Tom Corson

Last updated
Tom Corson
Tom Corson 2018.jpg
Born
Thomas Charles Corson

Seattle, Washington
Nationality American
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Record executive, co-chairman and COO of Warner Records
Years active1985-present
Board member ofInaugural chair, UCLA School of Music Business, board of advisors
TJ Martell Foundation
City of Hope Music and Entertainment Industry Executive Board
Website warnerrecords.com

Tom Corson is an American record executive. He is the co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Records, a position he has held since January 2018. [1] He was previously the president and chief operating officer of RCA Records. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Corson was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington. He moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to attend UCLA. He interned at IRS Records during his junior and senior year, and graduated from UCLA in 1982 with a BA in business/economics. [5]

Career

1985-1990: IRS Records, A&M Records

Following his graduation, IRS hired Corson as director of West Coast sales; in 1985, he was named director of West Coast promotion. [6] At IRS—a "giant of the post-punk era"—he worked with artists including the Go Go's, R.E.M., the English Beat and General Public. [7] [8] In 1985, Corson moved to A&M Records to become the executive assistant to the label's president, Gil Friesen. As Friesen's executive assistant, Corson performed roles in special projects, product management, international marketing, marketing, and A&R at the label. He was named vice president of marketing in 1989. At A&M, Corson was recognized for his role in the success of artists including Soundgarden, Simple Minds, and UB40. [9] [10]

1990-1999: Capitol Records, Columbia Records

Corson was hired by Capitol Records as vice president of international in 1990, and was promoted to senior vice president of domestic marketing in 1993. He oversaw the global campaigns for MC Hammer's two Capitol releases, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em and Too Legit to Quit , which together sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. He also worked closely with Radiohead, who released their major label debut, Pablo Honey , in 1993. [11] and orchestrated the marketing campaigns for Mazzy Star and the Frank Sinatra Duets album, among others.

In January 1996, Corson was named senior vice president of marketing for Columbia Records and moved from Los Angeles to Columbia's headquarters in New York City. [12] During Corson's tenure, Columbia's market share increased, [13] with hit records in multiple genres including pop (Train), rock (System of a Down) and Latin music (Ricky Martin) in addition to soundtrack releases such as Armageddon and Men in Black . Corson left Columbia in December 1999 to accept a position as senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Arista Records. [14]

1999-2007: J Records, Arista, RCA Music Group

After an industry outcry when parent company BMG ousted Arista founder and CEO Clive Davis from the label in 2000, BMG invested $150 million to launch J Records, a joint venture with Davis. [15] An "instant major," Davis hired Corson as executive vice president of worldwide marketing. [16] [17] J was a success from the start, with the label's inaugural release, Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor , selling over 12,000,000 records worldwide. [18] [19] That same year, O-Town's self-titled debut achieved multi-platinum sales; Inside Magazine called its marketing plan "one of the most elaborate star-making campaigns of the modern media age." [20] J Records dominated the charts during its three-year existence as a standalone label, releasing hit records by artists including Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Pearl Jam, and the winners from the American Idol franchise. Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook releases became the biggest-selling ongoing series of new music recordings in history, [21] and Luther Vandross had the first #1 record of his career, Dance With My Father . [22]

In 2002, BMG bought a majority stake in J and folded it into the RCA Music Group—which also included Arista—and appointed Davis president and CEO. Corson was named executive vice president and GM of Arista/J in 2004; there, he oversaw releases from Dido, Whitney Houston and Santana, among others. [23] In 2007, Corson was appointed executive vice president and GM of RCA Records. He held a central role in restructuring the company in the wake of a series of mergers. [24] [25]

2007-2017: RCA Records

In 2007, Corson was appointed executive vice president and GM of RCA Records. He held a central role in restructuring the company in the wake of a series of mergers. [24] [25]

In 2011, he was promoted to president and COO of RCA Records by Doug Morris, the CEO of parent company Sony Music Entertainment. [26] [27] He was noted for his role [28] in the success of artists including A$AP Rocky, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Matthews Band, Kesha, Kings of Leon, Miguel, P!nk, and Justin Timberlake. [29] [30]

