Jody Gerson serves on the Executive Management Board for Universal Music Group.
16 Facts About Jody Gerson
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Jody Gerson was raised in a Jewish family in the Philadelphia area, where her father owned several nightclubs including the Latin Casino whose performers included artists like Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross.
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Jody Gerson began her career in music publishing at Chappell Music shortly after graduating from Northwestern University, where she started out making tape copies.
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In 2015, Jody Gerson joined Universal Music Publishing Group as Chairman and CEO.
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Jody Gerson led UMPG's acquisitions of the catalogs of Sting, Neil Diamond, Frank Zappa and others.
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In 2020, Jody Gerson led UMPG's purchase of Bob Dylan's entire songwriting catalog, considered to be the biggest acquisition ever of a single act's publishing rights.
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Previous to tenure at UMPG, Jody Gerson signed songwriters, including Lady Gaga, Norah Jones, Odd Future, Jermaine Dupri, and a then 15-year-old Alicia Keys.
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Jody Gerson has played an instrumental role in the careers of Enrique Iglesias, Pharrell Williams, Mac Miller, Pitbull, RedOne, and Dallas Austin, among others.
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Jody Gerson executive produced the Emmy-nominated documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, as well as HBO's Music Box series, and Stax: Soulsville USA.
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Jody Gerson is a board member of the National Music Publishers Association.
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On December 3,2015, Jody Gerson was named 'Executive of the Year' by Billboard Magazine in its Women in Music 2015 issue.
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In 2020, Jody Gerson was named by Billboard as "Executive of the Year", becoming the first music publisher and first woman to receive this honor.
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Jody Gerson received the Abe Olman Publisher Award at the 51st annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner.
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In May 2023, Jody Gerson received the ICMP Ralph Peer II Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Music Publishing.
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Jody Gerson has appeared on the Variety 500, and Rolling Stone's Future 25.
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Jody Gerson is divorced from Seth Swirsky and has three children.