Jay Boberg

Last updated
Jay Boberg
Born1958 (age 6566)
San Francisco, CA
Alma mater UCLA
Occupation(s)Music industry and viticulture executive
Years active1978 - present

Jay Robert Boberg (born in 1958) is an American music, entertainment and viticulture executive. He co-founded the independent record label I.R.S. Records in 1979, [1] and later served as the president of Universal/MCA Music Publishing and the president of MCA Records. [2] He is the founder of the entertainment company Liberation Entertainment [3] and is chairman of the Isolation Entertainment board of directors. [4] In 2013, he co-founded the winery Domaine Nicolas-Jay in Oregon with Méo Camuzet owner and winemaker, Jean-Nicolas Méo. [5] [6]

Contents

Early life

Boberg is a fourth-generation Californian, born in San Francisco to Richard and Shirley Boberg. [7] He attended Miraleste High School in Rancho Palos Verdes, graduating in 1976 and was an avid classical guitar musician starting at age 7. Attending the Who’s Quadrophenia tour in 1974 was a watershed music moment after which Boberg's musical orientation changed. [8]

Music industry career

Always listening to and creating music, Boberg played guitar in local bands in his youth but he soon embarked into the business side of music, producing two major talent concerts at Miraleste High School: one with seminal surf band, HONK, and another with ’70s folk artists Kenny Rankin and Tim Weisberg. After he enrolled at UCLA in 1976, he continued his concert promotion efforts running UCLA's Campus Events concerts booking Peter Gabriel’s first solo show, Talking Heads first tour in LA, Bob Marley and many other such artists. [9] In 1978 he began working as a college representative for A&M Records. While working on the marketing and promotion of the first U.S. tour of the British band The Police, Boberg met the band's manager, Miles Axe Copeland III. In early 1979, Copeland recruited Boberg, who was still just a junior at UCLA, to join him in creating a new record label, focused on the emerging punk and new wave music scenes, particularly up-and-coming UK bands that were not getting much attention in the U.S. That label was I.R.S. Records, founded in September 1979 in Los Angeles.

Boberg and Copeland soon built up the label, [8] which had a distribution deal with the Police's label, A&M Records, into a successful independent. Once they demonstrated the appeal of the UK bands that launched the label, I.R.S. started signing American bands, including Dead Kennedys, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo and, notably, soon-to-be superstars [10] The Go-Go's and Boberg's discovery, R.E.M. [11] The label continued to have success, with Concrete Blonde, Fine Young Cannibals, [12] The Alarm and others.

Contributing to the label's success was maintaining a roster of fewer than 20 artists when major labels typically had upwards of 100 or more acts signed. I.R.S. also stuck to its mantra of fiscal responsibility. [13]

Launching around the same time MTV was emerging, I.R.S. expanded its brand with the television show I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge , which aired from 1983 to 1987 on MTV. Boberg executive produced the show with producer and I.R.S. Records' creative director Carl Grasso and directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. The show was known for introducing new acts to the channel, and for its left-field tastes that helped launch careers. [14]

Although the Go-Go's were the first breakout stars for the label, I.R.S. enjoyed its greatest success with college radio-bred R.E.M. Even as its success grew, the band stayed with the label, in part because of the encouragement and support it received from the label, especially Boberg. [15] For his part, Boberg felt the respect was mutual. [16]

Originally hired as executive vice president of I.R.S. in 1979, Boberg was named president of the label five years later, [17] with Copeland saying “Jay has functionally been running the record label for some time. This formalizes it.”

MCA Records

In 1989, I.R.S. signed a five-year distribution deal with MCA Records. In 1993, Boberg and Copeland sold I.R.S. Records to EMI, and Boberg headed off to Cambridge, Mass. to get his MBA at Harvard Business School at the behest of EMI Chairman Jim Fifield. Late in 1993 Boberg was named president of MCA Music Publishing, [2] overseeing all music publishing operations worldwide. In late 1995, Boberg was named President of MCA Records. [18] [19]