2017-present: Warner Records

Corson was named co-chairman and COO of Warner Records in December 2017, and led the transition from Warner Bros. Records to Warner Records with Aaron Bay-Schuck, Warner's CEO. [31] He has worked closely with Andra Day—he executive produced the Academy and Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for The United States Vs. Billie Holiday —and oversaw the release of albums and singles by Dua Lipa, Saweetie, Bebe Rexha, Josh Groban, The Black Keys and Michael Bublé, among others. [32] [33] [34]

Corson was an executive producer of the 2021 documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers. The film won a Producers Guild Award in 2022. [35]

Recognition

Corson appeared on the Billboard "Power 100" every year from 2012-2024. [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] He appeared on the Billboard Country Power Players list in 2024. [47]

In 2015, Corson was the keynote speaker at the Harvard Business School's Entertainment and Media Conference. [48]

In June 2016, with Peter Edge, the CEO and chairman of RCA, Corson eceived the UJA Music Visionary of the Year award. [49] [50]

In 2020, he was named inaugural chair of the board of advisors for the UCLA School of Music Business, the first music school within the University of California system. [51] He was the honoree of Saban Community Clinic's 29th Annual Golf Classic in 2022. [52] In June 2023, Corson received the TJ Martell Foundation Lifetime Music Industry Award at its New York Gala. [53]

Corson is the vice chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors for the TJ Martell Foundation [54] and a member of the Music and Entertainment Industry Board for City of Hope. [55]

Selected discography/videography

YearAlbumArtistCredit
2021Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free (documentary) Tom Petty Executive producer [56]
2021 The United States Vs. Billie Holiday , Music from the Motion PictureAndra DayExecutive producer
2018Not So Silent Night (TV special)PentatonixProducer
2016A Grammy Salute to Whitney HoustonVarious artistsProducer
A Pentatonix Christmas Special (TV special)PentatonixProducer [57]
2014De Corazon (HBO Documentary)SantanaExecutive producer
2013"Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life (TV series)Ke$haExecutive producer
2012We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney HoustonWhitney HoustonProducer
Kid Star USA (Television show)Various artistsExecutive producer [58]
2011Majors and Minors (TV series)Various artistsExecutive producer
2010Santana - Making of Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All TimeSantanaProducer
2004One Night Only! Rod Stewart Live at Royal Albert Hall (DVD)Rod StewartExecutive producer
2003 It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (DVD)Rod StewartExecutive producer
2001O-Town: Live From New YorkO-TownExecutive producer

[59]

Related Research Articles

RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.

Arista Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music Group, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis and deactivated in 2011, Arista was re-established in 2018. Along with RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records, it is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Music Group</span> American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate

Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Formerly part of Time Warner, WMG was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2011, when it announced its privatization and sale to Access Industries. It later had its second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020, once again becoming a public company. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, WMG employs more than 4,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world.

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

Sire Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.

Warner Records Inc. is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the American film studio Warner Bros.

Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former bandmates, Tangerine Dream. The label specialized in New age music but made a sharp turn to the mainstream by signing Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Etta James, and A. J. Croce. Its albums were distributed by BMG, which bought Private Music in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Music Publishing Group</span> American music publishing company

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a global music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing has been ranked the #1 music publisher in market share by Billboard for multiple consecutive quarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Def Jam Recordings</span> American record label

Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Morris</span> American record executive (born 1938)

Doug Morris is an American record executive. He served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011, as well as Sony Music Entertainment from 2011 to 2017. He founded the record label 12Tone in 2018, where he's since served as CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Caren</span> American songwriter

Michael Caren is an American record executive. He founded Artist Publishing Company in 2007, as well as its subsidiary Artist Partner Group in 2013. He has served as the President of Worldwide A&R at Warner Music Group from 2012 to 2015, as well as the company's Creative Officer until 2020, Executive Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records from 2007 to 2012, and Co-president of Elektra Entertainment from 2008 to 2012.

Joel Klaiman is an American music industry executive. He is the founder and CEO of ASCEND4M entertainment agency, and the CEO of Tunespotter. Klaiman is a former president of Hitco Entertainment; previously, he was a senior executive at Columbia Records, Epic Records and Universal Republic Records. Over the course of his career, he has worked with artists including Adele, Beyoncé, John Legend, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift. He is credited with designing the promotional campaigns that resulted in the crossover success of singles by artists such as Swift, Pharrell, and Daft Punk.

