Neil Portnow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Great Neck, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | former President of The Recording Academy former President of West Coast division of Jive Records |
Neil R. Portnow is an American music industry executive who served as the chairman and CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares from 2002 to 2019. Prior to that, Portnow was the vice-president of the West Coast division of Jive Records and Arista Records.
Portnow grew up in Great Neck, New York. He played the bass guitar in a high school rock band, The Savages, [1] who released a 45 rpm record "Cheating on me"/"Best thing you ever had" [2] on Red Fox Records. The record did not achieve serious commercial success, but was included in a compilation of garage bands. [3]
Portnow graduated from The George Washington University in 1971, where he served as president of the GW Student Association. [4]
Later in 1971, he formed his own firm, Portnow-Miller Company, Inc., where he served as president. His client list included RCA Records, The Entertainment Company, Babylon Records, and Playboy Records. Portnow's services incorporated radio promotion, marketing and creative services, music publishing, and record production.
The Screen Gems Publishing Group, later acquired by EMI, named him manager of talent acquisitions and development in 1972. He established the record production division for the company, working with producers, arrangers, musicians, and songs from writer/artists including Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Melissa Manchester, and Cat Stevens. Portnow also negotiated domestic and international agreements in both the recording and music publishing areas.
A staff producer for RCA Records, Portnow was promoted to the post of executive producer in 1977. He was transferred from New York to West Coast operations in the newly created position of division vice president, artist and repertoire. He was responsible for negotiations that included a distribution arrangement for Elton John's Rocket Records.
In April 1979, he became the senior vice president for 20th Century Fox Records, and was promoted to president the following January. During Portnow's tenure the organization delivered three gold albums and a gold single from Grammy Stephanie Mills.
In March 1982, Portnow was named vice president, artists and repertoire, West Coast for Arista Records by Clive Davis. As the principal West Coast executive, he was responsible for all West Coast activity and he functioned as general manager for the company. He also worked on Whitney Houston's debut album in addition to projects involving acts such as Barry Manilow, Billy Ocean, the Thompson Twins, and Dionne Warwick.
In February 1985, Portnow was appointed vice president, artists and repertoire, for EMI America Records where he was responsible for all A&R activity worldwide. In addition to supervising all new artist acquisitions, Portnow worked with artists including David Bowie, Sheena Easton, Corey Hart, Nona Hendryx, and Evelyn "Champagne" King. He helped establish a black music department, played a role in the signing of superstar Robert Palmer, and brought platinum and gold album recording artists Pet Shop Boys and Najee to the company.
In 1987, he was named music supervisor for Frank Mancuso Jr.'s production of Permanent Record for Paramount Pictures. Music from the film was on the Epic Records soundtrack album, which included the first film underscore as well as songs by Joe Strummer. Throughout his career, Portnow has been involved in many soundtrack projects, including Ghostbusters, 9 To 5, The Stunt Man, The World's Greatest Lover, and the 1986 hit About Last Night.
Portnow moved in 1989 to Jive Records, where he oversaw the expansion of their West Coast operation. In this position, he played a small role in the careers of known acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Britney Spears, NSYNC, and R. Kelly.[ how? ] He worked alongside Jive's president Clive Calder who ran Jive's parent company, the Zomba Label Group.
In November 2002, Portnow became the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) (also known as The Recording Academy) – replacing C. Michael Greene, who served as president from 1988 to 2002. [4] [5] At the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, he made his first Grammy night address as president. He was named President/CEO in September 2007.
Portnow led efforts to help musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina through the academy's MusiCares Foundation. [6] He has also played a significant role in the digital music revolution, lobbying on Capitol Hill regarding artist compensation rights, particularly with regard to the Performance Rights Act, which requires artists to be paid for airplay on the radio. During the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009, Portnow spoke about the election of President Barack Obama and encouraged his administration to add a cabinet-level position for Secretary of the Arts.
In 2018, Neil Portnow announced he would step down at the end of his contract on July 31, 2019.
As President/CEO, Portnow oversaw the 2008 opening of the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, as well as its three branches. [7] He also led the merger of the Grammy Museum and Grammy Foundation into the newly expanded Grammy Museum, which positions itself as offering the best of each organization's initiatives in preservation, education, exhibitions, and public programming.
Portnow has also served as President/CEO of MusiCares. During his tenure he launched MusiCares' 20th Anniversary Giving Campaign. [8] The campaign helped raise more than $12 million for the nonprofit organization, with the stated purpose of ensuring music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical, and personal need.