Long considered one of the music business’ underachievers, MCA Records under Boberg's leadership, ”has transformed... from the last stop to the first stop for many dealmakers”. [20] Using the artist-friendly approach mixed with a fiscal prudence management style he developed while at the far smaller I.R.S. Records, Boberg had success with releases by artists Sublime, Mary J. Blige, Blink-182, Live, The Roots, New Radicals and others. [21] Under his guidance, the rejuvenated MCA Records label was able to survive intact after a major restructuring when its parent Universal Music Group merged with PolyGram and other labels, which resulted in hundreds of employees losing their jobs at other labels, with very few at MCA Records. [22]

The 2000 album Hot Shot from reggae artist Shaggy hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 music charts, to the surprise of the music industry, finding massive crossover success. Boberg's low-cost strategy made MCA Records a key contributor to UMG's bottom tier of labels. [9] The 2001 release of Blige's album No More Drama did well on its initial release, and after the label rejiggered it six months later, then re-released it, the album reconnected with a broader audience. [23]

Major upheavals were happening all over the music business when strategies that had worked previously ran up against a rapidly shrinking record label business. [24] MCA would release their last album, Twisted Method's Escape from Cape Coma , on July 15, 2003. The album was a commercial disaster and the lack of promotion was blamed on MCA's shuttering status. Furthermore, in 2003, after eight years running MCA Records, Boberg left. [25] In his farewell message to MCA Records employees, Boberg said that when he started at MCA, the label's roster “was anemic; the artistic reputation in tatters” and that “the MCA that I leave behind is an artistic and musical gold mine.” Most of the current artist roster and staff from MCA were moved over to Geffen during the merge later that year.

Liberation Entertainment

After taking some time off, Boberg re-entered the entertainment business in 2006 by purchasing Liberty Int. Entertainment, renaming it Liberation Entertainment and setting out to capitalize on its library of 250 films and 2,500 hours of television, [26] to service the then-booming home entertainment business. One of his initiatives was the launch of “Soundies”, a partnership with PBS that was a two-hour special, composed of three-minute music video clips from the 1940s. [27]

Before the DVD business collapsed, [28] Boberg took a stand on behalf of the format, and especially the enduring appeal of music DVDs. Speaking at the annual Music DVD Conference in 2007, Boberg argued on behalf of music DVDs. “You could see that a music title, a year from now or two years from now will have value. You have to wonder what the relative value of most movies are two years later.” [29]

INgrooves

In 2010 Boberg joined the board of Isolation Network, an independent digital music distributor. In 2012 he was named chairman of the board of Isolation, soon after leading the acquisition of independent label Fontana from his old employer, Universal Music Group. The company took on the name INgrooves. He continued as chairman of the INgrooves board until overseeing the sale of the company to Universal Music Group in March 2019. [30]

Domaine Nicolas-Jay

Even as he built his career as a music industry executive, Boberg developed a passion for wine. [31] He started by buying a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in California's Napa Valley in 1989 while running his label businesses. But by 2013, his side project became his prime focus. Boberg and his old friend, French winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo, opened Domaine Nicolas-Jay winery in Oregon, focusing on French Burgundian Pinot Noir wines. [32] Boberg sees the music business and the wine business as being very similar: “There are a startling array of similarities between the worlds of wine and music, and also with the creative process of making wine and making music. In the wine business, gatekeepers decide yes or no to list the wine on a wine list or carry a wine in their shop. In music, gatekeepers are music directors at radio stations or record store owners or playlist creators.” [33]

Personal life

Jay Boberg married Alison Cooper in 1989, and they have two children, Sebastian in 1992 and Juliette in 1994. The coupled divorced in 2015. Jay Boberg currently splits his time between homes in Santa Monica and Dundee in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Geffen Records is an American record label, founded in 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the now-defunct Geffen Pictures, it is owned by the Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) faction of Universal Music Group (UMG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MCA Records</span> American record label

MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinot noir</span> Red wine grape variety

Pinot noir or Pinot nero is a red-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pinecone–shaped bunches of fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinot gris</span> Variety of grape

Pinot gris, Pinot grigio or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but the colors can vary from blue-gray to pinkish-brown. The word pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink, and it is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.

<i>Murmur</i> (album) 1983 studio album by R.E.M.

Murmur is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, by I.R.S. Records. The album was recorded at Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, with musicians Don Dixon and Mitch Easter serving as producers. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its unusual sound, defined by lead singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bass guitarist Mike Mills's melodic basslines. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.

