Linda Jasmin Moran is an American music executive. She is the CEO and President of the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

, appointed by

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

in 2001. She was the first female executive at

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

and worked at

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in previous years. Moran has been nicknamed the "godmother" to music's top executives and artists.

Career

Atlantic Records

Linda Moran joined

in 1970 as Executive Assistant to Vice Chairman Sheldon Vogel. In 1983, she was promoted to Assistant Vice President of the label. Upon her promotion to Vice President of Atlantic Records in 1985, Vogel commented, “Linda has developed into an indispensable member of our executive team, bringing her considerable knowledge and experience to bear on every fact of corporate administration.” In 1989 she became a Senior VP at the label.

Warner Music Group

Moran was the first female executive at Warner Music Group, appointed in 1991 as VP/Group & External Relations. About her working years at Warner Music Group, upon honoring Moran with the Recording Academy's Hero Award, Time Warner CEO Jerry Levin commented, “I checked our records, and I see that Linda started working for our music group at Atlantic in 1970… And we’ve been working for her ever since.” While at Warner Music Group, Moran was concurrently secretary/treasurer at New York

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

Songwriters Hall of Fame

In 2001, Linda was elected President of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In a 2001 Billboard article Linda stated “But the problem is, as so many songwriters have told me, nobody knows your name. So I’m excited about taking the academy to the next level in getting songwriters their due.” She was also elected CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2011. Moran was quoted along with

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

and

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

upon

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and '' Vibe'' i ...

becoming the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame saying, "that with its new class, the organization "moves definitively into recognizing music creators of the 21st century while continuing to honor the greats of earlier decades." They added, “The songwriters we honor cross genre, regional and even national boundaries — R&B, rap, pop and rock ’n’ roll from both coasts, the American heartland and Sweden.”. The block of 125th Street in front of the Apollo is named ‘Nat King Cole Way,’ through Moran's efforts with the Mayor's office.

Recognition

Linda Moran was an honoree of the Heroes Award by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

New York Chapter. At the ceremony, which included Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin and BMI president/CEO Frances Preston, Preston described her as a “Rolodex on speed.”

Personal life

Linda Moran is married to recording engineer Mike Moran, who worked with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, and Broadway cast albums including "Hair" among others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Linda Living people American music industry executives Atlantic Records Warner Music Group American women business executives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women