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Brooke Wentz

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Brooke Wentz
Birth nameBrooke Marie Wentz[1]
BornUnited States
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • Music director
Labels

Brooke Wentz is an American record producer and music director, and author.[2][3][4][5][6] She has served as a music director for ESPN.[7][8][1] She was also the recipient of the Billboard Music Award for the best world music album in 1994, Global Meditation - Authentic Music from Meditative Traditions of the World.[9][10]

Education

[edit]

Wentz graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College. She also graduated with an M.B.A. from Columbia University.[7][1][11][12]

Career

[edit]

Wentz began her career in the 1980s as a public radio host for stations such as New York's WKCR-FM, where she hosted the music program Transfigured Night.[9][13] She eventually became new music director of WKCR.[11]

After her career in public radio, Wentz served as Manager of A&R Administration at Arista Records.[2][7][8][14] While visiting the FESPACO Film Festival in Burkina Faso, Wentz was an eyewitness to the events of the 1991 Malian coup d'etat alongside Malian musician Salif Keita.[12] She wrote about the incident in an article for the music periodical The Beat.[15]

In 1992, Wentz produced the compilation album Global Meditation.[16] The album featured meditative music from several world religious traditions.[17] Global Meditation went on to win the Billboard Music Award for best world music album in 1994.[9][10] In 1994, Wentz produced another compilation album of African music, titled Africa: Never Stand Still.[12] In 1995, Wentz also produced the compilation album Global Divas, which featured contributions from female artists such as Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Lydia Mendoza, and Celia Cruz. The album was produced to promote the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women.[18]

By 1996, Wentz had become the music director of ESPN.[1][14][12] Wentz was one of the first music directors who licensed music for the X Games and supervised a compilation album for the event.[19][20]

In 2000, Wentz also served as the music producer for New York City's Times Square Millennium Celebration.[7][21] In 2002, Wentz founded the music supervision company The Rights Workshop.[22][3][23] The Rights Workshop has provided music for film and television productions including Melancholia, Bill Cunningham New York, and Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey.[24][3]

In 2007, Wentz's first book, Hey, That's My Music! Music Supervision, Licensing, and Content Acquisition was published by Hal Leonard Books.[6][25]

Wentz founded Seven Seas Music in 2014.[2][4][5][26][27] Seven Seas Music has licensed music for use films such as the films No Escape and Knight of Cups,[2] as well as the television series Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Criminal Minds.[3]

Wentz's second book, Music Rights Unveiled: A Filmmaker's Guide to Music Rights and Licensing, was published in 2017 by Taylor & Francis. She co-wrote the book in collaboration with Maryam Battaglia.[28][29]

In 2019, Wentz produced the compilation album This Is Syria to support the International Rescue Committee's Syrian relief efforts.[30]In 2020, Wentz produced the album “Annapurna's Song,” which  is a compilation of artists from the Himalayas and included a track by Grateful Dead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, Indian guitarist Sanjay Mishra, and composer A.R. Rahman.[30] The song was released for charity and benefited the American Himalayan Foundation.[30]

In 2023, Wentz published the book Transfigured New York: Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians, 1980-1990 through Columbia University Press.[31][32] A launch event was held for the book at the Roulette Intermedium in New York on November 13, 2023.[31] The book contained interviews with musicians such as John Cage, Philip Glass, Living Colour, and Baaba Maal.[32]The interviews were conducted during her time as the host of the radio program Transfigured Night on Columbia University's WKCR-FM radio station.[33][34]The book was featured in the 481th issue of the music magazine The Wire.[35] In December 2023, Wentz's interview with avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson from the book was published in Literary Hub.[36]In January 2024, Bad Feeling Magazine named Transfigured New York to its list of the best pop culture books of 2023.[37]

Wentz has served as a creative advisor for the Sundance Institute Film Music & Sound Design Lab at Skywalker Sound.[38]

Discography

[edit]
Year Title Artist Credits
1990 Music from the Heart Various Artists Producer
1991 Global Celebration: Passages Various Artists Producer, Compilation Producer
1992 Global Celebration: Dancing with the Gods Various Artists Compilation Producer
1992 Global Meditation, Vol. 2: Harmony & Interplay Various Artists Producer
1992 Global Meditation, Vol. 4: Music From the Heart Various Artists Producer
1992 Global Meditation - Authentic Music from Meditative Traditions of the World Various Artists Producer
1992 Les Ambassadeurs Internationales with Salif Keita Les Ambassadeurs and Salif Keita Liner Notes
1992 Nocturne Parisian Graham Haynes & No Image Associate Producer
1993 Global Celebration (Authentic Music from Festivals & Celebrations Around the World) Various Artists Producer, Engineer, Composer
1993 Sketches of Miles Byron Olson Coordination
1993 Voices of Forgotten Worlds: Traditional Music of Indigenous Peoples Various Artists Producer
1994 Africa: Never Stand Still Various Artists Producer
1994 Dance of the Leaves (Restless/Enigma) Toure Kunda Liner Notes
1994 Global Celebration: Gatherings Various Artists Producer, Compilation Producer, Composer
1994 Saints & Sinners Jean-Paul Borrelly Field Recording
1995 Global Divas Various Artists Producer, Compilation Producer, Liner Notes
1996 Divas of Mali Various Artists Producer
1996 The X Games: The Compilation Album Various Artists Music Supervisor
1996 X-Games, Vol. 1: Music from the Edge Various Artists Music Supervisor
1997 Best of Ellipsis Arts Various Artists Producer, Liner Notes
1997 Divine Divas: A World of Women's Voices Various Artists Compilation Producer
1997 The Best of Ellipsis Arts: Africa Various Artists Producer, Liner Notes
1998 Best of Ellipsis Arts: Global Celebration Various Artists Editing, Liner Notes
1998 Best of Ellipsis Arts: Global Meditation Various Artists Producer
1999 An American Love Story (Original Soundtrack) Various Artists Music Supervisor
1999 Back to Our Roots, Vol. 1 Too Bad Executive Producer
1999 Passion Planet: Songs of Love from Around the World Various Artists Producer, Compilation Producer
1999 Wonders of the African World Various Artists Producer, Music Supervisor
2000 Celebration! Times Square 2000 Various Artists Producer
2000 Dan Gna Les Go Executive Producer
2019 This Is Syria Various Artists Producer
2020 “Annapurna's Song” Various Artists Producer

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Brooke M. Wentz, Alfredo E. Alias". The New York Times. October 6, 1996.
  2. ^ a b c d "Seven Seas Music Makes It Easy to License Authentic Global Music..." November 7, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Shearrow, Elizabeth (May 17, 2021). "Industry Profile: Seven Seas Music Founder, Brooke Wentz". Backstage Pass. 4 (1).
  4. ^ a b Biese, Alex. "Jerry Garcia Foundation launches new record label, supports Himalayas with first album". Asbury Park Press.
  5. ^ a b Women who lead: San Francisco music firm's owners sail the Seven Seas.
  6. ^ a b "For a Song: How to Get the Music You Want". International Documentary Association. June 15, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d "Brooke Wentz - CEO of Seven Seas Music". ideamensch.com. 15 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Brooke Wentz". Music In Africa. July 29, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Music Licensing".
  10. ^ a b "Jerry Garcia music featured in world music compilation". The Music Universe. August 1, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "The Hip-Hop Project: A historical exploration into the relationship between Columbia University and the rap revolution - Columbia Spectator". Columbia Daily Spectator.
  12. ^ a b c d "27 Mar 1994, 139 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Ear Magazine. New Wilderness Foundation. 1983.
  14. ^ a b "What are Music Supervisor's Looking For? Music Licensing". Pyramind. August 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Wentz, Brooke (1991). EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY SALIF KEITA and the COUP D' ETAT (10 ed.). The Beat. p. 38.
  16. ^ "Brooke Wentz | Credits". AllMusic.
  17. ^ "Esquire — June 1993". Esquire | The Complete Archive.
  18. ^ "Women Helping Women with 'Global Divas' - Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 1, 1995 – via Google Books.
  19. ^ "X-Games, Vol. 1: Music from the Edge - Various Artists | Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  20. ^ "Publishing Hit Songs: Aczon, Austria, Wentz in SF".
  21. ^ Morris, Chris (1995). Women Helping Women with 'Global Divas' (26th ed.). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
  22. ^ "Electronic Musician Magazine". Archived from the original on 2010-09-07.
  23. ^ "Brooke Wentz, CEO, Seven Seas Music".
  24. ^ "DATE CHANGED- The Rights Workshop Presents: Make Music, Make Money: Get Paid To Write Music - MTT Open - Music Think Tank". www.musicthinktank.com.
  25. ^ Hey, That's My Music!: Music Supervision, Licensing, and Content Acquisition. Hal Leonard Corporation. 2007. ISBN 9781423422129.
  26. ^ Times, Ryan Book, The Music (November 9, 2014). "Seven Seas Music Makes Licensing True International Music Easy; Red Bull, Dodge and Hollywood Already Knocking". Music Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "TaFMA & San Francisco's Seven Seas Music to create new avenues for Naga musicians". EastMojo. January 19, 2021.
  28. ^ "Music Rights Unveiled : Brooke Wentz : 9781138673304". www.bookdepository.com.
  29. ^ Music Rights Unveiled: A Filmmaker's Guide to Music Rights and Licensing. Taylor & Francis. 22 September 2017. ISBN 9781317203070.
  30. ^ a b c "Jerry Garcia Foundation launches new record label, supports Himalayas with first album". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  31. ^ a b "Golden Era of New York Experimental Music Captured in New Book "Transfigured New York"". NYS Music. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  32. ^ a b "On the Radio | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. 2024-07-29. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  33. ^ "Radio Days". Barnard Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  34. ^ "Brooke Wentz releases her interviews with musicians from the 1980s – Minimalismore". 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  35. ^ "The Wire - March 2024 (Issue 481)". reader.exacteditions.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  36. ^ Wentz, Brooke (2023-12-08). "Plain-Spoken Performance Art: A Conversation with Laurie Anderson". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  37. ^ "Best of 2023: Our favourite pop-culture books of the year". Bad Feeling Magazine. 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  38. ^ "BMI Helps Sundance Lab Fellows Explore Music's Crucial Role in Storytelling". BMI.com. 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
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