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 Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
and
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
, including as chairman and chief executive officer of
Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...
, a top digital music brand, and
Roxio Roxio is an American software company specializing in developing consumer digital media products. Its product line includes tools for setting up digital media projects, media conversion software and content distribution systems. The company form ...
. 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. Gorog began his entertainment career as a business affairs executive at
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, continued his work in film and television as CEO of
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...
, moved to
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
as executive vice president of group operations for the Recreation Group, and then on to CEO positions with
Roxio Roxio is an American software company specializing in developing consumer digital media products. Its product line includes tools for setting up digital media projects, media conversion software and content distribution systems. The company form ...
and Napster 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 San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
with a B.A.S. in telecommunications and film. Gorog comes from an entrepreneurial family. His father, William F. Gorog, was co-founder and chief executive of Data Corp, which created
LexisNexis LexisNexis is an American data analytics company headquartered in New York, New York. Its products are various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper searc ...
. After ten years of developing Napster, Chris Gorog stepped down in January 2010 and starte
gorog.net
to serve as a foundation to explore new opportunities in entertainment, media and technology.


Napster

Gorog led the acquisition of
Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...
, the peer-to-peer network that made music downloading a phenomenon, in 2002. He re-launched the pioneer digital music brand as a legal music provider in 2003, which became a public company in 2004. Under Gorog’s leadership as chairman and CEO of Napster, the company assembled one of the largest digital music catalogs in the world and expanded its global presence by offering its service in the U.K, Germany and Japan. Napster created a number of digital music product innovations under Gorog’s management, including the introduction of portable subscriptions, a free advertising supported version of Napster, as well as a variety of mobile music offerings. Gorog also oversaw the development of a number of advertising campaigns for the company, including “Its Coming Back,” Napster’s re-launch campaign featuring a series of original animations that received both the Cannes Lion Award and the Silver Effie. Napster was also awarded Billboard magazine’s “Best Digital Music Community” award for its U.S. music service.
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
acquired Napster in 2008, and Gorog served as Napster’s chief executive officer until January 6, 2010.


Roxio

As chairman and chief executive officer of
Roxio Roxio is an American software company specializing in developing consumer digital media products. Its product line includes tools for setting up digital media projects, media conversion software and content distribution systems. The company form ...
, 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. Roxio became the leader in CD burning software, with 70% market share led by its brands Easy CD Creator and Toast. 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. In December 2002, Gorog led Roxio’s acquisition of Napster – and followed with an acquisition of Universal Music’s and Sony’s
Pressplay PressPlay (stylised press''play'' not be confused witPressplay.app a streaming guide for movies and tv-shows was the name of an online music store that operated from December 2001 until March 2003. It was created as a joint venture between Univer ...
in May 2003, which served as the new technology platform for the company’s release of Napster 2.0, the revitalized legal version of the original Napster. In August 2004, Roxio sold the software business in order to focus entirely on developing the Napster digital music business. The company officially changed its corporate name from Roxio (NASDAQ: ROXI) to Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) in January 2005.


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 Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
Recreation Group, where he helped manage
Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...
,
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...
and Universal’s multibillion-dollar theme park expansion in Florida and Japan. 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 The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...
and as vice president business affairs motion pictures and television for
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
.


Board positions

Gorog has served as a director on a variety of entertainment and technology boards, including
House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...
,
Guitar Center Guitar Center, Inc. is an American musical instrument retailer chain headquartered in Westlake Village, California. It operates 304 locations and is the largest company of its kind in the United States. The company oversees several subsidia ...
and Critical Path, in addition to serving on the boards of Roxio and Napster as its chairman. He also has served on the board of directors of
NARM The Music Business Association (Music Biz), formerly known as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), is a not-for-profit trade association based in Nashville, Tennessee. It hosts in-person and virtual events related to music ...
, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers.


Affiliations

Gorog is a member of the
Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is a US-based organization of chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries. History YPO was founded in 1950 in Rochester, New York, by manufacturer Ray Hickok, who was ...
and the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
.


Keynotes

* May 1, 2007 – Digital NARM – Chicago, IL: “Bridging the Gap between Physical and Digital” * May 1, 2006 – MuseExpo – Hollywood, CA: “Unlimited access – Anytime, Anywhere” * April 5, 2005 – Leadership Music Digital Summit – Nashville, TN: “Digital Subscriptions: The Future of The Music Industry” * July 26, 2004 – Jupiter Plug-In – New York, NY: “The State of the Digital Music Industry” * 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” * December 8, 2003 – Forum – Universal City, CA: "Music 2.0" * July 28, 2003 – Jupiter Plug-In – New York, NY: "The Return of Napster" * March 3, 2003 – Digital Music Forum – New York, NY: "The Impact of Technology on Music Business Today" * January 24, 2003 – MidemNet – Cannes, France: "Music and Technology Back on Track"


References


External links


Chris Gorog's official site

Napster Rolls Out MP3 Store in Challenge to iTunes



FTSE Global Markets Cover Story

The Engadget Interview: Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster

Q&A: Napster ex-CEO Chris Gorog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorog, Chris American technology chief executives Living people San Diego State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)