James Diener

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James Diener is the CEO-President of A&M/Octone Records, a joint venture between Octone Records and Universal Music Group. Headquartered in New York City, A&M/Octone Records is home to worldwide multi-platinum pop-rock superstars Maroon 5, platinum modern rap-rockers Hollywood Undead, platinum modern-rock act Flyleaf, and internationally acclaimed hip-hop artist K'naan.

Previously in 2000, Diener established Octone Records, an independent label distributed through BMG, while simultaneously holding the position of Senior Vice President of A&R-Marketing for the RCA Music Group, now a division of Sony Music Entertainment, where he signed and developed platinum singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw. He formed a joint venture with Sony Music that gave his company the option to upstream successful acts signed to Octone with the RCA Music Group/J Records.

Upon its launch, Diener was also well known in the music industry for the entrepreneurial private-equity financing model.

Prior to his dual status as President of Octone Records and Senior Vice President of A&R and Marketing at RCA Music Group, Diener was Vice President of A&R and Marketing at Columbia/SME Records from 1992 to 2000, where he worked with such platinum and developing artists as Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Johnny Cash (through American Recordings), Black Crowes (through American Recordings), Clutch, The Jayhawks (through American Recordings), Tony Bennett, Roger Waters, Chris Whitley, Jesse Malin, Iron Maiden, Terence Trent D'Arby, and New Kids on the Block, among others.

He is an accredited record producer and voting member of both NARAS the Academy of Magical Arts.

Diener began his formal career in 1991 at Columbia Records. Prior to that, he held various industry positions as a personal management associate and recording engineer. As the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies, Diener has also been an invited guest speaker at New York University, Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, Berklee College of Music, and the Benjamin N. Cordoza School of Law. Diener was also featured in "Blockbusters," a 2013 book on the business of entertainment. He delivered the Keynote Speech at the 2010 NARM Convention in Chicago.

Diener graduated in 1991 with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in both economics and sociology from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

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