„I was fortunate to hire Lynn Gonzalez for her exceptional legal talents,“ Gawley said in a statement. What I`ve learned over time is that his negotiating skills have only been surpassed by his intuitive operational sensitivity. Lynn will be a key force in enhancing Def Jam`s legacy and helping its exceptional management team reach ever-increasing heights under Tunji`s leadership.â In January 2003, Murder Inc. became the center of a money laundering investigation using illicit profits from drug trafficking,[25] which eventually led to the label`s removal from its distribution agreement until 2005. Def Jam also blocked Murder Inc. and TVT Records of the release of a cash-to-back home album Cash Click, due to Ja Rule`s contractual obligations, which claimed cohen had paid Ja and Irv Gotti $8 million to submit the project not to TVT, but to parent company Universal. [26] [27] This led TVT to sue Def Jam for counterfeiting, fraud and unlawful harm and earn $132 million in a judgment,[28] but was later reduced to $126,000 after Universal and Def Jam appealed the verdict, claiming that the existence of an agreement between the parties meant that their conduct was only a breach of contract and not fraud. [29] Gonzalez will continue to lead Def Jam`s legal team and oversee negotiations and transactions for his artists. In addition to her legal and business responsibilities, she is also a member of the Political Committee of Universal Music`s Task Force for Meaningful Change. Gonzalez spent nine years at Def Jam, where he served as Vice President of Commercial and Legal Affairs in 2013 and Senior Vice President of Commercial and Legal Affairs since 2016.
Prior to Def Jam, she held legal positions at Razor & Tie Entertainment and then Atlantic Records, where she was also a founding member and then president of the Black Women In Entertainment Law Foundation, providing mentorship and scholarships to women of color in entertainment law. Steve Gawley added, „I was fortunate to hire Lynn Gonzalez for her exceptional legal skills. Lynn Gonzalez is Senior Vice President of Commercial and Legal Affairs for East Coast labels at Universal Music Group and Senior Counsel for Def Jam Recordings. In her current role, she handles the label`s commercial and legal affairs related to artists such as Logic, Kanye West, Big Sean, Bishop Briggs, YG and Justin Bieber. Prior to Universal, Gonzalez was an attorney at Atlantic Records and an attorney for Razor and Tie Entertainment, an independent label and media company. Def Jam has promoted Lynn Gonzalez to Executive Vice President/Head of Business Affairs and Business Development, the company announced today (April 29). In this role, she will report to both Def Jam`s President and CEO, Tunji Balogun, and Universal Music Group`s Executive Vice President of Commercial and Legal Affairs, Steve Gawley. In his ongoing leadership role at Def Jam, Gonzalez will continue to lead the company`s commercial and legal affairs, including overseeing Def Jam`s legal team and its negotiations and transactions on behalf of the label`s roster of artists. In 1994, PolyGram bought Sony`s 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings and later brought the label into the fold of Iceland Records.
Iceland shared sales and marketing responsibilities with some radio projects, while Def Jam remained independent on all other functions of the label (A&R, video, promotion and advertising). The label`s project has received great success with a number of other multi-platinum releases from Montell Jordan, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Redman, Method Man and more. RAL/Def Jam also released artist Warren G`s debut album, Regulate, signed to Violator Records. G Funk Era, which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its joint deal with Violator. [12] During his tenure at Atlantic, Gonzalez was also a founding member and president of the Black Women In Entertainment Law Foundation (BWEL), a non-profit organization that provides mentorship and scholarships to women of color interested in entertainment law. The launch of Def Jam India followed the creation of Def Jam South East Asia in September 2019.Music trade worldwide The label has a London-based UK branch known as 0207 Def Jam (formerly Def Jam UK in the 1990s to mid-2000s) and is currently operated by EMI Records. Def Jam distributed albums from various labels, including Kanye West`s GOOD Music.[3][4] and Dave East`s From the Dirt Records. Current artists include Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Toya Johnson, Nasty C, 2 Chainz, Dave East, Jeezy, Jeremih, Jhené Aiko, Young Gotit and YK Osiris. Def Jam was co-founded by Rick Rubin in his dormitory at New York University`s Weinstein Hall,[5] and the first release was a single by his punk rock band Hose.
Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other, according to one story, by Vincent Gallo. [6] Another cites DJ Jazzy Jay as their connection. Rubin said he met Simmons on the TV show Graffiti Rock and recognized him as „the face of hip-hop“ at the time: „He was five years older than me and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience. [8] The second single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was „It`s Yours“ by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay. The first albums with Def Jam Recording`s catalog numbers were LL Cool J`s „I Need a Beat“ and Beastie Boys` „Rock Hard,“ both in 1984. The singles sold well and eventually led to a distribution deal with CBS Records via Columbia Records the following year. However, the releases of Hose and T La Rock were not part of the deal and are now controlled by various companies. The last shares of Roc-A-Fella Records were sold to Island Def Jam in 2004 for $10 million. [30] At that time, Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam had launched the career of rapper and producer Kanye West. His debut album, The College Dropout, sold more than two million copies. Co-founders Damon Dash and Kareem „Biggs“ Burke were expelled from the label when Cohen left IDJMG for Warner Music Group and was replaced by music director Antonio „L.A.“ Reid.
Frustrated, Liles and current Atlantic Records president Julie Greenwald (who had been part of the Def Jam team since 1990), eventually decided to follow Cohen to Warner. [31] A bidding war for Jay-Z`s contract began, and Reid appointed Jay-Z as president of Def Jam on December 8, 2004. [31] Longtime veterans of the LL Cool J label and DMX (the latter having had five number one albums on the label between 1998 and 2003), as well as newcomer Joe Budden, expressed discomfort with Jay-Z`s direction of the label after he had left the label altogether since then. [32] [33] [34] [35] In 1991, CBS Records was incorporated (or rather renamed) into the music division of Japanese electronics giant Sony, bringing Def Jam and Columbia. [10] [11] Until 1992, despite the recent multiple platinum sales of Public Enemy and EPMD, Def Jam faced major financial difficulties and faced collapse during his time at Sony.