Doug Morris

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Doug Morris
Record executive
Years active1960s–present

Doug Morris (born November 23, 1938) is an American record executive. He served as chairman and

Sony Music Entertainment
from 2011 to 2017. He founded the record label 12Tone in 2018, where he's since served as CEO.

Life and career

Early life and career

Born to

Warner Music.[citation needed
]

Morris became president of Atlantic Records in 1980, and became co-chairman and co-CEO of the Atlantic Recording Group, alongside Ahmet Ertegun, in 1990. Morris played an integral role in making Atlantic the leading company in the Warner Music Group. In 1994, Morris shifted to the position of president and chief operating officer of Warner Music U.S., and was soon named chairman. Morris lost an executive battle at Warner leading to his departure from Warner Music in 1995.[4]

Career at Universal Music Group

Morris began working with

Universal Records when Morris was appointed chairman and CEO of MCA Music Entertainment Group in November 1995. The company was renamed Universal Music Group the following year. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; his ceremony was held on January 26, 2010, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine.[citation needed
]

Morris was heavily criticized by music journalists for his approach to streaming services, especially the infamous PressPlay.[5]

Lucian Grainge replaced Morris as CEO on January 1, 2011, and later replaced him as chairman on March 9, 2011.[6]

Sony Music Entertainment chairman and CEO

Morris became chairman and CEO of

Sony Music Entertainment on July 1, 2011.[7] After Morris' arrival, Sony Music restructured two of its label groups. The RCA/Jive Label Group had been split in half, being separated from the Jive Label Group. Peter Edge was promoted to CEO of the RCA Music Group.[8] L.A. Reid became the chairman and CEO of Epic Records shortly after Morris' arrival. Some Jive artists have been moved to Epic while others have been moved to the RCA. In addition to splitting the RCA/Jive Label Group, the Columbia/Epic Label Group was also split.[9] In October 2011 Morris announced that Mel Lewinter had been appointed executive vice president of Label Strategy at Sony Music.[10] On April 1, 2017, he was replaced as CEO of Sony Music Entertainment by Rob Stringer, who was the CEO of Columbia Records.[11][12]

12Tone Music Group

In 2018, Morris founded the label 12Tone Music Group under Warner Music Group.[13] His first signing to the label was American rapper Anderson .Paak.[14]

Founder of VEVO

Morris's progressive digital strategies led him to become the first media executive to monetize online music videos, essentially helping to create the music video-on-demand market online.

VEVO
.

As the founder (and former chairman) of

comScore.[16][17]

Motown: The Musical

In 2013, Morris served as co-producer and lead financier of the Broadway musical Motown: The Musical. Based on the life story of Motown founder Berry Gordy, and featuring classic songs from the Motown catalog, Motown: The Musical was nominated for four Tony Awards[18] and was the top-selling new musical of the 2012–13 season.[19][20]

Awards and leadership

Morris serves on the board of directors of CBS Corporation, The

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) awarded Morris with the President's Merit Award, honoring his consistent creative commitment to artistic and entrepreneurial excellence and longstanding support for the music and world communities. In 2008, Morris was honored with City of Hope's Spirit of Life award, and in 2009, he received the NARAS Icons award as well as a star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.[21] In 2014, Morris was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame with the Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award in recognition of being a star maker in the music industry who has been responsible for a substantial number of hit songs.[22] In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in recognition of his achievements and influence in music, and for his enduring contributions to American and international culture.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Tori Amos - Inclusive variations". Innerviews.org. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Hond, Paul. "Doug Morris: The Greatest Hits". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Viglione, Joe. "Victor Moulton". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "Doug Morris Biography". Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "How Record Labels Screwed Up The Music Industry, And How Spotify, Apple Saved Them". May 29, 2018.
  6. ^ "Vivendi Appoints Lucian Grainge Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Doug Morris (March 2, 2011). "Doug Morris Named CEO Of Sony Music Entertainment, Effective July 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  8. ^ "Peter Edge Appointed CEO of RCA Music Group". Billboard. August 8, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  9. ^ "L.A. Reid to Run Restructured Epic Records". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  10. ^ "Mel Lewinter Named EVP of Label Strategy for Sony Music Entertainment". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  11. ^ "Rob Stringer Promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment". Prnewswire.com. October 18, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  12. ^ Christman, Ed (March 24, 2017). "A Sendoff to Sony Music Chief Exec Doug Morris: 'Doug-isms' & Lessons Learned From Iovine, Lipman & Others". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  13. ^ Shrley Halperin, Jen Aswad (March 28, 2018). "Doug Morris' New Label to Be Based in New York Times Building (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.com. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "Anderson.Paak Pacts With Doug Morris' New 12 Tone Label". Variety.com. Renske Business Media LLC. March 27, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  15. ^ Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew; Gelles, David (December 21, 2011). "The man who made music videos pay". Financial Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  16. ^ Leonard, Devin (February 7, 2013). "Sony Music CEO Doug Morris Is Streaming Big". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  17. ^ "VEVO Was Most Trafficked U.S. Entertainment-Music Web Network in December 2009". Prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  18. ^ "Motown The Musical". Tony Awards. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  19. ^ Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson. "Hitsville revisited - Motown: The Musical". Financial Times. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  20. ^ "Motown Breaks Broadway Musical Preview Records". The Wall Street Journal. April 1, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  21. ^ "Sony Names Doug Morris New Head of Sony Music Entertainment | Sony Music Entertainment". Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  22. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame (March 12, 2014). "Doug Morris To Receive Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award". Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  23. ^ Berklee College of Music (April 14, 2015). "Julio Iglesias, Doug Morris, Harvey Mason, Dee Dee Bridgewater to Receive Honorary Degrees". Retrieved May 11, 2015.

External links

Preceded by
Rolf Schmidt-Holtz
 Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of
Sony Music Entertainment

July 1, 2011-April 2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
first
 Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group
November 1995 to January 1, 2011 		Succeeded by
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