Of all the business moguls in the Bay Area, one you may not have heard of is building an "Empire" right in front of our eyes.
Ghazi, a Palestinian American, has created one of the most powerful independent companies in the global music business. His studio, in the city's South of Market neighborhood, is a dream for the modern-day version of a music industry pioneer.
Ghazi founded Empire in 2010.
"I could never even afford to rent a room in a studio like this when I was getting started," he said. "To be able to house and protect and provide for so many artists here locally is kind of like a dream come true. People fly here from all over the world. We've had artists here from India, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Latin America."
He is now a major player when it comes to San Francisco real estate. Two miles from the studio, he recently bought the historic One Montgomery building. Sold in 2019 before the pandemic for $82 million, Ghazi bought it for about $20 million. One Montgomery will be Empire's new global headquarters.
In true Silicon Valley style, Empire disrupted the music industry, changing the way artists get paid by essentially giving them more of a cut and more of a say.
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Empire artists include global superstars like Shaboozey, Nigerian artist Fireboy DLM, and Puerto Rican singer Jay Wheeler, along with the Bay Area's P-Lo, LaRussell and Too $hort.
His father, a Palestinian refugee, brought the family to America for a better life. As a kid, Ghazi was curious, especially when it came to technology.
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"I remember my parents they bought me a dual tape deck from the flea market," he said. "I was fascinated by the fact that you could tape one tape to another, and I took it apart to see how it worked."
At 18, the San Francisco State University graduate went to work in Silicon Valley, working at five or six different companies. He built computers and also worked at video and music streaming companies. A job at Sun Microsystems changed everything. Ghazi worked tech for then-CEO Scott McNeely.
"That job made me decide that I never wanted to work for anybody ever again because I worked in Scott's department for two years and he never knew my name," Ghazi said. "He was never rude or anything to me. He just never knew my name. I had an opportunity to take a position in another department or take a severance check and took the severance check and just never looked back."
As a Palestinian American, Ghazi said his background has given him an undeniable drive to be excellent.
"You have a different thirst and admiration for life," he said. "To some degree it also creates a sense of survivor's guilt because you're staring across the water and you're looking at people that look like you, suffering in ways that are unimaginable and you look at children that look like your own children and you're like, 'These could be my kids, man.'"
"My way of looking at things is just to be excellent," Ghazi continued. "Because when you're excellent, people can't deny your existence ... your experiences can either jade you, make you into somebody sour, or you can say I'm never gonna be like that. I'm gonna provide, protect, and love the people that love and cherish me."
Ghazi is reviving the music scene in San Francisco. Inside the SOMA studio, he's rebuilt every room in what he calls Empire's headquarters for creatives – five different studios, a podcast room, a gaming floor and a backyard "paradise" with a fountain.
When asked about his breakout moment, Ghazi said it was never one moment.
"I tell people it's like a graph, right? More dots, clearer picture," he said. "You asked me when we first were in the other room, you said, 'How come you never interviewed me?' I said, 'You never asked.' But I was never on your radar. You don't get on people's radar until you put enough dots on the graph. I'm not the kind of person that's screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Look at me.' I'd rather my work speak for itself."
Empire is hosting 415 Day on Tuesday, April 15, at Spark Social from 6 to 10 p.m. in San Francisco. It is a night to celebrate the city and its culture. All ages are welcome, and it's free to attend. For more information, visit 415day.com.
