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Barry Weiss, Chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group (SonyBMG)

Barry Weiss was a speaker at the undergraduate speaker series soon after he was promoted to be Chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group. He will now oversee RCA Records, Jive, J Records, LaFace, Arista, Volcano, Verity, GospoCentric and Fo Yo Soul.

Having led the US division of Jive Records since 1991, when it moved to its parent company, BMG Distribution, Barry Weiss became responsible for Jive Records’ worldwide operations in 2002.  At Jive Records, he helped launch the careers of acts such as Britney Spears, Usher, the Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, and T-Pain.  In 2003, BMG restructured its divisions and formed the Zomba Label Group, which included labels such as LaFace Records, So So Def Records, Silvertone, Battery, Volcano, and Verity.  Weiss led the Zomba Label Group, of which he was the President and CEO, through the merger of BMG and SME that formed Sony BMG Music Entertainment in 2004.

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Jennifer Justice, Entertainment Attorney

Jennifer Justice is the youngest partner at the entertainment law firm Carroll, Guido & Groffman, LLP, representing clients such as Jay-Z and Method Man.  The firm specializes in Music and New Media Law, and Justice spends a good deal of her time getting to know the needs and wants of the artists she represents.  As she says in Marie Claire, in the music business “you have to be able to move between worlds effortlessly.”  She has also been quoted in The New Yorker speaking about mash-ups of Jay-Z’s music.

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Peter Gelb, General Manager, Metropolitan Opera

Peter Gelb’s work in the field of classical music covers a wide range of experiences, from producing the Met’s television series, “The Metropolitan Opera Presents,” to serving as president of Sony Classical, one of the largest international classical record labels.  Since joining the Met in 2005, Gelb has overseen a dramatic increase in the number of new productions each year.  In addition, he has launched several initiatives aimed at bringing in a wider audience, including the series of live performance transmissions called “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD,” the “Metropolitan Opera Radio” station of Sirius Satellite Radio, and free, live streaming of performances from its website once a week.  He has also prioritized new works, creating a commissioning program with the Lincoln Center Theater to provide composers and playwrights the resources to create new works for performance at either the Met or the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

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Harlan Frey, Senior Director of Touring/Artist Development, Roadrunner Records

Named “Artist Development Executive of the Year” by Pollstar in 2007, Harlan Frey got his first look at the music industry through his father, Allen Frey’s, work as an agent for Pink Floyd, and gained his own personal experience at the University of Vermont by producing and promoting an annual free summer event called “The Burlington Jam Fest.”  When he moved to New York in 1994, he began working as an intern/assistant at The Agency Group.  About a year later, he started picking up his own acts, booking house parties and national tours for the groups, and signed his first band, Jimmy Eat World.  He was promoted to junior agent in 1997, but left TAG in early 1998 to start Time Bomb Records East Coast.  By the summer of 2008, Frey returned to booking at Roadrunner Records, where he was eventually promoted to Senior Director of Tour/Artist Development. 

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“Executives in Residence” Bring Matchless Perspective into Music Business Classes

Each year, the NYU Music Business program brings distinguished music industry professionals into a specific Music Business class for three guest lectures throughout the semester.  Now in its fifth year, the Music Industry Executive-in-Residence initiative gives students the opportunity to learn about decision-making in the commercial world that is directly related to the topic of the class.

Executives-in-Residence also contribute outside the classroom. They most generously offer guidance on research topics, job searches, networking, and answer many other questions from our students and alumni.

The Fall 2008 Strategic Marketing in the Music Industry class is working with Executive-in-Residence Russ Crupnick, vice president and senior industry analyst with The NPD Group. Often quoted in the media as an expert in the music and entertainment business, Crupnick has over 20 years of experience in the development, management, and application of consumer tracking panels. 

Executive-in-Residence Phil Galdston, a songwriter and producer, works with the Production and A&R in the Music Industry class. Galdston’s songs and productions have appeared on over 70 million records worldwide and have appeared on fifteen GRAMMY® nominated albums. A strong advocate on behalf of intellectual property rights, he has been honored with three ASCAP Pop Awards, an ASCAP Country Award, the Time for Peace Award for achievement in music, and the Grand Prize of The American Song Festival.

Keith Jopling, strategy and business development consultant and the former Market Research Director for IFPI, serves as the Executive-in-Residence for the Global Music Management course which is held in London. During his tenure at IFPI, Jopling produced the annual report Recording Industry in Numbers, the gold standard in international market industry research.He is also the author of the blog, The Juggernaut Brew. http://juggernautbrew.blogspot.com/

Executives-in-Residence are a hit with students. “The highlight of the course” and “[he’s such a] charismatic, knowledgeable speaker” are just a few remarks from students in the classes. An obvious appreciation of their continuous involvement within the class is evident. Students say the speakers are “captivating and relevant to our class and the outside world” they have “illuminated interesting aspects of the industry”. Each Executive-in-Residence offers an invaluable addition to the curriculum and it’s proving to be a formula for success in the Music Business Program.

If you have a story idea about our current Music Business students, faculty members, or alumni, please e-mail it to catherine.moore@nyu.edu.