Class Note 1989
Issue
Sept - Oct 2015
Back to school! Students are returning to Hanover, some arriving for the first time. I’m writing this at the end of June and it’s great to see all of the ’89s on social media celebrating that all of our classmates’ marriages are now equal.
I love playing music, but we have numerous ’89s who have made music their career. Here’s a few highlights from some of them.
Carolyne Allen said, “My first job in the music business was at Diamond Time, just as hip hop was blowing up in the early 1990s, and I was clearing samples, a brand-new industry due to the Biz Markie lawsuit, but a genre I knew very little about, being mostly a rock person coming out of Dartmouth radio. That led me to Atlantic Records, working in business affairs, and BMG Video as a director of business affairs. I had a great mentor who encouraged me to go to Fordham law school while working full time. I currently work for a boutique firm representing artists, producers, labels, managers, touring and festival work, including the Electric Zoo Festival. At this point I have worked with almost every genre of artist and music there is. It’s been interesting. I’ve been on both the artist and label side and they are very different.”
David Jacoby is senior VP of business and legal affairs at Sony Music. “I have been at Sony for about 15 years. I mainly manage litigation for the company, which entails both bringing lawsuits to protect our artists’ works from unauthorized use, all well as defending Sony from all types of claims. Lately I have concentrated in trying to help grow the digital business and ensure that our labels and artists are fairly compensated for their risk and investment. It is extremely rewarding to make a small contribution to an artist’s success. Coincidentally, I work very closely with three other Dartmouth grads—Andrea Finkelstein ’77, Jeff Walker ’84 and Deirdre McDonald ’86. I recently went to my 30th high school reunion, where I saw our classmates Alex Selby and Robbi Smith. I also was thrilled to recently attend the bat mitzvah of Andrew Ward’s daughter in Scarsdale, New York. If anyone is ever around Sony (550 Madison Avenue) in New York and has any desire to see some cool pieces of music history, get some free CDs or just want to catch up, I’m at david.jacoby@sonymusic.com.” David and Carolyne have seen the massive changes technology has brought to the industry, first from physical to digital and now from downloads to streaming. Carolyne added, “If you looked at any record contract from 1952 to 2002 they were basically the same. Now all bets are off and the law can barely keep up.”
Tammy Krutchkoff Saunt has worked for many labels—Tuff Gong, EMI—and she recently cofounded Rain Talent, representing composers, musicians, score producers, mixers and music editors for film and TV. I want to tell more about Tammy’s journey and other ’89s in the music industry, but I’ll save that for an upcoming column.
Catherine Baggia Duwan reports she had a fantastic 10-day spring break trip to California, meeting up in San Francisco with Brian Bone, Berkeley with adopted ’89 Tim Orr (Wesleyan exchange student), Palo Alto with Matt Holleran, Pasadena with Paula Zagrecki ’88. In Los Angeles Catherine unexpectedly ran into her college roommate and maid-of-honor Nancy Obler on Venice Beach!
On May 25 Ed Barker and his wife, Sarah, welcomed Phoebe Emerson Barker into the world. “She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and she’s eating like a champ. Life is good otherwise, with a move to Belmont, Massachusetts, planned for July and some time at the beach in August. Any tips and survival strategies are welcome, if you can remember that far back!”
—Ned Ward, 2104 Graham Ave., #B, Redondo Beach, CA 90278; ned@nedorama.com
I love playing music, but we have numerous ’89s who have made music their career. Here’s a few highlights from some of them.
Carolyne Allen said, “My first job in the music business was at Diamond Time, just as hip hop was blowing up in the early 1990s, and I was clearing samples, a brand-new industry due to the Biz Markie lawsuit, but a genre I knew very little about, being mostly a rock person coming out of Dartmouth radio. That led me to Atlantic Records, working in business affairs, and BMG Video as a director of business affairs. I had a great mentor who encouraged me to go to Fordham law school while working full time. I currently work for a boutique firm representing artists, producers, labels, managers, touring and festival work, including the Electric Zoo Festival. At this point I have worked with almost every genre of artist and music there is. It’s been interesting. I’ve been on both the artist and label side and they are very different.”
David Jacoby is senior VP of business and legal affairs at Sony Music. “I have been at Sony for about 15 years. I mainly manage litigation for the company, which entails both bringing lawsuits to protect our artists’ works from unauthorized use, all well as defending Sony from all types of claims. Lately I have concentrated in trying to help grow the digital business and ensure that our labels and artists are fairly compensated for their risk and investment. It is extremely rewarding to make a small contribution to an artist’s success. Coincidentally, I work very closely with three other Dartmouth grads—Andrea Finkelstein ’77, Jeff Walker ’84 and Deirdre McDonald ’86. I recently went to my 30th high school reunion, where I saw our classmates Alex Selby and Robbi Smith. I also was thrilled to recently attend the bat mitzvah of Andrew Ward’s daughter in Scarsdale, New York. If anyone is ever around Sony (550 Madison Avenue) in New York and has any desire to see some cool pieces of music history, get some free CDs or just want to catch up, I’m at david.jacoby@sonymusic.com.” David and Carolyne have seen the massive changes technology has brought to the industry, first from physical to digital and now from downloads to streaming. Carolyne added, “If you looked at any record contract from 1952 to 2002 they were basically the same. Now all bets are off and the law can barely keep up.”
Tammy Krutchkoff Saunt has worked for many labels—Tuff Gong, EMI—and she recently cofounded Rain Talent, representing composers, musicians, score producers, mixers and music editors for film and TV. I want to tell more about Tammy’s journey and other ’89s in the music industry, but I’ll save that for an upcoming column.
Catherine Baggia Duwan reports she had a fantastic 10-day spring break trip to California, meeting up in San Francisco with Brian Bone, Berkeley with adopted ’89 Tim Orr (Wesleyan exchange student), Palo Alto with Matt Holleran, Pasadena with Paula Zagrecki ’88. In Los Angeles Catherine unexpectedly ran into her college roommate and maid-of-honor Nancy Obler on Venice Beach!
On May 25 Ed Barker and his wife, Sarah, welcomed Phoebe Emerson Barker into the world. “She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and she’s eating like a champ. Life is good otherwise, with a move to Belmont, Massachusetts, planned for July and some time at the beach in August. Any tips and survival strategies are welcome, if you can remember that far back!”
—Ned Ward, 2104 Graham Ave., #B, Redondo Beach, CA 90278; ned@nedorama.com