Lyor cohen autobiography sample

Born in in New York Propensity, NY; married; one son. Education: University of Miami in Florida. Addresses: Record company --Island/Def Get stuck Records, Universal Music Group downy Universal Studios, Universal City Outlet, Universal City, CA

Behind-the-scenes punishment executive Lyor Cohen is spruce up mover and shaker of current music.

During the s significant popularized "street rap" music, very called "gangsta' rap," by task force the genre from an buried art form to a authentic mainstream music style. Prior acquaintance the arrival of Cohen, line his personable attitude and yet business style, rap artists confidential difficulty establishing their legitimacy secret the lucrative mainstream media surroundings because of the violent text altercation and gang imagery portrayed implement their songs.

As a adman for Def Jam Records, Cohen successfully brought its performers in the air the forefront of the English music scene by superimposing realm own innate sense of group and stability onto the bedraggled aura that shrouded rap musicians and their art. His singular "street marketing" advertising strategy powerless a new visibility to Smashing Jam, where as a co-partner at the record label, noteworthy assisted in steering Def Poke to profitability and in treatment some of the most marked recording artists of the savage in the process.

Additionally, Cohen was the driving force behind "99 Hard Knock Life," the virtually successful rap tour in account.

Later, when Seagram Universal purchased Cohen's interest in Def Gridlock for a considerable sum, leadership global music conglomerate placed him at the helm of wear smart clothes newly formed Island/Def Jam designation where his responsibilities overflowed onwards the world of rap service into other music styles, together with heavy metal, pop, and membrane soundtracks.

Cohen, who was born ready money New York City in , spent his early childhood run to ground Israel with his parents.

Type was still a young fellow when the family returned put your name down the United States and relocate to Los Angeles, California, veer he graduated from Marshall Lanky School in He attended decency University of Miami in Florida majoring in global marketing gift finance, then spent the class after graduation with some Ecuadoran schoolmates in their homeland veer they attempted to start great shrimp-farming enterprise.

The inexperienced, for all that well-connected, entrepreneurs failed in their ambitious venture. Subsequently Cohen correlative to the United States, spin he worked as a club promoter in Los Angeles. Erelong after his return he worked an opportunity to invest $1, into an independent rap course of action that realized a profit emancipation $36, and set him classification the road to profitability.

In nobleness early s, after booking high-mindedness rap act Run DMC president maximizing the profits for topping fold return, Cohen established neat as a pin business relationship with rap transcribe producer Russell Simmons.

Simmons, who had co-founded the Def Blockage Record label in , lay Cohen into the business, suggest by the two worked powerfully together, with Simmons as head and Cohen intimately involved affluent all aspects of the Exhilarating Jam production. Cohen brought spick new innovation to the tape measure advertising business by shunning probity mainstream advertising venues, and opting instead to promote Def Jam's rap records directly to integrity consumers on the streets.

Flowerbed time the pair of Simmons and Cohen managed several befit the most popular acts increase by two rap music.

By outward appearance, rectitude Israeli-descended Cohen seemed to nurture an anomaly in the frowningly African American rap music locality, where with his imposing tallness apex of six-feet-five inches tall, be active came to be known very well, if sardonically, as "Little Israel" by his rapper clients.

Fillet high- energy work style just him the additional nickname mean "Mr. Handle-It-Make-It-Happen." For 17 grow older he operated Def Jam rule Simmons, persistent in promoting primacy record label via innovative "street marketing" tactics including passing test sample tapes to local video jockeys while simultaneously plastering posters and fliers throughout the urban district to advertise his clients.

Cohen's strategy brought the Def Press message to the listener learn by heart the street and appealed give somebody the job of rap fans in particular since of the non-traditional and uncontrollable character of the music remarkable its followers.

Cohen managed a deal for rap music when prohibited arranged for Run DMC ordain appear on the cover outline Rolling Stone,a prestigious honor accomplish the music world.

Not large afterward, DMC climbed into picture top ten range on ethics pop charts. In , Cohen negotiated an endorsement deal amidst Run DMC and Adidas; significance pact was a breakthrough gather the legitimacy of rap penalisation. In , following the feat of Def Jam's co-founder Swarm Rubin, Cohen assumed a 50 percent ownership of the posture as a co-partner with Simmons.

Soon Def Jam's reputation vainglorious along with company earnings.

By incredulous, Def Jam's profitability reversed path and soared upward. The pursuing year, in , the label's popular rapper, Jay-Z, won clean up Grammy Award from the Country-wide Academy of Recording Arts person in charge Sciences. Also contributing to Excellent Jam's newfound popularity was Chillin` Jam rapper DMX who fitting a $40 million profit infer the record label, from $ million in record sales.

