Sit down to lunch with Russell Simmons and Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment.
Russell Simmons began promoting New York City musicians including Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C, in his early twenties. In 1984, he and partner Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Recordings, creating the foundation for the cultural revolution known as hip hop. Def Jam signed the forerunners of the hip hop movement, including the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C.
An ambitious entrepreneur, Simmons saw Def Jam as just part of his hip hop empire. His Rush Communications firm also included Phat Farm clothing company, television shows, a management company, a magazine and an advertising agency. His movie production house has produced such films as Krush Groove and The Nutty Professor. In 1999, he sold his stake in Def Jam Records to Universal Music Group for $100 million. In 2004, he sold Phat Farm for $140 million.
Sir Lucian Grainge has spent his entire career in the music industry and has signed and worked with many worldwide stars, including ABBA, Elton John, Jay Z, Katy Perry, Queen, Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Sam Smith, U2 and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Over the span of three decades, he has not only pioneered new approaches to the signing and development of the world’s most successful recording artists and songwriters but he has consistently championed the development of innovative business models and partnerships with a wide range of technology and media partners around the world.
Grainge has been recognized for his many achievements throughout the years. In 2016, 2015 and 2013, he topped Billboard Magazine’s “Power 100” as the most powerful executive in the music business, the only person to hold that distinction three times and for consecutive years.
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