<i>Chronic Town</i> 1982 EP by R.E.M.

Chronic Town is the debut EP by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on August 24, 1982, on I.R.S. Records. Containing five tracks, the EP was recorded at the Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in October 1981, eighteen months after the formation of the band. Its co-producer was Mitch Easter, who produced the band's "Radio Free Europe" single earlier in 1981.

<i>Reckoning</i> (R.E.M. album) 1984 studio album by R.E.M.

Reckoning is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984, by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984. Dixon and Easter intended to capture the sound of R.E.M.'s live performances, and used binaural recording on several tracks. Lead singer Michael Stipe dealt with darker subject matter in his lyrics, with water-related imagery being a recurring theme on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I.R.S. Records</span> American record label

I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and alternative rock artists, including R.E.M., The Go-Go's, Wall of Voodoo, and Fine Young Cannibals. Currently the label is distributed by parent company Universal Music Group.

Miles Axe Copeland III is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of the Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing R.E.M., the Bangles, Berlin, the Cramps, Dead Kennedys, the Alarm, the Go-Go's, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fontana Distribution</span> US music distributor

Fontana Distribution was a division of San Francisco–based Isolation Network. A minority stake of the company was owned by Universal Music until Ingrooves acquired Fontana Distribution from UMG in 2012 to form Ingrooves Fontana.

The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willamette Valley Vineyards</span> American winery based in Turner, Oregon


Willamette Valley Vineyards is an American winery located in Turner, Oregon. Named after Oregon's Willamette Valley, the winery is the leading producer of Willamette Valley-appellated Pinot Noir in Oregon, and also produces Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. In 2016, the winery was the largest producer of Riesling wine in the Willamette Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Knoll Winery</span> American winery in Hillsboro, Oregon

Oak Knoll Winery is a privately held winery located in the Tualatin Valley near Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Established in 1970, it is the oldest winery in Washington County, and produces Pinot noir, Pinot gris, and Chardonnay. The winery also known for producing Frambosia, a red raspberry wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R.E.M.</span> American rock band (1980–2011)

R.E.M. were an American alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997, the band continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.

Foris Vineyards Winery is an American winery located near Cave Junction, Oregon in the Illinois Valley region of the Rogue Valley AVA of Southern Oregon. As one of Oregon's pioneering grape growers, Ted Gerber planted his first vineyard in 1974. For 15 years, Gerber provided fruit to other winemakers, until 1986 when the winery was founded by Ted and Meri Gerber and the Foris label was launched.

I.R.S. Records Presents: The Cutting Edge, also known as The Cutting Edge or IRS's The Cutting Edge, is a music program that aired on MTV (US) from March 1983 to September 1987, on the last Sunday of every month. The show was retitled The Cutting Edge Happy Hour in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel Heights Vineyard</span> Winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon, U.S.

Bethel Heights Vineyard is an Oregon winery in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley. Founded in 1977 by twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel, their wives Pat Dudley and Marilyn Webb, and Pat's sister Barbara Dudley, the vineyard was one of the earliest plantings in the Eola-Amity Hills region. A winery soon followed, with the first estate wines produced in 1984. Bethel Heights specializes in Pinot noir, offering several individual block and vineyard designated bottlings, but also produces wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Gewürztraminer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokol Blosser Winery</span> Vineyard, tasting room and winery facility in Dayton, Oregon, U.S.

Sokol Blosser Winery is a vineyard, tasting room and winery facility located northeast of Dayton, Oregon in the Red Hills of Dundee in Yamhill County. It was founded by Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser in 1971 in what is now known as the Dundee Hills AVA. Sokol Blosser Winery is family owned and operated by second-generation co-presidents, siblings Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser, and is the 6th largest wine producer in Oregon. Sokol Blosser is considered to be “synonymous with sustainability,” and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, proprietary blends Evolution White and Evolution Red, a range of other Evolution wines, and small quantities of single block Pinot Noirs, Rosé of Pinot Noir, White Riesling dessert wine, and sparkling wine.

Ingrooves Music Group is a global independent music marketing service and distribution company which provides custom services for artists and independent record labels, owned by Universal Music Group. They use proprietary distribution systems and maintain a focus on analytics and reporting technologies, as well as their own platform that artists and labels can use to manage business.

