American record executive
Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Jeff_Ayeroff.jpg/220px-Jeff_Ayeroff.jpg) |
Born
| Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
(
1947-01-20
)
January 20, 1947
(age 77)
|
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Alma mater
| USC Gould School of Law
(
JD
)
|
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Occupation
| Music executive
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Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
(born January 20, 1947) is an American record executive who has worked for
A&M
,
Warner Records
,
Virgin U.S.
,
Work Group
,
Apple
, and
Shangri-La Music
. He founded
Rock the Vote
in 1990 in response to a censorship campaign against artists’ use of explicit language.
[1]
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Jeff Ayeroff graduated from
USC Gould School of Law
in 1971,
[
citation needed
]
and worked as an Entertainment Attorney before joining the ranks at
A&M Records
as an assistant to then-President of the label,
Gil Friesen
, in 1974. He became A&M's Director of Product Management & Creative Services in 1977 followed by Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services in 1978.
[3]
At A&M, Ayeroff developed visual campaigns for
The Police
,
[4]
Peter Frampton
,
The Carpenters
, and
Supertramp
, to name a few. Beginning in 1983, his duties as senior vice president of
Warner Bros. Records
, included overseeing marketing, advertising, creative direction and music videos for artists such as:
Madonna
,
[2]
Steve Winwood
,
ZZ Top
,
Don Henley
,
Prince
, and
Dire Straits
. Ayeroff earned two
Grammy Award
nominations in the category of
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
in 1985 and 1986 for his work with
A-ha
and
Talking Heads
.
[5]
He sensed massive potential in the fledgling A-ha and convinced executives at
Warner Records
to create the iconic music video for "
Take On Me
", which he himself had conceived. His creative direction on the
Stop Making Sense
album cover was also included in the
Museum of Modern Art
exhibition "Making Modern Music: Design For Ear and Eye."
[6]
Ayeroff left
Warner Records
in 1987 and, along with partner Jordan Harris, opened the U.S. label offices for
Virgin Records
after an invitation from company owner
Richard Branson
. Ayeroff and Harris signed and marketed an artist roster at Virgin U.S. which included
Paula Abdul
,
[7]
Janet Jackson
,
Lenny Kravitz
,
The Smashing Pumpkins
and others.
[8]
During his time at Virgin Records, Ayeroff also founded the progressive-aligned political organization
Rock the Vote
to help increase voter turnout among voters ages 18 to 24. Through alliances with other Entertainment companies, such as
MTV
, Ayeroff created commercial and print campaigns with contemporary music artists to appeal to a young voter demographic.
[9]
The organization supported the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993
, commonly referred to as the "motor voter" bill, which expanded access to voter registration. It was signed into law by President
Bill Clinton
. The law requires state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or public assistance. Rock The Vote also protested against the
Parents Music Resource Center
who, at the time, began advocating for warning labels to be added on covers of music releases that contained profane lyrics. It was reported in 2016 that Rock The Vote had registered more than 6 million voters online.
[10]
In August 1993, both Ayeroff & Harris resigned from Virgin Records after the company was sold to
Thorn EMI
. Industry sources said the resignations were because of a management logjam at the company and the subsequent erosion of their duties.
[11]
[12]
Ayeroff and Harris went on to co-found
Work Group
in 1995, a West Coast-based subsidiary of
Sony Music
,
[13]
[14]
[15]
where they developed the careers of
Jennifer Lopez
,
Jamiroquai
,
Fiona Apple
,
[16]
Len
,
Sponge
,
Imperial Drag
, and
Esthero
. In July 1999, both Ayeroff and Harris departed the label six months prior to their contract expiration. Sources cited that both were unhappy with Sony after consolidation of promotion duties for all
Epic Records
labels under one department, in addition to Sony not allowing Ayeroff and Harris to buy a piece of the company they helped build.
[17]
[18]
Ayeroff was hired by
Apple Records
in 2000, as a key consultant to oversee the marketing of
1
, a career-spanning retrospective of
The Beatles
which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide to date.
