of his independent label, Eusonia. Distributed by Ryko, the fledgling label garnered its first Grammy nomination (Billboard, Jan. 10): best urban/alternative performance for Maiysha’s “Wanna Be.” The track is from the singer/songwriter’s debut album and Eusonia’s first release, “This Much Is True.”
“Everything about this project belies its humble origins,” says Jacoby, who also doubles as CEO of his SCOJAC Music Productions. “For this to happen for a hitherto unknown artist and a small start-up indie label is amazing.”
Noting that he’s always wanted “to do my Motown,” Jacoby raised money from family and friends to start Eusonia in 2007. Borrowing from Latin and Greek word roots, he created the name Eusonia to mean “home of good music.” In between his various recording projects and Maiysha’s own career as a Ford model, the pair worked on “This Much Is True” over the last seven years.
“I didn’t raise a ton of money to start the label,” recalls Jacoby, “so I had a choice. I could sign five acts and devote 1/5 of my time to each one or sign one artist first, put my chips in one basket and build from there.”
Targeting singer/songwriters whose music features more than just one element (“I like music that falls in between categories”), Jacoby says he’s planning to sign several more artists. Among them: twentysomething Brazilian artist Jamba whom he describes as “Brian McKnight meets Norah Jones.”
In the meantime, Jacoby remains busy with other studio projects. He’s in the studio now working with several newcomers including Curb Records’ Kaci, Sony’s Leon Thomas and Interscope’s Bren.
While Maiysha’s Grammy nomination has helped put Eusonia on the map, Jacoby still has another prayer he’d like answered. “What I really hope for,” he says, “is that this contributes to Eusonia being able to exist for longer than the life of one record.”