Portnow is responsible for establishing an Advocacy & Government Relations department at the Recording Academy and increasing the organization's advocacy outreach. As an advocate for music people, he has managed strategic advocacy positions at the national, state, and local levels—both governmental and within music and its related industries. Under Portnow's leadership, the Advocacy department created Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day as a companion to the Grammys on the Hill Awards event. Furthermore, in 2017, the Recording Academy's District Advocate day became the largest grassroots initiative for music in the nation under Portnow's direction. For the first time in history, music creators from all 50 states met with congressional offices in their home districts to discuss legislative issues affecting the music industry, including performance rights, copyright reform, and the impact of digital services.
In October 2018, Portnow was present at the White House for the signing of the Music Modernization Act. He had been a vocal supporter of getting the bill passed and signed into law. [9]
In May 2018, it was revealed that money intended for the Recording Academy charity MusiCares was siphoned off to pay for the cost overruns of hosting the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at New York City's Madison Square Garden. [10]
Concerning the controversies of hosting that year's Grammy Awards in New York, Dana Tomarken, the former executive vice president of the MusiCares foundation claimed wrongful termination. She alleges that she was fired for pushing back against the academy's "boys club". She claimed that by having the MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Fleetwood Mac at Radio City Music Hall, the event had to forgo its traditional VIP dinner and silent auction. She had already been offered a deal to have the event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Barclays Center is owned by AEG, which competes directly with The Madison Square Garden Company which owns Madison Square Garden and Radio City. Irving Azoff who then had a joint venture with the Madison Square Garden Company told Tomarken that the event could not be held at Barclays and had to be held at Radio City. Oak View Group, which is associated with Azoff, received 300 of the highest price tickets to the MusiCares event at Radio City. Oak View Group was supposed to sell them as a package deal which also included tickets to the Grammy Awards itself. MusiCares was promised to receive $1.5 million from those tickets according to Tomarken. Those 300 tickets were never sold and were then returned to MusiCares, which resulted in a loss. [11]
Portnow also came under heavy criticism at the 60th Grammy Awards for suggesting that women in the music industry need to "step up". He later apologized for the statement saying that it was a poor choice of words. [12] The following year, Dua Lipa referred to his comments when she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. [13]
In January 2020 in the wake of the ouster of Portnow's replacement, Deborah Dugan, as the new president of the Recording Academy, the organization was accused of covering up an alleged sexual assault by Portnow of an artist after a Carnegie Hall concert, which Dugan cited as the reason for Portnow's departure. [14]
In November 2023, an unnamed woman filed a lawsuit against Portnow in Manhattan under New York's Adult Survivors Act, accusing him of sexual assault. [15] The suit was also filed against the Recording Academy, alleging negligence from the organization. [15] A spokesperson for Portnow called the accusations "completely false", and that the Academy "continue to believe the claims to be without merit". [15] In May 2024, on the advice of her lawyers, the plaintiff filed to have her lawsuit dismissed, after it was revealed that the defense intended to file a motion that would result in the reveal of her identity. [16]
Portnow sat on the 2018 executive board, Music & Entertainment Industry for the City of Hope, where he previously served a three-year term as President of the Music and Entertainment Industry chapter from 2000 to 2002, raising funds for the world-renowned cancer treatment and research center. In October 2003, the City Of Hope presented Portnow with its top philanthropy honor, the Spirit of Life Award, at a gala event that raised more than $2.3 million to benefit research and treatment efforts. [17]
In May 2017, Portnow was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. [18]
He was named the UJA-Federation of NY's Music Visionary of the Year at its annual luncheon in June 2014. Other honors include the George Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and inclusion in Billboard magazine's Power 100 and the Variety500 industry lists.[ citation needed ]
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the music industry worldwide. They were originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone.
Clive Jay Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000.
The Grammy Award for Best Polka Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality polka albums. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and Epic Records from 2011 to 2017. He co-founded the record label Hitco Entertainment in the latter year, which was sold to Concord in 2022.
MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis, its primary purpose is to focus the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues which directly impact the health and welfare of the music community. The foundation's programs include emergency financial assistance, addiction recovery, outreach and leadership activities, and senior housing. MusiCares also offers hearing clinics backstage at several major festivals around the U.S. to help musicians protect their ears. Since 1989, MusiCares has distributed more than $48 million to artists in need.
