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| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| {{articleissues | |||
| |BLP sources=January 2008 | |||
| |peacock=June 2010}} | |||
| {{Infobox Person | |||
| | name = Lyor Cohen | |||
| | image = | |||
| | image_size = 200px | |||
| | caption = Lyor Cohen | |||
| | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|10|3}} | |||
| | birth_place = ] | |||
| | nationality = ]/] | |||
| | occupation = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Lyor Cohen''' ({{lang-he|ליאור כהן}}; born October 3, 1959) is the ] ] and ] of Recorded Music for ] (WMG). He has been a pioneer in the development of ] music and influential in the development of hip hop music acts, including ], ], ], ], ], ] and others.{{cn|date=June 2010}} | |||
| In addition, he has done various promotional work on behalf of rock musician ] and the heavy metal band ], pop music singer ] and hip hop artists ] and ]. | |||
| Cohen joined the company shortly after ]'s sale of WMG to an investor group led by ]. Prior to his current role with Warner Music, he worked with ], where he led the growth of its roster of artists and record labels, including ], ], ], and ]. At WMG, in 2007, his division brought the company its highest U.S. album share in a decade and was credited with delivering the "most improved performance of a major music company" by the '']''.<ref name="Garrity">Garrity, Brian. (January 20, 2008) [http://www.nypost.com/seven/01202008/business/musical_marvel_429734.htm?page=0. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> | |||
| According to '']'', Cohen devised the now-standard record industry strategy of offering new releases at reduced price for the first week to boost sales on new albums.<ref>Holloway, Lynette. (May 10, 2003) ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> | |||
| ==Early life== | |||
| Cohen was born in ], one of two sons of ]i immigrants and the grandson of an ] general. Although born in ], he spent little time there until later in life when he returned to ] for good in his mid-20s to work with ]' ]. Cohen was raised in the affluent ] community of ] after divorce led his mother to relocate there. He graduated from ] in Los Angeles and then the ]'s School of Business, in ], where he majored in business. | |||
| Cohen has two half-brothers on his mother's side who have worked for Lyor at some point; both are also record label executives. | |||
| ==Hip-hop music career== | |||
| ===Run-D.M.C.=== | |||
| Cohen entered the ] music business in the mid-1980s after booking a performance by seminal rappers ] at a club Cohen was running in Los Angeles. He soon became the group's road manager, sharing a room with MC ] (aka DMC) on the road. He began working in New York City for Def Jam's co-founder, Russell Simmons, in the early part of 1985, spearheading Rush Artist Management, the management division of Simmons' Def Jam/Rush operations and bringing a semblance of order to the often chaotic office shared by both the label and management. | |||
| Meanwhile, Cohen continued to act as ]'s day-to-day and road and tour manager. He managed such tours as the 1986 ] Tour, (featuring ], ], ], the ] and various guests such as ]) and the 1987 Together Forever Tour (featuring ], the ] and occasional guests such as ]). | |||
| ===Def Jam Records=== | |||
| Cohen's first real public impact came with his creation of Rush Associated Labels in 1990. The label mostly served as an outlet for side-projects of Rush-managed acts like ]'s ], but it also served a label for "baby bands"—acts that needed more time to develop than ] would be able to afford them—to organically grow at their own pace. | |||
| Over the years Cohen's influence grew, to the point where he personally earned $100 million from the sale of Def Jam Records to the ] (UMG) in 1999. He was then made head of a key part of UMG subsidiary, ], where he led the growth of its roster of artists and record labels, including ], ], ], ], ], ], and Def Soul (including Def Soul Classics and Roadrunner records) whose releases earned almost $700 million a year. | |||
| ===Warner Music Group=== | |||
| Cohen left IDJ/UMG in January 2004 for a position with the ] investor group-financed Warner Music Group, which was subsequently spun off from Time Warner. Joining Cohen at Warner are his former co-workers at ], ] and ], as well as older industry figures including ] founder ] and ]' ]. | |||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| ===Murder Inc. Records raid=== | |||
