Lawrence Mestel

Lawrence Mestel (born April 2, 1962) is an American music executive and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Primary Wave.[2]

Lawrence Mestel
Born (1962-04-02) April 2, 1962
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst (BS)
OccupationMusic executive
EmployerPrimary Wave Music
SpouseAmy Mestel (m. 1995)
Children3[1]

Early life and education

Mestel was born in Brooklyn, New York to Zelig and Rita (née Miller) Mestel.

Mestel grew up in Marlboro, New Jersey and graduated from Marlboro High School in 1980, where he played basketball and tennis. He studied business at University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating cum laude in 1984 on the Dean's List. He was accepted into the MBA program at NYU Stern School of Business, but declined after receiving a job offer from Chris Blackwell to join Island Records.[3][4]

Career

Early career

Mestel was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Island Entertainment Group in 2000, which included Island Records, Island Music Publishing and Island Pictures. From 2000 – 2004, Mestel was Executive Vice President and General Manager at Arista Records. Mestel was responsible for the label's sales, marketing, A&R administration, finance and business affairs.[5][6][7]

Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records from 2004 – 2005, where he oversaw marketing, sales and business development.[8][9]

Primary Wave
Main article: Primary Wave (company)

In January 2006, Mestel started a private, independent music publishing company, Primary Wave, after raising $50 million and acquiring 25% of Kurt Cobain’s portion of the Nirvana (band) song catalog from Courtney Love.[10] As music IP owners, in its early years Primary Wave used lyrics and artists name and likeness to form brand deals with companies like Converse, the Massachusetts Lottery, and Funny or Die.[11] As of 2020, the company controls and manages approximately $1.5 billion of cash and assets.[12]

Credits
Year Title Notes
2013 CeeLo Green is Loberace (TV Special) Executive Producer
2013 Grace Unplugged (Film) Executive Producer
2014 CeeLo Green's The Good Life (TV Series) Executive Producer
2015 Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (Documentary) Executive Producer
2015 Say It in Song (TV Series) Co-Executive Producer; 2 Episodes
2022 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Film) Producer; Pre-production

Further reading

References
  1. How We Work Now: Primary Wave Founder/CEO Larry Mestel at Billboard; by Steve Knopper; published May 12, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  2. Why Independent Music Publishing Will Thrive In The New Year at FORBES; by Andrea Zaczynski; published December 31, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  3. Larry Mestel is ready to rock at University of Massachusetts Amherst; retrieved January 22, 2020
  4. Larry Mestel at In The Hot Seat With Larry Leblanc; by Larry Leblanc; published November 22, 2018; retrieved January 22, 2021
  5. ‘I WAS SHOCKED THE MAJOR MUSIC COMPANIES EVEN LET US IN THE BUSINESS.’ at Music Business Worldwide; by Tim Ingham; published November 11, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  6. Music Management Seminar featuring Larry Mestel, CEO of Primary Wave at William Paterson University Music Management Seminar; by WPU IRT; published April 23, 2018; retrieved January 22, 2020
  7. [conferences.calcpa.org/entertainment/speakers/18/ Larry Mestel] at CalCPA Conference; published September 24, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  8. Larry Mestel-This Week’s Podcast at The Lefsetz Letter; by Bob Lefsetz; published February 6, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  9. Podcast Episode: Larry Mestel at The Bob Lefsetz Podcast; by Bob Lefsetz; published February 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
  10. Love sells a stake in Nirvana; published April 5, 2006; retrieved January 22, 2021
  11. More Than a Publisher: Larry Mestel of Primary Wave Talks Emerging Markets, Whitney Musical and a Boston Win at Billboard; by Melinda Newman; published November 13, 2019; retrieved January 22, 2021
  12. Can Music Publishing Save Bands In the Pandemic? at Entrepreneur; by Kenny Herzog; published December 7, 2020; retrieved January 22, 2021
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