Episode 464 – Sony’s Jordy Freed, Spotify’s Artist Millionaires, And The Sound Of The 1980s

My guest this week is the Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy for Video & Sound Products at Sony Corporation of America Jordy Freed. A talented sax player who considered becoming a professional musician, the Philly native got his start as a music publicist for DL Media, held marketing and PR roles at Blue Note, and made a quick foray into advertising at the top firm Grey. Upon returning to Blue Note in 2016, he partnered with Sony on the creation of NYC’s Sony Hall, which was the first venue to feature Sony’s immersive music experience, 360RA. This led to an in-house position at Sony, where he became the first U.S. employee on their Brand & Business Development team.  In this role, he’s overseen collaborations with Doja Cat, Pink, Lil Nas X, Pharrell Williams, and Alicia Keys, struck deals to reimagine the David Bowie catalog in 360RA, led the company’s partnership with Amazon Music, and much more. He now leads marketing and business development for 360RA, as well as global branding activities for a host of sound products.  During the interview, we spoke about getting started in music PR, working at the famous Blue Note club, the latest on the Sony 360RA immersive format, and much more.  I spoke with Jordy via Zoom from his office at Sony. On the intro I’ll take a look at who’s making money from Spotify, and how the LinnDrum became a big part of the sound of the 80s.