Lyor Cohen

Lyor Cohen (born October 3, 1959)^[1] is an American music industry executive. He is YouTube's global head of music. He began his career in the 1980s at Rush Management and Def Jam, and later held senior positions at Island Def Jam and Warner Music Group. He also founded 300 Entertainment.

Lyor Cohen
Cohen in 2011
Born	(1959-10-03) October 3, 1959 (age 65) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Miami (BBA)
Occupation(s)	Music and digital music industry executive
Years active	1980–present

Early life and education

Cohen was born in New York City in 1959 to Israeli immigrants. His family moved to New York in 1955. Cohen was educated at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.^[1] In 1981 he graduated with a degree in global marketing and finance from the University of Miami School of Business at the University of Miami.^[2]

After graduating from the University of Miami, he worked briefly in the Beverly Hills office of Bank Leumi.^[3]

Music career

Rush Productions, Rush Artist Management, Def Jam

In the early 80s, after promoting a pair of rock and rap shows at The Mix Club in Hollywood (one featured Run-DMC, the other featured Whodini), Cohen moved to New York to take a job at Simmons' Rush Productions (later called Rush Artist Management). Beginning as Run-DMC's road manager, Cohen later worked with and/or signed Rush artists Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy and signed artists including Slick Rick, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Eric B. & Rakim, EPMD, Stetsasonic, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. He was mentored by Jam Master Jay.^[4] In 1986 he helped broker Run-DMC's endorsement deal with Adidas; it was the first marketing deal between an artist and an athletic company.^[5]

Def Jam, Island Def Jam

In 1988, he was named president of Def Jam Recordings, which was founded by Simmons and Rick Rubin in 1984. Rubin resigned to found Def American following Cohen's appointment, citing creative differences.^[2][6] Since DJs refused to play records by many of Def Jam artists due to obscene lyrics, Cohen marketed the records directly to consumers. Def Jam had significant success with records by EPMD, Public Enemy and LL Cool J, who were initially unplayed on commercial radio.^[5] He mentored music industry executives including Kevin Liles^[7] and Todd Moscowitz.^[2]

In 1994 Cohen teamed with Simmons to negotiate Def Jam's departure from Sony,^[8]: 142 (which had been distributing Def Jam since 1985) to PolyGram. Cohen worked rappers including Redman, Method Man, Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule and Ludacris. He also oversaw custom label deals with Roc-A-Fella Records, Murder Inc., Disturbing Tha Peace, and others. ^{[citation needed]}

Island Def Jam Music Group

In June 1998, after PolyGram's merger with Universal Music and its MCA-related label group, Island, Mercury, and Def Jam were merged to create Island Def Jam Music Group. Cohen was named co-president.^[9]

He extended his focus beyond rap and hip hop at Island Def Jam. The label released records by Bon Jovi and Mariah Carey, both of whom Cohen signed, and Shania Twain, Elvis Costello, Ashanti, Nickelback, Slipknot, Sum 41, The Killers, and Slayer. IDJ also bought the metal label Roadrunner Records, among others, and distributed labels including Def American. In 1999 Cohen and his partners sold their personal stakes in Def Jam to Seagram for approximately $130 million. In 2001, IDJ's sales reached an estimated $500 million.^[2] The label prospered, more than doubling its market share during Cohen's tenure.^[10]

Warner Music Group

In January 2004, Cohen left Island Def Jam for a position at Warner Music Group, then owned by Edgar Bronfman Jr. He served as chairman and chief executive.^[11]

At Warner, Cohen oversaw the merger of the Atlantic and Elektra labels into Atlantic, and placed Julie Greenwald, his protégée, into a top executive position. In 2009 she was named chairman and chief operating officer of Atlantic, becoming the highest-ranking female executive at an American record company.^[12] Cohen resigned from Warner in September 2012.^[13]

YouTube and Spotify

In September 2006, Cohen oversaw an agreement with YouTube that allowed the site to show videos by Warner artists in exchange for a share of YouTube's advertising revenue. According to The New York Times, the deal marked "the first time a major record company [had] licensed content to YouTube".^[14] In 2011, Cohen oversaw an agreement on behalf of the Warner roster with Spotify, the digital music service.^[15] Eventually, Cohen oversaw all of Warner's digital initiatives.^{[citation needed]}

Future ventures and 300

There was much speculation about Cohen's next move.^[16][17][18] Cohen's own assessment of his career was broadly predictive. "I've been an outsider in the traditional record industry for more than 25 years," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I'm an entrepreneur, so I encourage risk-taking. And the only way to encourage risk-taking is to take risks yourself, which means sometimes you'll fail, or people will say you are too aggressive or controversial. But someone needs to jump into the pool first for a party to get really great. I've always been willing to be that guy."^[19] In November 2013, Cohen revealed he was starting a new company named "300", after the 300 Spartan Warriors who fought the famous war against the Persians seen in the movie 300. He stated the company would be part record label, part marketing company, part distributor, with major backing from Google and Atlantic.^[20]

YouTube

In September 2016, Google's YouTube announced Cohen would be joining the organization as Global Head of Music. He officially joined the company in December 2016.^[21] He wrote a public letter stating some of his goals and aspirations for his new role.^[22]

Controversy

Murder Inc. Records raid

In January 2003 the offices of Murder Inc. Records at Island Def Jam were raided by a joint task force of the NYPD and the FBI as part of a federal probe of label founder Irv Gotti's ties to drug lord Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.^[23] Of particular interest to authorities was an Island Def Jam payment of $500,000 to a company fronted by McGriff. In 2005, Gotti was acquitted of all charges, as was Cohen, who had also testified.^[24]

TVT Records lawsuit

In 2002, Cohen was personally sued for fraud, tortious interference, breach of contract and copyright infringement by TVT Records as part of a larger action against Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Music Group. The suit alleged that Cohen tried to hinder the production and release of an album by Ja Rule's group, the Cash Money Click. Initially, the defendants were ordered to pay TVT $132 million in compensatory and punitive damages, with $56 million due personally from Cohen.^[25] On appeal that figure was substantially reduced. TVT was awarded $126,720 for a breach of contract claim.^[26]

Personal life

Cohen's close associates have included his longtime friend and business partner Russell Simmons,^[27] and Kanye West, who dubbed himself "the Lyor Cohen of Dior Homme" on a 2010 recording Devil in a New Dress.^[28]

Cohen met his first wife, E.K. Smith, during the recording of the music video for "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by the Beastie Boys.^[29] He and his second wife, Amy Cohen, divorced in 2006. They have a daughter and a son.^[30] Cohen credited his son and a friend for saving his life when he had a pulmonary embolism during N.W.A's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.^[31]

In August 2016, Cohen married art consultant Xin Li. She is a former basketball player and model who is deputy chairman of Christie's Asia.^[32] The couple has one child.^[1]

Cohen is on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Independent Venue Association,^[33] and is an acting Director for the New York-based charitable organization Boys & Girls Harbor.^{[citation needed]}

Further reading

• Talking trash, making cash, and still able to sign Mariah. Profile at The New York Times