Lawrence Mestel

Lawrence Mestel (born April 2, 1962) is an American music executive and businessman. He is best known as the founder and CEO of Primary Wave, one of the largest independent music publishing, marketing and talent management companies in the United States.^[2] In 2019 Goldman Sachs named Mestel as one of the "100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs" at the annual Goldman Sachs Builders & Inventors Summit. In 2020, Billboard Magazine included Mestel on its "Power 100" list, being recognized for his leadership in the music industry.^[3]

Early life and education[]

Mestel was born in Brooklyn, New York to Zelig and Rita (née Miller) Mestel. Larry's father attended Boston University on a track scholarship, later becoming an advertising typographer entrepreneur. His mother attended Hunter College and became a teacher.

Mestel grew up in Marlboro, New Jersey and graduated from Marlboro High School in 1980, where he played basketball and tennis.^{[citation needed]} He studied business at University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating cum laude in 1984 on the Dean's List. He was accepted into the MBA program at NYU Stern School of Business, but declined after receiving a job offer from Chris Blackwell to join Island Records.^[4][5]

Career[]

Early career[]

Mestel was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Island Entertainment Group in 2000, which included Island Records, Island Music Publishing and Island Pictures. From 2000 – 2004, Mestel was Executive Vice President and General Manager at Arista Records, where he helped develop artists such as Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Usher, P!nk, and Dido. Larry was responsible for the label's sales, marketing, A&R administration, finance and business affairs.^[6][7][8]

Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records from 2004 – 2005, where he oversaw marketing, sales and business development. At Virgin Records, he worked with iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Lenny Kravitz.^[9][10]

Primary Wave[]

In January 2006, Mestel started a private, independent music publishing company, Primary Wave, after raising $50 million and acquiring 25% of Kurt Cobain’s portion of the Nirvana (band) song catalog from Courtney Love.^[11] Early acquisitions for the company include Chicago, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, and Def Leppard. By 2007, Primary Wave evolved from a marketing based music publishing company to include talent management, film & TV production, digital marketing, and branding. As music IP owners, in its early years Primary Wave used lyrics and artists name and likeness to form brand deals with companies like Converse, the Massachusetts Lottery, and Funny or Die.^[12]

In 2016, Primary Wave became one of the first independent music companies to use institutional capital to grow and acquire music assets of iconic and legendary nature. The company received $300 million of funding from multiple large institutional investors, forming Primary Wave's first music based fund. As of 2020, the company controls and manages approximately $1.5 billion of cash and assets.^[13]

Since its inception, Primary Wave has controlled over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary artists such as Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Prince, Olivia Newton-John, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, War, Robbie Robertson, Count Basie, Sly and the Family Stone, Boston, Alice Cooper, Paul Anka, Boy George and Culture Club, Allee Willis, Leon Russell, Free, Toots and the Maytals, Steve Cropper, Glenn Gould, Air Supply, Godsmack, Disturbed, Devo, Donny Hathaway, Nicky Chinn, Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) and more.^[14]

Credits[]

Awards and recognition[]

• Power 100 list by Billboard Magazine (2020)
• 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs (2019)
• Indie Power Players list by Billboard Magazine (2018)^[15]
• Urban Power Players list by Billboard Magazine (2012)^[16]

Further reading[]

• Buying a Piece of Bob Marley’s Song Catalog, and His Enduring Legacy at New York Times, January 13, 2018.
• Stevie Nicks Sells Stake in Songwriting Catalog at The Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2020
• Bloomberg Profile: Larry Mestel

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Lawrence Mestel at IMDb
• Lawrence Mestel on LinkedIn

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