Don Ienner
Don Ienner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1951 or 1952 (age 72–73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Music executive |
| Known for | President ofColumbia Records |
| Labels | |
Don Ienner(/ˈaɪnər/EYE-nər;born 1951/1952[1]) is an American music executive. He served as president ofColumbia Recordsfrom 1989 to 2003, and as chairman from 1994 to 2003. In April 2003 he became president of Columbia's umbrella company,Sony MusicU.S., overseeing its music labels, and was named chief executive officer of Sony Music Label Group, U.S. in 2004.[2]He resigned from that position on June 1, 2006.[3]
As of 2012, Ienner was a music business consultant and a principal in an advertising agency.[4]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]In 1969, Ienner began his career in the music industry by taking a job in the mailroom of Capitol Records while still in high school.[5]From 1972 to 1977, Ienner and his brotherJimmyran a music production, management, and publishing company called C.A.M. U.S.A., which worked with such artists asThree Dog Night,Grand Funk Railroad,Blood, Sweat & Tears,andEric Carmen.While producing a record for Blood, Sweat & Tears, Ienner metClive Davis,then head of Columbia.[6]
In 1977, he co-founded Millennium Records with his brother, serving as executive president.[7]
Arista Records
[edit]Ienner joinedArista Recordsin 1983 as vice president of promotion. In 1988, then-presidentClive Davisappointed Ienner to executive vice president and general manager.[8]Ienner became particularly well known for this promotion and marketing of Whitney Houston, who had a historic seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits during the 1980s.[7]
Other notable promotional activity included a commentary in Billboard magazine Ienner authored in 1988 which initiated the "When You Play It, Say It" campaign. The campaign urged radio stations to identify the artist's name before or after a song was played, a growing problem for all record companies.[9]
Columbia Records & Sony Music
[edit]In 1989, at the age of 36, Ienner was hired bySony MusicChairmanThomas D. Mottola[1]as president of Columbia Records, the youngest executive ever to head the record label.[5]At the time Columbia, which had been bought by Japanese Sony Corp. in November 1987, was losing market share.[10]The label was also seen as falling behind the times.[11]In 1990, the hard-rock bandWarrantdedicated the title song of its album "Cherry Pie"to Ienner.[12]
Ienner led Columbia in the signing of alternative groups Alice in Chains and Toad the Wet Sprocket and brought on Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings and Chris Schwartz's Ruffhouse Records, which carried The Fugees and Cypress Hill.[13]
In December 1990, Ienner announced a $10,000 contribution from Columbia to theMount Zion-Robert Johnson Memorial Fundwith an additional $7,000 given one month later. A portion of the money was used to erect a memorial to blues musicianRobert Johnsonin the Mount Zion church's cemetery inMorgan City, Mississippi.[14]
Between 1989 and 2001 Ienner “transformed Sony’s Columbia division from a washed-up pop monolith into a muscular hit-making machine,” according to theLos Angeles Times.Under his auspices the label re-established itself as a force in rock, rap, and R&B. Revenue went from $300 million in 1989 to $730 million in 2000.Bob Dylancalled Ienner an “unstoppable force.”[15]
In 1994, Ienner was promoted to chairman of Columbia Records (while retaining his title as president), which he held until 2003.[16]In seven of the 13 years that he served as president—the longest tenure of anyone to hold that title—Columbia was the No. 1 record label.[6]
In 2001, Ienner signedTrainand promoted their second album "Drops of Jupiter,"which was certified double platinum, with the single" Drops of Jupiter "from the album winning two Grammy Awards in 2002.[17]
In 2003, Ienner was named chairman of Sony Music U.S., overseeing all of Sony's music labels, including Columbia, Epic, Sony Music Nashville, and Sony Urban Music.[18]In his new capacity, Ienner oversaw the revitalization of the company's Nashville labels by signing new artists Gretchen Wilson and Miranda Lambert.[19]
Ienner invested in the use of technology to predict hit songs. In 2003, during work onBeyoncé’s first solo album, there was a disagreement between Beyoncé and Ienner about what the first single should be. Ienner sent several tracks from the album to be tested by the company Hit Predictor, which determined that “Crazy in Love”was the best choice. “Crazy in Love” became a major hit, winning two Grammies in 2004.[20][21][22]
In June 2006, Ienner left as chairman ofSony MusicLabel Group U.S. after 18 years at Sony and less than three years after being promoted to chairman.[23]After leaving Sony, Ienner became principal at IMO Entertainment, and an artist manager and consultant toUniversal Music.[24]
In 2010, Ienner founded cloud-based social content player IMHO Media.[25]
Ienner, together with John Hamlin, managed the bandHot Chelle Raein 2011.[26][27]
In a 2017 interview withHoward Stern,singer-songwriterJohn Mellencampsaid that he left Columbia Records because the president of the company made a racist remark to Mellencamp's manager in 2001.[28]British singerGeorge Michaelclaimed to have overheard Ienner referring to him as a "faggot", triggering the singer's 1994 legal effort to dissolve his contract with Columbia. Michael lost the case and Ienner denied using the term.[29]
References
[edit]- ^abPhilips, Chuck (January 29, 2001)."Passion for Music Drives Columbia Chief to Make Plenty of Industry Noise".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Don Ienner Earns CEO Stripes – Billboard".Billboard.