Clarence Alexander Avant was a prominent American music executive and film producer. Originating from Climax, North Carolina, Avant began his professional journey in the 1950s, managing Teddy P's Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. Under the guidance of Joe Glaser, a notable music manager of the era, Avant managed a diverse portfolio of artists, ranging from R&B talents like Little Willie John to jazz figures such as Jimmy Smith. In the 1960s, he founded Avant Garde Enterprises, marking a significant step in his contributions to the music sector.
The Latin Recording Academy, formally known as the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music industry professionals, musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other creative and technical recording professionals. The Latin Academy of Recording places greater emphasis on aesthetic and technical accomplishments than on sales or chart positions. They aim to provide a broader platform and raise the profile of Latino artists and creators, both domestically and internationally.
The Recording Academy is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Grammy Awards, which recognize achievements in the music industry of songs and music which are popular worldwide. The Recording Academy is a founding partner of the Grammy Museum, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is preserving and educating about music history and significance. The Recording Academy also founded MusiCares, a charity with the stated goal of impacting the health and welfare of the music community. The Recording Academy's advocacy team lobbies for music creators' rights at the local, state, and federal levels.
Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu, Baha Men, Kurupt, The Pretenders, Sugarcult, and, in 2007, the launch of Glassnote Entertainment Group artists – Secondhand Serenade, Justin Nozuka, Grammy Award-winning Phoenix, Grammy Award winning Mumford & Sons, The Temper Trap, Two Door Cinema Club, Daughter, Robert DeLong, Flight Facilities, Half Moon Run, Jeremy Messersmith, Chvrches, Grammy Award-winning Childish Gambino, Aurora, Mansionair, The Strumbellas, Luwten, Dylan Cartlidge, Ripe, Cecilia Castleman, Silvana Estrada, Mosa Wild and Jade Bird. In 2011 Rolling Stone magazine named Glassnote "Best Indie Label." In 2013 and 2014, Glassnote won the A2IM Libera award for Best Label of the Year. In December, 2015, Glass was named a CHEVALIER DE L'ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES by the French Minister of Culture.
Jerry L. Greenberg is an American music executive, who at 32, was the youngest president of any major record company in the recording industry and received that title in 1974 as President of Atlantic Records.
Person of the Year is an annual gala presented by MusiCares, a 501(c)(3) public charity and affiliate of The Recording Academy, to raise funds for MusiCares’ mission and to honor recording artists for their creative achievements and their dedication to philanthropy. Chosen by the MusiCares Foundation, award recipients are honored during "Grammy Week". Person of the year gala consistes of a seated dinner and start-studded tribute concert.
Harvey Jay Mason Jr. is an American record producer, songwriter and film producer who has been chief executive officer (CEO) of the Recording Academy and MusiCares since 2021. From both his solo work and as part of the production duo the Underdogs, he has been credited on releases for artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande.
Gabriel Abaroa Jr. is a Mexican entertainment executive and attorney, best known for his role as the president and CEO of the Latin Recording Academy (LARAS), which presents the Latin Grammy Awards, from 2003 to 2021. Under his nearly two-decade leadership, the Latin Recording Academy experienced significant growth, including the establishment of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, where he served as founding president, and the transition of the Latin Grammy telecast from English to Spanish. After stepping down in August 2021, he was named president emeritus of the academy, a non-full-time paid position.
Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records.
Mike Greene, also known as Charles Michael Greene, is an American arts executive who served as head of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) from 1985 to 2002, and the president and CEO of Artist Tribe and myMuse.
Martin Neal Bandier is an American music industry executive who was the CEO/Chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing for 11 years from 2007 until 2019. Prior to that he was the chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing Worldwide from 1991 to 2006. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, as was the case in 2010 and 2014. James Corden returned as host.
Deborah Dugan is an American executive who was the first female president and CEO of the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards, in 2019 and 2020. She served as the president of Disney Publishing Worldwide from 2002 to 2006, having been at the company a total eight years, and CEO of Entertainment Rights North America from 2007 to 2009, and CEO of (RED) from 2011 to 2019. In April 2022, she became CEO of diabetes nonprofit Beyond Type 1.
MusiCares' COVID-19 relief effort was a charitable initiative aimed at providing financial and other forms of assistance to musicians and music industry professionals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative was established by MusiCares, a non-profit organization that was founded in 1989 by the Recording Academy, the organization behind the GRAMMY Awards.
Linda Jasmin Moran is an American music executive. She is the CEO and President of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, appointed by Hal David in 2001. She was the first female executive at Warner Music Group and worked at Atlantic Records in previous years. Moran has been nicknamed the "godmother" to music's top executives and artists.