Mike Greene (arts executive)

Greene earned his BBA in Business from West Georgia College, studied ceramics at the University of Georgia, later earned a special Doctorate in Music from the University of Southern California, and was awarded Honorary Doctorates from both Temple University and the Berklee School of Music.

The son of a Big Band leader, Greene began his career as a recording artist,[1] singer-songwriter and producer with Warner Brothers, Mercury Records, and GRC Recordings. Greene built and was CEO of Apogee Studios, as well as publishing companies working with artists such as Ray Charles, James Brown, Keith Jarrett, Lionel Richie, Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar, Kansas, and many more. Greene was Executive V.P. of Crawford Communications; CEO of the Video Music Channel;[2] GM of WVEU television network in Atlanta; CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; founder of Musicares and the Grammy Foundation; and also CEO of Artist Tribe and MyMuse Partners.

Greene founded The Cable Marketing Group Ltd. and Total Entertainment & Media Productions, Inc. These were two of the country's first cable consulting, production and ad placement companies.

In 1981, Greene built The Video Music Channel[2] into one of the world's first cable video music networks. VMC was a national pioneer in multi-genre video music programming and live event production, with over 4 million subscribers. Next, VMC added traditional VHF and UHF television stations into its network, and Greene was named VP/GM of the network's flagship station, WVEU (UHF) in Atlanta, Georgia.

During this same period, Greene served as Senior Vice President of Universal Video Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana producing 16 hours of original programming daily for the first Direct Broadcast Satellite Service, U.S.C.I. (the Prudential and General Instruments venture).

Next, Greene helped build Crawford Post Production, Satellite Services, Communications and Interactive Services Companies, in Atlanta. While Greene was Executive V.P., Crawford became one of the nation's largest media production companies serving clients such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Turner Broadcasting, the United States Department of Defense, and Tribune Broadcasting among thousands of others. Greene was President of Crawford-Greene, Inc. Crawford is still a leader in these fields.

Greene served as a consultant to the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China.

In 1986, Greene was elected as Chairman of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), made famous for its annual Grammy Awards. In 1988, Greene was named the academy's first President/CEO and served as CEO for 14 years. Greene led the growth of membership from 3,200 to over 27,000, built 12 regional offices, and launched the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. During his presidency, academy revenue increased by 30 fold.

Under Greene's leadership, the Grammy Awards ceremony grew from being syndicated in 14 countries to over 180. Greene also established the academy's Political Advocacy Initiatives.[3] NARAS emerged as a voice for music and the arts in Washington D.C. and the state houses on issues such as:

• Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright Infringement
• First Amendment protection
• Music and Arts Education
• Preservation of funding for the national arts agencies
• Digital Music Distribution and Artist Rights
• Archiving and Preservation of the world's musical legacy

Under Greene's Academy leadership,[4] NARAS developed:

In 1990, Greene founded MusiCares[11][12] to provide financial grants, substance abuse intervention, treatment and educational programs to music professionals in need worldwide.[13] MusiCares has distributed well over $20 million since its inception. Greene was also the national spokesperson for the National Association of Music Therapists, now known as the American Music Therapy Association.[14]

Greene founded Artist Tribe, LLC[15] in 2005 and currently serves as its president and CEO. Artist Tribe is an innovation enterprise which houses seven operating divisions serving the creative and cultural communities at large. The Artist Tribe Foundation is involved in the field of Arts Mentoring, Education, Arts and Wellness, and produces culturally significant documentaries. The most recent is Girls in the Band.[16]

Greene is a ceramicist[17] and instructor, with works in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art.

Greene was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, receiving a Georgy Award for his contributions to music. Greene received a special Doctorate in Music from the University of Southern California and an Honorary Doctorate in Music and Arts Education from Berklee College of Music in Boston.