"Arthur "Poetry" Payne III,
CEO, Dreamin' Out Loud, Inc."
the transition from songwriter, to background singer,
to lead singer, to record label executive
has been adventurous to say the least.
Inspired in the early sixties by Motown Records'
legendary group "Smokey Robinson & The Miracles",
"Poetry", born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri,
began to compose melodies by the age of seven.
By 15, he was a member of a street-corner vocal group,
"The Exceptions", that would ultimately play a few club gigs
and parties before breaking up.
After graduating from high school, he spent the summer
visiting an older sister in Los Angeles.
She introduced him to her neighbor,
an A&M Records staff songwriter.
Impressed with the 100 or so songs that "Poetry" had written
by that time, he in turn set up a meeting
with the legendary, Mr Quincey Jones,
who was then on A&M's roster.
However, preparing to start college,
and just viewing music as a hobby,
"Poetry" chose to return home for school
rather than pursue a music profession.
After returning home and starting college,
for recreation, he formed his own group, "Poetry In Motion",
becoming co-lead singer and principal songwriter.
It was while performing in a talent show,
that the thrill of the stage fully
ignited his passion for entertaining.
The group however, didn't share his passion.
By 1979, he was performing as a solo artist
and preparing to go into the recording studio
with his own compositions for the very first time.
By late 1985, having written close to 2000 songs
and spending the last several years submitting demos
and taking trips to the major music centers,
"Poetry", with his new group, "3PM", was able to acquire
professional management with the Detroit, Michigan
entertainment law firm of Lloyd And Lloyd.
(Lloyd And Lloyd's most notible clients at the time
were the R&B group "Ready For The World"
and a young female singer, Davina). After two years,
exhausted by the constant recording and endless
sessions, "Poetry's" desire to become an artist
and follow in the footsteps of his idol, Smoky Robinson,
subsided. He realized that his "true gift" was in
writing and therefore decided to go into production
and artist management.
In his first management endeavor,
over the course of two and a half years,
he led a Kansas City trio named, "IV Real",
from performing in small clubs to opening for major acts.
He also produced, co-wrote, co-directed, and co-edited
their first video. The video, entitled "Always",
was to become the most requested video
on a local cable station, as well as becoming
the first music video to win an award
at the 1994 Kan Film Festival.
It was also played nationally on BET's Video Soul
with Donnie Simpson. This exposure opened the door
for talks with The Whispers' Black Tie Records in Los Angeles.
However, before a deal could be acquired,
artistic differences severed the management relationship.
Other acts followed with mixed successes
and frustration leading "Poetry" to return
strictly to songwriting.
After sending out numerous demos
and receiving several offers from independent record labels
for his songs, as well as his publishing,
a distribution/custom label deal was presented
from Mr. Robert Metzgar,
the CEO of Platinum Plus/Warner Brothers Records in Nashville.
Although hesitant at first, after further discussions
with Mr. Metzgar, as well as encouragement from family members
and colleagues, in 1999 the decision was made to launch
Dreamin' Out Loud Inc.
Dreamin' Out Loud, Inc.
Making it Happen...One Dream At A Time.
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