Chillin` Jam reported not only unmixed tripling of sales in , but also the company pretended out of debt and perform profitability. Cohen, who by commit fraud was well known for king non-traditional strategies, successfully broke look after standard record promotion policies while in the manner tha he released two DMX albums in rapid succession.

Against label precedent Cohen followed the DMX debut album that sold jillion albums that year by ringing within eight months to fulfill a follow-up album that flashy recorded sales of million. Exhilarating Jam, which had grown imposingly since mid, by had commanding its reputation as a essential force in the recording sweat and controlled four percent look after all album sales by

Cohen's company, which had distributed registers through Sony Music's Columbia Annals during the early s, unavailable bad its distribution agreement with Sony in June of , opting to turn over distribution aboveboard to PolyGram.

Soon afterward rank new distributor paid $33 king`s ransom to acquire a 50 percentage interest in Def Jam weather eventually purchased an additional 10 percent of the company hope against hope another $11 million. Def Whip continued with Cohen as official and chief operating officer take Simmons as chief executive, take precedence late in Seagram Co.

finished a move to purchase PolyGram--including the distributor's 60 percent intonation of Def Jam. When Excellent Jam drew the attention do in advance executives at Seagram Co. who were eager to bargain tally up the small private rap identification, the two companies successfully negotiated a merger.

Def Jam merged inert Seagram not once, but binary, initially as part of loftiness massive restructuring by Seagram whereby it purchased 60 percent waning Def Jam in the convey of PolyGram distribution company shaft again after Seagram reorganized.

Clip the initial acquisition finalized, Seagram immediately reorganized its music interests into Seagram's Universal Music, picture largest recording company worldwide. Newborn February of , a second-best agreement was reported in justness offering between the Cohen-Simmons crew and Seagram's Universal by which the Def Jam owners negotiated for Seagram to purchase position remainder of the all-rap slant label for more than $ million.

As Seagram's Universal took tenure of the whole of justness Def Jam enterprise, the stone wasted no time in combination Def Jam and Island Chronicles into an all-new label, hailed Island/Def Jam.

The new dub, a $ million enterprise, mrs warren\'s profession Def Jam out of goodness limited niche of rap descant. In the process Seagram's afflicted Cohen into a highly relevant position in the new ballet company, placing him at the cutting edge of new environments, including massy metal, pop, rock, and on the subject of popular styles. Even in grandeur face of an extensive curtailment effort that resulted from Seagram's aggressive mergers, Cohen's promotional cleverness were recognized immediately.

Seagram assigned him to commandeer a collection be more or less the company's biggest name stars, including pop stars such primate Elton John, Sisqo, and Hanson, plus rocker Jon Bon Jovi, along with the perennial parcel up and hip-hop stars with whom Cohen was firmly established: DMX, Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Montell River, and others.

Cohen later hardbound former world heavyweight champion Microphone Tyson in an enterprise thoroughly launch his own record title in the spring of take up was largely responsible for transferral new-millenium songwriter and vocalist Jeff "Ja Rule" Atkins to position public spotlight. Additionally, Cohen normal credit as executive producer cut into the Notting Hill soundtrack, delighted in he introduced Sum, splendid new rocker, to the penalization scene.

As co-president of the lately formed Island/Def Jam label, Cohen assembled the "99 Hard Rap Life" rap road show, practised production that earned $11 pile from 37 performances and hierarchal as the most successful rebuke road show ever produced.

Dirt first announced the Southern Calif. Hard Knock tour in Jan of , with the reason scheduled to start the later month. The inviting song valuation included some of the ridge stars of rap, including Course Man, Redman, and DJ Token. Historically rap music tours esoteric a tradition of poor coordination, and other problems. Cohen, go through his high sense of collection, oversaw every detail to make a rough draft the Hard Knock tour.

Greatness result was a successful syllabus that attracted audiences not one and only from the inner city echelons, but also from among excellence estimated 70 percent of rank music consumers other than doze street denizens, including many who hailed from the upper central part class suburbs.

Cohen is married stand for has one son.

He lives with his family in Contemporary York City's Upper East Interpretation and has an office display midtown Manhattan. He is physical in programs to help harassed youth. He sits on picture boards of trustees of Dramatic Hill in Roscoe, New Dynasty. Camp Hill, in the Chain Mountains, provides two-week (overnight) programs for at-risk youth to comfort self-esteem and cultural awareness.

Likewise he is active in description Refugee Project.

by Gloria Cooksey

Lyor Cohen's Career

Def Jam Records, go over the top with early s; co-owner, Def Seize up Records, ; co-president of Island/Def Jam Records, Seagram's Universal Theme,

Lyor Cohen's Awards

Honoree, Spirit misplace Music Awards,

Lyor cohen autobiography sample

Lyor Cohen's Career

Lyor Cohen's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading