Luke Wood

Luke Wood
Luke Wood
Occupation President, Beats Electronics
Known for Beats Electronics, Former Music Industry Executive, Rock Guitarist

Luke Wood is president of Beats Electronics,[1][2] a producer of audio products and equipment founded by Andre ‘Dr. Dre’ Young and Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M.[3] Wood is also a Beats Electronics board member.[1] He is a former music industry executive and was a guitarist for the 1990s alt-rock band Sammy.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 from Wesleyan University with a major in American Studies.[5]

Early career

Prior to Beats Electronics, Wood was chief strategy officer of Interscope Geffen A&M[6] and president of its rock imprint DGC Records.[5] He oversaw the company’s traditional and digital business development, emerging business and revenue, and operational strategy.[5] As DGC’s president, Wood was responsible for all Artists & Repertoire (A&R) and marketing decisions and for developing and guiding the label’s artists including Weezer, All-American Rejects, Rise Against, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.[5] He also founded Tiny Evil Records.[5] Before working in A&R, Wood was involved in the firm’s marketing and publicity.[3]

On 1991, Wood served as a director of publicity for Geffen Records, where he represented bands including Nirvana and Sonic Youth.[5] He later served as director of marketing for Geffen Records and as vice president of A&R at DreamWorks Records.[5] While Wood was at Geffen in 1994, the company posted the first commercial MP3 file, an Aerosmith song released on CompuServe.[6]

Wood joined Interscope Records in 2003 (during its merger with DreamWorks) as executive vice president of A&R, where he developed label deals with Downtown Records and signed artists such as TV on the Radio, All Time Low, Yelawolf, Jimmy Eat World, Elliott Smith and AFI.[5]

Beats Electronics

Wood joined Beats Electronics in February 2011 as president and COO, working directly with Dr. Dre and Iovine on product development[3] and overseeing day-to-day operations at the company.[6] Wood was instrumental in Beats Electronics’ acquisition of subscription music service MOG in July 2012.[7] Under Luke Wood’s leadership, in August 2014 Beats Electronics and Beats Music were officially acquired by Apple Inc. for $3 billion. [8] Currently, Wood is president of Beats Electronics [1][2]

Music career

Wood was guitarist for Sammy, a 1990s alt-rock band that released three albums: Debut Album (1994) and Kings of the Island Empire (1995), released by Smells Like Records, and Tales of Great Neck Glory (1996), released by Geffen/DGC Records. In September 2014, Wood was added to Fender Guitar’s Board of Directors, joining recent appointees U2’s Bono and The Edge. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Matthew Costello Named COO of Beat Electronics". Billboard. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 Johnston, Lisa (6 November 2013). "Beats Names Costello COO; Wood Joins Board Of Directors". Twice. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Halperin, Shirley (1 February 2011). "Luke Wood Named President and COO of Beats Headphones". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Dishman, Lydia. "How Dr. Dre's Burgeoning Headphones Company Stays True To Its Bass-Thumping Roots". Innovation Agents. Fast Company. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Luke Wood". CrunchBase. TechCrunch. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Copeland, Michael V. "Total Sonic Domination Is What Drives Beats: 11 Questions With Luke Wood". Business. WIRED. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. ↑ Peoples, Glenn. "Beats Electronics President and COO Luke Wood Talks About Mog Acquisition, Future of Beats". Billboard.Biz. Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Beats is now officially part of Apple". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  9. ↑ "Fender Adds Beats President to Board". Music Inc Magazine.


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