<i>Green</i> (R.E.M. album) 1988 studio album by R.E.M.

Green is the sixth studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released on November 7, 1988, by Warner Bros. Records. The second album to be produced by the band and Scott Litt, it continued to explore political issues both in its lyrics and packaging. The band experimented on the album, writing major-key rock songs and incorporating new instruments into their sound including the mandolin, as well as switching their original instruments on other songs.

References

  1. Lewinski, John Scott (2009-03-06). "'80s Giant I.R.S. Records Arrives on iTunes". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "MCA Music Entertainment Names Publishing President". Los Angeles Times. 1994-12-13. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  3. Hettrick, Scott (2006-01-13). "Former MCA prexy sings for Liberty". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  4. Morris, Chris (2012-05-17). "Jay Boberg to Isolation Network chairman". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  5. "From Orgasm Addict to Oregon Pinot Noir". A World of Food and Drink. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  6. Cole, Katherine (November 18, 2013). "Music Exec and Burgundy Star Collaborating on Oregon Pinot Noir". Wine Spectator. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  7. "Shirley Ann Boberg". Los Angeles Times - Legacy.
  8. 1 2 Fong-Torres, Ben (June 23, 1985). "The Force Behind an Off-The-Wall Success: IRS Records' Jay Boberg". San Francisco Chronicle - Datebook.
  9. 1 2 Leeds, Jeff (2001-01-24). "Shaggy's Hit Raises the Dead at MCA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  10. "Jay Boberg: Musician Turned Music Man" (PDF). World Radio History. March 18, 2000.
  11. Lev, Michael (May 26, 1988). "Record Wiz Hopes his Career goes Platinum". Daily Breeze. p. 150.
  12. Ordonez, Jennifer (2003-01-17). "MCA Records Chief Leaves Post, As Label Endures Slump". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  13. "Boberg's Business News: The Hard Interview" (PDF). The Hard Report. November 11, 1994.
  14. Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Revolution. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 317–319. ISBN   978-1-101-52641-5.
  15. Fricke, David (1990-11-15). "Q&A: R.E.M." Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  16. Fricke, David (1985-11-07). "R.E.M.'s Southern-Fried Art". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  17. "Copeland Now Chairman: Boberg New IRS President" (PDF). American Radio History. April 27, 1984.
  18. "Musical Chairs in Music Biz Continues at MCA". Variety.com. 4 December 1995.
  19. "Company News;appointments Are Made at Mca's Music Operations". The New York Times. 1995-11-29. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  20. Sandler, Adam (1998-04-08). "MCA getting with it". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  21. "How the Graveyard Came Alive" (PDF). Music and Media/American Radio History. March 18, 2000.
  22. "Hundreds of Jobs Lost in Universal Mega-Merger". Rolling Stone. 1999-01-22. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  23. Much O Blige!!! – Hits Daily Double, Feb. 5, 2002 - http://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=276597
  24. Knopper, Steve (2009). Appetite for Self-Destruction. USA: Free Press. ISBN   978-1-4165-5215-4.
  25. "MCA Records Chief Leaves Post, As Label Endures Slump". Wall Street Journal. 2003-01-17. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  26. Hettrick, Scott (2006-01-13). "Former MCA prexy sings for Liberty". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  27. "Liberation sets 'Soundies' free". The Hollywood Reporter. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  28. Whitten, Sarah (2019-11-08). "The death of the DVD: Why sales dropped more than 86% in 13 years". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  29. Wolf, Jessica (2007-03-07). "Panel: Music DVDs here to stay". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  30. "Jay Boberg Appointed Chairman of INgrooves Fontana Parent Isolation Network". Billboard. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  31. From Orgasm Addict to Oregon Pinot Noir – World Travel Guide, May 18, 2017 - https://worldoffoodanddrink.worldtravelguide.net/drink/wine/from-orgasm-addict-to-oregon-pinot-noir/
  32. "The Buyer | Jay Boberg: producing R.E.M. to making Pinot Noir at Nicolas-Jay". the-buyer.net. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  33. How Jay Boberg Went From Managing Bands to Managing Barrels – The Manual, May 16, 2019 - https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/music-wine-jay-boberg-nicolas-jay-label/