Chris Gorog

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William Christopher “Chris” Gorog is an entertainment and technology executive that has served in senior leadership positions in Hollywood and Silicon Valley,[1] including as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Napster,[2] a top digital music brand,[3] and Roxio.

Gorog played a central role in efforts to monetize digital music downloads and streams. He oversaw Roxio's conversion to a digital music subscription and download service through the acquisitions of Pressplay and Napster. Gorog was a key ally of the record labels in the digital music market but was also a vocal critic of the licensing terms and DRM restrictions that labels imposed on digital music services.[4]

Gorog began his entertainment career as a business affairs executive at The Walt Disney Company,[5] continued his work in film and television as CEO of ITC Entertainment,[6] moved to Universal Studios as Executive Vice President of Group Operations for the Recreation Group,[7] and then on to CEO positions with Roxio[8] and Napster[9] as the entertainment business converged with new technologies.

Gorog was born in Fontainebleau France, raised in Dayton Ohio and graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A.S. in Tele-Communications and Film.[10] Gorog comes from an entrepreneurial family.[11] His father, William F. Gorog, was co-founder and Chief Executive of Data Corp, which created LexisNexis.[12]

After ten years of developing Napster, Chris Gorog stepped down[13] in January 2010 and started gorog.net to serve as a foundation to explore new opportunities in entertainment, media and technology.

Contents

[edit] Napster

Gorog led the acquisition of Napster, the peer-to-peer network that made music downloading a phenomenon,[14] in 2002. He re-launched the pioneer digital music brand as a legal music provider in 2003,[15] which became a public company in 2004.[16] Under Mr. Gorog’s leadership as Chairman and CEO of Napster,[17] the company assembled one of the largest digital music catalogs in the world[18] and expanded its global presence by offering its service in the U.K,[19] Germany[20] and Japan.[21] Napster created a number of digital music product innovations under Mr. Gorog’s management, including the introduction of portable subscriptions,[22] a free advertising supported version of Napster,[23] as well as a variety of mobile music offerings.[24]

Gorog also oversaw the development of a number of advertising campaigns for the company,[25] including “Its Coming Back,” Napster’s re-launch campaign featuring a series of original animations[26][27] that received both the Cannes Lion Award[28] and the Silver Effie.[29] Napster was also awarded Billboard magazine’s “Best Digital Music Community”[30] award for its U.S. music service.

Best Buy acquired Napster in 2008, and Gorog served as Napster’s Chief Executive Officer until January 6, 2010.[31]

[edit] Roxio

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Roxio,[32] Gorog led the company’s successful spin-off from Adaptec, took the company public in May 2001 and drove the creation of the Roxio consumer brand.[14] Roxio became the leader in CD burning software, with 70% market share led by its brands Easy CD Creator and Toast.[1] In January 2002, Gorog led Roxio’s acquisition of MGI Software that expanded the company’s portfolio to include photo and video editing software, as well as the top-selling system-recovery software for crash and virus recovery.[33]

In December 2002, Gorog led Roxio’s acquisition of Napster[14] – and followed with an acquisition of Universal Music’s and Sony’s Pressplay in May 2003,[34] which served as the new technology platform for the company’s release of Napster 2.0, the revitalized legal version of the original Napster.[15] In August 2004, Roxio sold the software business in order to focus entirely on developing the Napster digital music business.[35] The company officially changed its corporate name from Roxio (NASDAQ: ROXI) to Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) in January 2005.[36]

[edit] Entertainment

Prior to Gorog’s technology positions, he served in a variety of senior capacities in the entertainment business including Executive Vice President of Universal Studios Recreation Group where he helped manage Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s multi-billion dollar theme park expansion in Florida and Japan.[37] Gorog later served as President of New Business Development for Universal Studios Recreation Group. Prior to Universal, Gorog served as President and CEO of ITC Entertainment[5] and as Vice President Business Affairs Motion Pictures and Television for The Walt Disney Company.[5]

[edit] Board Positions

Gorog has served as a director on a variety of entertainment and technology boards, including House of Blues,[5] Guitar Center[38] and Critical Path,[39] in addition to serving on the boards of Roxio and Napster as its Chairman.[40] He also has served on the board of directors of NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers.

[edit] Keynotes

• May 1, 2007 – Digital NARM – Chicago, IL: “Bridging the Gap between Physical and Digital”[41]
• May 1, 2006 – MuseExpo – Hollywood, CA: “Unlimited access – Anytime, Anywhere”[42]
• April 5, 2005 – Leadership Music Digital Summit – Nashville, TN: “Digital Subscriptions: The Future of The Music Industry”[43]
• July 26, 2004 – Jupiter Plug-In – New York, NY: “The State of the Digital Music Industry”[44]
• May 3, 2004 – Financial Times – London, England: “The Best Defense if a Good Offense, The Rise of Legitimate On-Line Music Services”
• April 20, 2004 – Music Board of Ireland and the European Union – Dublin, Ireland: “The Internet & the Democratization of Music”[45]
• December 8, 2003 – iHollywood Forum – Universal City, CA: "Music 2.0"[46]
• July 28, 2003 – Jupiter Plug-In – New York, NY: "The Return of Napster"[47]
• March 3, 2003 – Digital Music Forum – New York, NY: "The Impact of Technology on Music Business Today"[48]
• January 24, 2003 – MidemNet – Cannes, France: "Music and Technology Back on Track"[49]

[edit] External links

[edit] Affiliations

Gorog is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Nicole Ridgway, 03.04.02 (March 4, 2002). "Let Them Burn". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/0304/088.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  2. ^ Mark Brohan. "Napster turns up sales volume to $32.8 million for Q3". Internetretailer.com. http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/43304-napster-turns-up-sales-volume-328-million-q3.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Ipsos: Napster, iTunes Best-Known for Fee-based Downloading…". Marketingvox.com. December 16, 2005. http://www.marketingvox.com/ipsos_napster_itunes_bestknown_for_feebased_downloading-020633/. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  4. ^ "The Billboard Q&A: Chris Gorog". Billboard.biz. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004061034. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  5. ^ a b c d e "Digital Hollywood". Digital Hollywood. http://www.digitalhollywood.com/DHLA01/DHLAMondayTen.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  6. ^ "Digital Entertainment Awards". Digital Entertainment Awards. http://www.digitalentertainmentawards.com/gorogbio.htm. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  7. ^ "Chris Gorog Appointed Executive Vice President, Group Operations…". Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-16204391.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  8. ^ "iHollywood Forum Announces Digital Music Leaders Speaking at Music…". Allbusiness.com. November 4, 2003. http://www.allbusiness.com/media-telecommunications/movies-sound-recording-record/5831562-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  9. ^ "Betting it all on Napster". Google. http://google.com/search?q=cache:u_nBXlMVemYJ:news.cnet.com/Betting-it-all-on-Napster/2008-1027_3-5331890.html+chris+gorog+napster+ceo&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  10. ^ "Sound man: Napster Chief Executive Chris Gorog listens to Mark…". Allbusiness.com. October 22, 2007. http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/banking-lending-credit-services-electronic/5512282-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  11. ^ "Hard-Driving Clan Breeds Three Successful Generations". Allbusiness.com. http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/computer-software/819145-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  12. ^ Goldman, Ari L. (July 17, 2002). "William Gorog, 76, Businessman with a Bent for High Technology". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/17/business/william-gorog-76-businessman-with-a-bent-for-high-technology.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  13. ^ Napster CEO Stepping Down[dead link]
  14. ^ a b c "Billboard – August 2003". Google Books. August 9, 2003. http://books.google.com/books?id=axEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=gorog+billboard+napster&source=bl&ots=t_6tUhJwHD&sig=Z0VG64HNln8g9-38afGKDe4f6oc&hl=en&ei=UqjYSvmeB5HKsQPhncGbBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=gorog%20billboard%20napster&f=false. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  15. ^ a b "Napster Lives Again—Sort of". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_42/b3854093_mz063.htm. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  16. ^ "Napster reiterates third quarter guidance and opens Nasdaq…". Cbronline.com. http://www.cbronline.com/news/napster_reiterates_third_quarter_guidance_and_opens_nasdaq_exchange. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  17. ^ "Passion Works". Sbnonline.com. January 30, 2008. http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/13971/75/0/Passion_works.aspx. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  18. ^ "Napster Goes DRM-Free". Billboard.biz. May 20, 2008. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i9189f73c48e7dd51e9a8af5824382c0a. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  19. ^ Smith, Tony (May 20, 2004). "Napster UK goes live". Theregister.co.uk. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/20/napster_uk_live/. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  20. ^ "Briefs: Napster Germany opens for business". Physorg.com. http://www.physorg.com/news8904.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  21. ^ Napster says’Konichiwa’ to Japan[dead link]