RCA Music Group was an umbrella group of labels distributed by Sony Music Entertainment that existed between March 2004 and 2009, and for a short period of time between July 2011 and October 2011 as all RCA Music Group labels were merged with RCA Records.

Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records.

Max Lousada is CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group. He previously was the chairman and CEO of Warner Music UK where he found success working with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa. Before moving over to Warner Music UK in 2013, Lousada was successively head of A&R, managing director, president, then chairman of Atlantic Records UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Quartararo</span> American music industry executive (1956–2023)

Philip Michael Quartararo was an American music industry executive. He was the president and chairman of The Hello Group, and held positions as CEO at Virgin Records, Warner Bros. Records, and EMI, and was involved in the careers of recording artists such as Linkin Park, Josh Groban, Spice Girls, U2, and Yoshiki. Quartararo was known as a defender of artist rights. He spoke out on the fight against music piracy and restoring the value of music. Quartararo was regarded as one of the most promotion-minded executives in the music business and was regarded as a thought leader on the subject of partnership between brands and artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Wong</span> American music executive

Eric Wong, born in New York City, is the president and CMO of recorded music for Warner Music Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Bay-Schuck</span> American music executive

Aaron Bay-Schuck is an American music industry executive. The CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records, he was previously the president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M and the senior vice president of A&R at Atlantic Records.

Tunji Balogun is a Nigerian American record label executive. He is the CEO of Def Jam Recordings.

John Esposito is an American music executive who is the current chairman and CEO of Warner Music Nashville, a country music label group. In that role, he has overseen the careers of Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Gabby Barrett, and numerous others.

Phylicia Fant is an American music and entertainment industry executive. She is the head of music industry partnerships at Amazon Music and former head of urban music at Columbia Records. She is also the founder and CEO of The Purple Agency, a public relations and marketing agency. She also a produced the 2021 documentary film, Eggs Over Easy: Black Women & Fertility.

