Jeff Pollack (music executive)

Jeff Pollack is an American music and media expert and Emmy-nominated producer.[1][2] He is currently the CEO of Pollack Media Group, which is an international media + music consultancy that specializes in connecting content and distribution partners with consumers. Pollack Media has experience on every continent in television, music, live events, artist strategy, film, radio, print, and digital media.[3]

As a program director, Pollack was instrumental in resuscitaing the long suffering WMMR, transforming "the troubled station into a rating winner and made a name for himself across the country."[4] In an interview with WYSP, Howard Stern eulogized the glory days of Philadelphia's FM stations. During the interview, Stern named Pollack as one of the many legends of WMMR.[5]

In 1981, Pollack went on to create his own company, which has grown to include clients as diverse as MTV, VH1, CMT, Shazam, Spotify, SFX Entertainment, Delta Air Lines and Smithsonian.[6]

As a producer, Pollack has participated in some of the largest music and charity events of the past decade including U2/Green Day's Music Rising performance at the NFL's reopening game at the Superdome, Live 8, Live Aid, Live Earth, Movies Rock (Emmy-winner), the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, the 70th Anniversary of the Apollo, and many others.[7][8]

Jeff served as creative music consultant for the MGM TV series Fame L.A., which garnered an Emmy Award nomination for its theme song; on-air music correspondent for Good Morning America; executive music consultant on Pavorotti's televised concert event for Bosnian war victims featuring U2 and others; co-producer of NetAid, the largest Internet event in history at the time; executive producer of Quincy Jones' Lincoln Memorial pre-inauguration event, "Call to Reunion" on HBO; co-executive producer of Billboard Music Awards honoring George Harrison; executive producer of Love Rocks; EIF's Humanitarian Award honoring Bono, with performances from No Doubt, Lauryn Hill, R.E.M., Cher, Drew Carey, Ray Romano, Kevin Nealon, plus guest appearances from Tom Cruise and Kevin Spacey.[9]

As a music supervisor, Pollack has worked on over thirty films, five of which received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, with Crazy Heart's "The Weary Kind" winning the Oscar.[10]

He also is one of the founders of the Big Bang Conference, a gathering of industry leaders focusing on the latest developments in the digital media and music space. Past speakers have included Eddie Moretti (Vice Media), Jason Hirschhorn, Brian David Johnson (Intel), David Jones (Shazam), and Thomas Goetz (Wired).[11][12][13]

In a Yale Daily News interview, Pollack reflected on his beginnings in the industry stating: "I got into the business because I love music and I had to learn early on that there was a difference between what I liked and what was going to be popular."[14]

Pollack was a guest lecturer at Yale University's 2011 Master's Tea, where he discussed his recent Huffington Post contribution entitled: "10 Bands That Shook the World".[15] In it, Pollack lists the bands that "either pioneered or popularized" music for an entire generation. U2, The Beatles, Nirvana, and The Grateful Dead were among those mentioned. The list sparked a slew of debates as to what bands truly left a lasting mark on society.[16] "It's not like it's only my opinion that matters — it's there to invite debate," Pollack remarked.[17]

Pollack is also a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post. In his blogs, Pollack gives insight on the ever fluctuating music industry, reviews new music, and highlights upcoming concerts with his "Live & Dangerous" series.[18]

Pollack joined his music industry peers in lamenting the loss of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Pollack was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying "[Jobs] took the music business away from the labels and focused on the user's experience."[19]

Jeff was a producer on the Emmy-nominated HBO film about Frank Sinatra 'All or Nothing At All'.[20] He also served as an associate producer [21] on the film Glen Campbell "I'll Be Me", which featured two Grammy winning songs, including "I'm Not Going to Miss You”[22] which was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Song.[23] "I'll Be Me" also recently received a 2016 Grammy nomination for the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.[24]


References

  1. McCoy, Adrian (10 January 2007). "Radio competes against downloads, file-sharing, satellite broadcasts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  2. "Power Player". www.allaccess.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  3. http://www.pollackmedia.com/about-us/
  4. Rackham, Anne (April 29, 1991). "Street Smart". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  5. http://www.rbr.com/radio/howard-stern-appears-on-wysp-on-its-last-day-audio.html
  6. Schiffman, Marc. "Consultant Jeff Pollack Stresses Localism, More Product Attention". Airplay Monitors. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  7. Grebb, Michael. How Successful Was NetAid's Webcast. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  8. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0689388/#MusicDepartment
  9. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0689388/#MusicDepartment
  10. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0689388/#MusicDepartment
  11. Pollack, Jeff (14 February 2013). "What The Big Bang Forum Says About The State Of Music". Huffington Post.
  12. Pollack, Jeff (11 June 2012). "Big Bang VII - Embracing the Innovators". Huffington Post.
  13. Pollack, Jeff (14 February 2012). "Big Bang's Pre-Grammy Forum: Industry Leaders Focus on the Future". Huffington Post.
  14. http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/feb/08/music-veteran-talks-future-sampling/?print
  15. Pollack, Jeff (14 January 2011). "10 Bands That Shook the World: Part I". Huffington Post.
  16. Pollack, Jeff (8 February 2011). "Ten Bands That Shook The World". Huffington Post.
  17. Liuzzi, Mike. "Jeff Pollack: The man behind the rock 'n roll list". The Yale Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  18. Pollack, Jeff (11 October 2011). "Live & Dangerous: Austin City Limits 2011". Huffington Post.
  19. Lewis, Randy. "Steve Jobs Revolutionized The Music Industry". LA Times. Retrieved 10/7/2011. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  20. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/hbo-frank-sinatra-all-or-nothing-at-all-documentary-20150122
  21. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049586/?ref_=nm_flmg_prd_1
  22. http://theboot.com/glen-campbell-im-not-gonna-miss-you-2015-grammy-awards-best-country-song/
  23. http://www.cmt.com/news/1747950/glen-campbell-earns-oscar-nomination/
  24. https://www.grammy.com/nominees

External links

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