  22. ^ "Napster raises revenue guidance". News.cnet.com. http://news.cnet.com/Napster-raises-revenue-guidance/2100-1027_3-5598142.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  23. ^ Napster offers free music[dead link]
  24. ^ Kim Poh Liaw (October 5, 2006). "Napster Mobile Expands Availability to More than 13 Million AT&T Wireless Customers". Slashphone.com. http://www.slashphone.com/napster-mobile-expands-availability-to-more-than-13-million-att-wireless-customers-043049. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  25. ^ 02.10.05, 11:22 am ET (February 10, 2005). "Napster To Go campaign will challenge Apple iTunes’ lead". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/infoimaging/2005/02/10/infoimagingcentaurcomm_2005_02_10_eng-centaur_nma_eng-centaur_nma_010354_7398848917616366017.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  26. ^ Meld je aan of registreer je om een reactie te plaatsen!. "Napster Jailbreak". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy0Yyl9m_4A. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  27. ^ "Napster Hip-Hop". Atom.com. October 28, 2003. http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/napster_hip_hop/. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  28. ^ Howard, Theresa (June 25, 2004). "Ads from USA dominate in online category at Cannes". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2004-06-23-winners_x.htm. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  29. ^ "Winners Showcase". Effie.org. http://www.effie.org/winners/search?category_id=36&q=all_years. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  30. ^ "Billboard Digital Entertainment Conference & Awards". Digitalentertainmentawards.com. November 5, 2004. http://www.digitalentertainmentawards.com/finalists.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  31. ^ [1][dead link]
  32. ^ "Roxio CEO Chris Gorog Tells TechNewsWorld…". Technewsworld.com. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/32082.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  33. ^ Veverka, Mark (February 25, 2002). "Roxio Looks to Keep Burning Up the CD Scene". Online.barrons.com. http://online.barrons.com/article/SB1014424308637848920.html?mod=this_weeks_barrons_technology_week_columns. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  34. ^ Associated Press. "Roxio Buys Pressplay, Napster Lives". Wired. http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2003/05/58895. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  35. ^ "Sonic buys Roxio software, Roxio becomes ‘Napster’". CNN. August 9, 2004. http://www.macnn.com/news/25778. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  36. ^ Kurt Peters (January 3, 2005). "Napster tunes up new image with new “NAPS” stock symbol". Internetretailer.com. http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/22682-napster-tunes-up-new-image-new-naps-stock-symbol.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  37. ^ "Chris Gorog Appointe Executive Vice President, Group Operations". Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-16204391.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  38. ^ "Guitar Center, Inc. Adds Messrs. Wm. Christopher Gorog, George…". Plummersearch.com. http://www.plummersearch.com/press/press_release031004.shtml. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  39. ^ "CEO of Digital Meida Software Leader Roxio Joins Critical Path Board of Directors". Allbusiness.com. http://www.allbusiness.com/media-telecommunications/movies-sound-recording/5686942-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  40. ^ Bylawrence Carrel (June 24, 2004). "ROXI Music". Smartmoney.com. http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/ROXI-Music-16014. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  41. ^ Digital NARM[dead link]
  42. ^ MuseExpo[dead link]
  43. ^ "Leadership Music Digital Summit" (PDF). http://www.digitalsummit.org/2007/2005_03_25_MusicRow.pdf. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  44. ^ "Jupiter Plug-In". Google Books. July 31, 2004. http://books.google.com/books?id=eRAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=jupiter+plug+in+2004+gorog+keynote&source=bl&ots=wY-Xw1oEcq&sig=pocgkGcreIbe1gJzYiiJIaxqiog&hl=en&ei=DO_pSs74I5OcswOqsp3fCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=jupiter%20plug%20in%202004%20gorog%20keynote&f=false. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  45. ^ "Music Board of Ireland and the European Union". Electricnews.net. May 20, 2004. http://www.electricnews.net/story/show/9412588. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  46. ^ "iHollywood Forum". Allbusiness.com. November 4, 2003. http://www.allbusiness.com/media-telecommunications/movies-sound-recording-record/5831562-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  47. ^ "Jupiter Plug-In". Allbusiness.com. August 2, 2003. http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4666161-1.html. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  48. ^ "Digital Music Forum". Blogcritics.org. http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/digital-music-forum-update/. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
  49. ^ "MidemNet". Google Books. November 15, 2003. http://books.google.com/books?id=KA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=midemnet+jan+2003,+gorog&source=bl&ots=mmLQOewtg1&sig=m_R2poAInBuYTfYWZvxFkejvcLA&hl=en&ei=nuDpStzSHo2CswOa77TYCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved January 4, 2012. 
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