References

  1. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (2017-12-05). "Warner Bros. Records Sets Start Date for Incoming Co-Chairman/COO Tom Corson". Variety. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  2. ↑ Morris, Christopher (August 8, 2011). "Edge, Corson promoted at RCA". Variety. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Ed Christman, Andrew Hammp (October 22, 2013). "Q4 Label Special: RCA's Tom Corson and Peter Edge on Miley, Britney & JT, the Adult Xmas Market, 'Focusing on Hip-Hop & Rock'". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (October 7, 2011). "RCA Records' Peter Edge and Tom Corson on Why the Label Downsized and its Place in Sony's Big Picture". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Aswad, Shirley Halperin,Jem; Halperin, Shirley; Aswad, Jem (2017-09-26). "Tom Corson to Leave RCA for Warner Bros. Records". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Billboard Staff (July 13, 1985). Executive Turntable. Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "'80s Giant I.R.S. Records Arrives on iTunes". WIRED. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  8. ↑ Erlewine, Steven Thomas (2014). "On the Charts: I.R.S. Records 1979-1994". All Music. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (April 29, 1990). "Pop Eye". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Aswad, Jem (August 28, 2015). "RCA Chiefs Peter Edge and Tom Corson on Signing Zayn Malik and Enrique Iglesias -- and Being Blissfully Unaware of Miley Cyrus' VMA Plans". Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Bessman, Jim (February 25, 1994). "Radiohead. (international success) (Brits Around the World: The British Abroad)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  12. ↑ LA Times Staff (June 25, 1996). "Company Town: Executive Suite". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (February 23, 1998). "Sony Music Has Upbeat Tune as Label Turns Around" (PDF). Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  14. ↑ Hochman, Steve (June 18, 2000). "Blame It on Rio: Labels Fear Leaks Via MP3". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  15. ↑ Holson, Laura M. (February 18, 2002). "MEDIA; Music Promoter Stages Encore Amid Problems For Big Labels". New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  16. ↑ "DAVIS LOYALISTS SHOWN THE DOOR". Hits. October 16, 2000. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Furman, Phyllis (June 30, 2003). "DAVIS SEES SINGLES SPIN Clive makes oldie a goody". New York Daily News. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Alicia Keys Biography". Starpulse. 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  19. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (November 6, 2007). "Alicia's Keys To Success". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  20. ↑ Cohen, Warren (January 31, 2002). "O-Town: Building the Perfect Boy Band". Inside. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  21. ↑ Sciaretto, Amy (October 18, 2010). "Rod Stewart to Release Fifth Volume of "The Great American Songbook"". ArtistDirect. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  22. ↑ Davis, Clive (February 2013). The Soundtrack of My Life. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 469. ISBN   978-1476714783.
  23. ↑ "New way to tout tunes". Crain's New York Business. 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  24. 1 2 "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  25. 1 2 "RCA Lays Off 20 Staffers Amid Restructuring: Sources". Billboard.biz. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  26. ↑ Sisario, Ben (August 8, 2011). "Morris Quickly Makes His Mark at Sony Music". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  27. ↑ Barker, Andrew (February 7, 2013). "Label the New RCA A Success". Variety. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "EDGE CEO, CORSON PRESIDENT/ COO AT RCA MUSIC GROUP". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  29. ↑ "Peter Edge Named CEO of Sony's RCA Music Group". hollywoodreporter.com. August 8, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Tom Corson-led Warner Bros signs US rapper Saweetie". Music Business Worldwide. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  31. ↑ "Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson Will Take Over Warner Bros. Records, Cameron Strang to Step Down". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  32. ↑ "'Warner Records cares about having the right artists, not having the most artists.'". Music Business Worldwide. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  33. ↑ Ingham, Tim (2020-04-06). "Why Warner Records Is Still Releasing Big Albums Amid COVID-19 Lockdown". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  34. ↑ "No. 24: Tom Corson | Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  35. ↑ Grein, Paul (2022-03-20). "'CODA' & Docs About The Beatles & Tom Petty Win 2022 PGA Awards (Full Winners List)". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  36. ↑ Karp, Hannah (2024-01-31). "Billboard 2024 Power 100 List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  37. ↑ "No. 32: Aaron Bay-Schuck & Tom Corson | Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  38. ↑ "No. 24: Tom Corson | Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  39. ↑ "Power 100 2017". Billboard. February 9, 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  40. ↑ Ruano, Fernie (April 23, 2014). "Latin Conference World Cup Q&A: Carlos Vives, David Correy, RCA's Tom Corson & More". Billboard Biz. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  41. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (January 1, 2014). "Peter Edge & Tom Corson: The 2014 Billboard Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  42. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (February 2, 2013). "Billboard Power 100: Peter Edge and Tom Corson". Billboard. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  43. ↑ "Billboard Power 100 2015". billboard.com. Billboard. February 5, 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  44. ↑ DiGiacomo, Frank (2023-02-02). "Billboard's 2023 Power 100: Executives List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  45. ↑ Globe Staff (January 29, 2015). "Thursday's business agenda". Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  46. ↑ Billboard Staff (February 12, 2016). "Power 100: 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  47. ↑ Karp, Hannah (2024-05-09). "Country Power Players: Billboard's 2024 List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  48. ↑ "It's official: Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson are taking over at Warner Bros". Music Business Worldwide. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  49. ↑ Aswad, Jem (June 17, 2016). "Alicia Keys, Elle King & Jack Antonoff Honor RCA Chiefs Peter Edge & Tom Corson at UJA Luncheon". Billboard. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  50. ↑ "Music Visionary of the Year". ujafedney.ot. UJA. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  51. ↑ "Tom Corson". The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  52. ↑ "WARNER RAISES GREEN ON THE GREEN". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  53. ↑ "T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATION UNVEILS GALA HONOREES". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  54. ↑ "Board of Trustees | T.J. Martell Foundation". www.tjmartell.org. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  55. ↑ "Music, Film and Entertainment Industry Group Executive Board". City of Hope. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  56. ↑ Linden, Sheri (2021-03-18). "'Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free': Film Review | SXSW 2021". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  57. ↑ A Pentatonix Christmas Special (2016) , retrieved 2021-10-17
  58. ↑ Rosman, Katherine (2012-08-02). "Inside the Hit Factory for Kids". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  59. ↑ "Tom Corson at All Music Guide". All Music. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.