| In 2001, Cohen was given the nickname "Lansky" (after the notorious Jewish gangster ]) by ] in recognition for his partnership and place on the board of directors when the two went into business together forming ] (named after the original ]).<ref name="Hays">Hays, Tom. (December 3, 2003) . music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref><ref>Friedman, Roger. (November 29, 2004) Fox News. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> Cohen's ] label provided Gotti $2 million in "seed" money to start operations and the label with office space in his ] Manhattan headquarters.<ref name="Hays"/> This later came under the scrutiny of federal authorities when ] at ] was raided by a joint task force of the ] and the ] as part of a federal probe of label founder ]'s ties to drug lord ], alleged ], ], and gang activities.<ref>Oh, Minya. (January 16 2003) MTV. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> Of particular interest to authorities was an Island Def Jam payment of $500,000 to a company fronted by McGriff called Picture Perfect Entertainment, ostensibly for the soundtrack (that was never delivered) to McGriff's film adaptation of ]' ''Crime Partners'' which he had ].<ref>Wilson, Michael and Lynette Holloway. (January 26, 2003). . ''New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> | |||
| Cohen was eventually absolved of any involvement in the scandal, even after he claimed under oath that he couldn’t identify his position with Murder Inc. Records. When asked if he sat with Gotti on the executive board of Murder Inc., Cohen replied, “I’m not sure.”<ref name="Hays"/> Gotti, also since absolved of allegations,<ref>Rashbaum, William K. and Matthew Sweeney. (December 3, 2005). . ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> declined Cohen's offer to join him at Warner Music Group.<ref>Leeds, Jeff. (August 22, 2006). . ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> | |||
| ===TVT Records lawsuit=== | |||
| In 2002, Cohen was personally sued for fraud, tortuous interference, breach of contract and copyright infringement by ] as part of a larger action against ] and ] alleging that Cohen tried to hinder the production and release of an album by ]'s group, the ] (a.k.a. CMC).<ref name>Reid, Shaheem. (March 25, 2003). . MTV. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> The defendants were initially ordered to pay TVT $132 million in compensatory and punitive damages, with $56 million due personally from Cohen, but on appeal that figure was reduced to $53 million, with $3 million due personally from Cohen.<ref name="Hays"/> The U.S. District Court Judge who reduced the damages, Victor Marrero, commented that the defendants were "morally reprehensible" and noted "inconsistencies" in Cohen's testimony.<ref name="Hays"/> However, in 2005 the jury's decision against Cohen and Def Jam was overturned by a federal appeals court panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the allegations by TVT "lacked 'legally sufficient' evidence".<ref name="spared">Leeds, Jeff. (June 15, 2005). . ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> While TVT lawyers announced intentions to pursue the matter further, Cohen's lawyer noted, "In reversing the finding of liability, fraud and the related damages, the court has specifically found that there was no credible evidence to support the outrageous claims against Mr. Cohen."<ref name="spared"/> | |||
| During the course of the appeals, additional controversy arose with the sale of the ] clothing company. Cohen was partners with ] with a 16.6% stake in Phat Farm, which he had valued at $5.5 million in a financial statement during the TVT lawsuit.<ref name="Billboard">Garrity, Brian. (April 3, 2004) "How Phat this cat?" ''Billboard Magazine''.</ref> When the company sold for $140 million,<ref name="Hype">Leeds, Jeff. (May 16, 2005) . ''New York Times''. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> Cohen reportedly received more than $20 million for his share, prompting allegations by TVT lawyers that he had intentionally misrepresented his net worth to reduce his damages owed.<ref name="Billboard"/> Simmons testified at deposition on Cohen's behalf that Cohen was not aware at the time he assessed his financial worth of the potential sale.<ref name="Hype"/> | |||
| TVT was awarded $126,720 for a breach of contract claim that IDMG and Cohen did not appeal.<ref name="spared"/> | |||
| ===P. Diddy=== | |||
| In 2002, ] accused Cohen of "attempting to steal" best-selling R&B artists ] from his ] label, stating that he was "shocked" by such a move from "someone who I considered a close friend for 15 years".<ref>Reid, Shaheem. (February 28, 2002) MTV Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> In 2003, Combs and Cohen announced a joint venture to handle 112 and ].<ref name="Reid">Reid, Shaheem. (February 20 2003]) . MTV. Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> At that time, Combs said that his personal relationship with Cohen mattered more "than a minor business dispute".<ref name="Reid"/> In 2005, Combs and Cohen entered into a working relationship at ].<ref>Warner Music Group. (2005) . WMG.com Retrieved 23-01-08.</ref> | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *. Profile at '']'' | |||
| * '']'' | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *. | |||
| * | |||
| * {{imdb name|id=0169567}} | |||
| {{Warner Music Group}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Lyor}} | |||
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Revision as of 09:09, 6 June 2010
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