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Aaron Bay-Schuck

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Aaron Bay-Schuck
Bay-Schuck in 2018
Born (1981-09-05) September 5, 1981 (age 43)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Occupation(s)Record executive, co-chairman and CEO of Warner Records
Parents
RelativesLeonard Nimoy (stepfather)
Julie Nimoy (stepsister)
Adam Nimoy (stepbrother)
AwardsBillboard Power 100 (2019-2024)[1]
Billboard "40 under 40"[2][3][4]

Aaron Bay-Schuck (born September 5, 1981) is an American music industry executive. The CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), he was previously the president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M and the senior vice president of A&R at Atlantic Records.[5][6]

Early life and education

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Bay-Schuck was born in Los Angeles to actors Susan Bay and John Schuck. His parents divorced when he was a child, and in 1989 his mother married actor Leonard Nimoy.[7] His mother is a cousin of film director and producer Michael Bay.[8]

Bay-Schuck attended Columbia University, where he majored in political science. He planned to attend law school and pursue a career in entertainment law.[9] In his senior year, he met a video promotion executive from Capitol Records and had a conversation with her about how record companies operate. The next day he applied for an internship at Interscope Records. He was hired, and although he interned in the video promotion department, he became interested in A&R.[10] He graduated from Columbia in 2003.[11]

Career

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Atlantic Records, Interscope

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Bay-Schuck returned to Los Angeles following his college graduation. Knowing that jobs at record companies had become scarce as the music industry constricted in the post-Napster era, he registered at an employment agency that placed temps at labels. He was assigned a short-term job at Interscope, and was quickly hired as a full-time assistant to Martin Kierszenbaum, then the head of international marketing for the label. Determined to work in A&R, he left Interscope a year later to take a job as an A&R assistant at Atlantic. In 2006, he was promoted to a staff A&R position. His first hits in an A&R capacity were with the songs "Shawty" by Plies featuring T-Pain, and "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Kesha. Bay-Schuck co-wrote "Right Round," which went five times platinum in the US and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.[10]

Over the course of his ten years at Atlantic, Bay-Schuck worked with Cee Lo Green, B.o.B., T.I., Trey Songz, Travie McCoy, and Trick Daddy, among others. Most notably, he discovered, signed and developed Bruno Mars,[12] who has since sold more than 170 million singles and 26 million albums worldwide.[13] Following his success with Mars, Bay-Schuck, who had originally focused on rap and R&B, worked with artists of all genres.[14] He was appointed senior vice president of A&R for Atlantic in 2012.[15]

In 2014, Bay-Schuck was named president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA).[15] At IGA he worked with artists including Gwen Stefani, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, Skylar Grey, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, and Selena Gomez.[16]

Warner Records

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In October 2017, it was announced that Bay-Schuck had been appointed CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records.[5] He assumed the position in October 2018.[12][17] He said that increasing the focus on pop and hip hop artists were among his goals as Warner's CEO; since then, the label has had #1 hits with Saweetie featuring Doja Cat ("Best Friend"), Dua Lipa ("Levitating") and Bebe Rexha ("Meant to Be"); and signed artists including Zach Bryan, Teddy Swims, NLE Choppa, Benson Boone, Veeze, and Omar Apollo.[18][19]

Bay-Schuck was an executive producer of the 2021 documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers. The film won a Producers Guild Award in 2022.[20]

Recognition

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He appeared on the Billboard Power 100 every year from 2019 through 2024, and on the Billboard Country Power Players list in 2024. [21][22][23][24] Variety named Bay-Schuck and Corson executives of the year in 2024.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 32: Aaron Bay-Schuck & Tom Corson | Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "40 Under 40: Music's Top Young Power Players Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  3. ^ DiGiacomo, Frank (February 2, 2023). "Billboard's 2023 Power 100: Executives List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Karp, Hannah (January 31, 2024). "Billboard 2024 Power 100 List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Steele, Anne (October 3, 2017). "Meet the New Boss: Warner Bros. Records Gets New CEO and COO". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "Interscope Geffen A&M President of A&R Aaron Bay-Schuck Will Move to Warner Bros. Records Next Year". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  7. ^ Ulanoff, Lance. "Remembering Leonard Nimoy looks at the full life and private struggle of a beloved actor". Mashable. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Carroll, Larry. "Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With 'Transformers' Family Reunion Offer". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Steve Rennie (November 17, 2012), A&R Exec Aaron Bay-Schuck Talks About Getting Started in Music Biz, retrieved September 20, 2018
  10. ^ a b "Interview with Aaron Bay-Schuck, A&R". www.hitquarters.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  11. ^ "AitN: October 9, 2017". Columbia College Today. October 9, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - I.B. BAD: NEW BEGINNINGS". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  13. ^ Light, Alan (March 1, 2017). "It's Joy Time for Bruno Mars". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  14. ^ Trakin, Roy (January 24, 2018). "Music Industry's Brave New World Requires New Breed of Executive". Variety. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Atlantic Records' Aaron Bay-Schuck Promoted to SVP, A&R". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  16. ^ "It's official: Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson are taking over at Warner Bros - Music Business Worldwide". Music Business Worldwide. October 3, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "Aaron Bay-Schuck Officially Joins Warner Bros. Records as Co-Chairman/CEO". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  18. ^ Eriksen, Kaare (September 25, 2015). "Aaron Bay-Schuck". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "Remble is L.A.'s next big hip-hop star. He never wanted it to happen like this". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Grein, Paul (March 20, 2022). "'CODA' & Docs About The Beatles & Tom Petty Win 2022 PGA Awards (Full Winners List)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  21. ^ Billboard Staff (January 26, 2022). "The 2022 Billboard Power List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  22. ^ Billboard Staff (February 8, 2019). "No. 32: Aaron Bay-Schuck & Tom Corson | Power 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "The 2020 Billboard Power List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  24. ^ Karp, Hannah (May 9, 2024). "Country Power Players: Billboard's 2024 List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  25. ^ Eriksen, Kaare (September 25, 2015). "Aaron Bay-Schuck". Variety. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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