- ^Leeds, Jeff (June 2, 2006)."2 Executives at Sony Music Step Down Amid a Shake-Up - The New York Times".The New York Times.
- ^"Data holds key to the future".Marketing Week.April 11, 2012.
- ^ab"Columbia Records' Chief".New York Times.April 5, 1989.
- ^ab"Clive Davis Fights Back".Vanity Fair.February 1, 2000.
- ^ab"IENNER BECOMES SONY U.S. CHIEF".HITS Daily Double.April 14, 2003.
- ^"Hands On Role for Arista's Ienner"(PDF).WRH.April 30, 1988.
- ^"When You Play It Say It"(PDF).The Gavin Report.April 7, 1989.
- ^"Sony to Pay $3.4 Billion for Columbia Pictures: Japanese Firm Willing to Offer High Price to Get Film, TV Software for Video Equipment It Makes".LA Times.September 28, 1989.
- ^"A Cold Spell for CBS Records".The New York Times.May 5, 1989.
- ^Goldstein, Patrick (September 2, 1990)."Search Warrant: Who's the latest member of..."Los Angeles Times.
- ^"The new music man".Philadelphia Business Journal.April 19, 1999.
- ^St. George, Donna (March 15, 1991)."Country Bluesman's Legacy Gives New Life To Music's Birthplace".The Seattle Times.
- ^Philips, Chuck (January 29, 2001)."Passion for Music Drives Columbia Chief to Make Plenty of Industry Noise".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Promotions at Sony Music".NY Times.January 11, 1994.
- ^Beviglia, Jim (December 2020)."Behind The Song:" Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) "By Train".American Songwriter.
- ^"Don Ienner Earns CEO Stripes".Billboard Magazine.September 8, 2004.
- ^"Sony Music CEO also new chairman".Los Angeles Daily News.March 16, 2006.
- ^Smith, Nicola (April 11, 2012)."Data holds key to the future".Marketing Week.
- ^"SoundOut Predicts Music Hits With Reviews, Linguistic Analysis".Bloomberg.
- ^Reynaud, Floriane (September 4, 2020)."Beyoncé: 5 fun facts about" Crazy in Love "".Vogue France.
- ^Duhigg, Charles (June 2, 2006)."Two Top Sony BMG Executives Step Down".Los Angeles Times.
- ^Smith, Nicola (April 11, 2012)."Data holds key to the future".Marketing Week.
- ^"Former Sony Music Boss launches IMGO social content player".Music Ally. March 25, 2010.
- ^Bronson, Fred (July 5, 2011)."Hot Chelle Rae: The Story Behind the Success of 'Tonight Tonight'".Billboard.
- ^Smith, Nicola (April 11, 2012)."Data holds key to the future".Marketing Week.
- ^"John Mellencamp Says He Left Columbia Because of Extremely Racist Label President - SPIN".
- ^"George Michael: Why He Turned His Back on Fame, and the 'Faith'-like Songs He Recorded Before His Death".Billboard.