[19]
Returning to the
Warner Records
in 2001 as the label's chief creative director and vice chairman,
[16]
he oversaw the visual campaigns for
Josh Groban
,
My Chemical Romance
,
Green Day
, and more.
[20]
Ayeroff left Warner Bros. in 2004 at the conclusion of his contract.
In 2008, Ayeroff became co-CEO (along with Jon Rubin) of
Steve Bing
's boutique label imprint
Shangri-La Music
.
[21]
Ayeroff and Rubin also began ArtistsFirst, a creative and marketing consulting agency, which has launched international humanitarian activism with its music.
Selected Credits
[
edit
]
[22]
[23]
Awards
[
edit
]
In 2005, Ayeroff received the Kratz Award for Creative Excellence from The Music Video Producer's Association, an award which recognizes exceptional accomplishments in music video production.
[24]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Jod Kaftan (June 7, 2009).
"Music to My Eyes"
.
Los Angeles Times Magazine
. Retrieved
August 16,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Tom Waldman (2003).
We All Want to Change the World: Rock and Politics from Elvis to Eminem
. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 250.
ISBN
978-1-4616-2579-7
.
- ^
Unknown (July 15, 1978).
"Meyer, Ayeroff Named at A&M"
(PDF)
.
Cash Box
. p. 10
. Retrieved
May 17,
2019
.
- ^
Patrick Goldstein (April 8, 1979). "A&M Plots The Police Breakout".
Los Angeles Times
. p. N80.
Jeff Ayeroff, A&M;'s vice president of creative services, let the graphics stand, but he toned down the logo and colors. 'We cleaned up the band's image,' he admitted. 'We made them look more pop and more immediate so that the record could have more of an impact without compromising their image.'
- ^
www.grammy.com
https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/jeffrey-kent-ayeroff
. Retrieved
May 26,
2019
.
[
title missing
]
- ^
"Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye"
(PDF)
.
MOMA
. November 15, 2014. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on September 22, 2015
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Carla Hall (March 25, 1990).
"Paula Abdul, Soaring Straight Up"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Robert Hillburn (February 10, 1987).
"More Artists Venture Into Virgin Territory"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
February 10,
2019
.
- ^
Jordan Runtagh (July 12, 2016).
"10 Major Moments in Rock The Vote History"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Christine Birkner (July 31, 2016).
"After 26 Years, Rock the Vote Is Still Driving Young People to the Polls"
.
AdWeek
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Bruce Haring (August 10, 1993).
"Two exex ankle Virgin"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Chuck Philips
(August 10, 1993).
"Founders of Virgin Records' U.S. Unit Quit : Music: Co-Chairmen Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris deny they were pressured to resign amid rumored tension with President Phil Quartararo, who is replacing them"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Neil Strauss (January 2, 1995).
"Winds of Change Hit Music's Top Tier"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Robert Hilburn (February 4, 1987).
"More Artists Venture Into Virgin Territory"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Chris Morris (November 16, 1994).
"Ayeroff, Harris Talk About L.A. Sony Label"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Justin Oppelaar (August 21, 2001).
"Ayeroff Rewinds at WB"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Melinda Newman (July 3, 1999).
"Work Regroups After Key Exits"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Adam Sandler (June 21, 1999).
"Work team may ankle Sony Music"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Rob Brunner (December 29, 2001).
"Why the Beatles greatest hits album is topping the charts"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Retrieved
December 29,
2001
.
- ^
Melinda Newman (December 18, 2004).
"Ayeroff Exits"
.
Billboard
. p. 13
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
Robert Levine (August 29, 2009).
"The Billboard Q&A With Jeff Ayeroff"
.
Billboard
. p. 21
. Retrieved
May 27,
2019
.
- ^
"Jeff Ayeroff at All Music Guide"
. AllMusic
. Retrieved
February 13,
2019
.
- ^
"Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff at All Music Guide"
. AllMusic
. Retrieved
February 13,
2019
.
- ^
Steven Gottlieb (May 12, 2005).
"News: MVPA Awards Tonight"
.
VideoStatic
. Retrieved
May 12,
2005
.
External links
[
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]
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