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Veljko Despot (born 4 March 1948) is a Croatian music journalist and record business entrepreneur. He has been involved in all aspects of the music industry as manager-director, record label owner, reporter, chief editor, radio and TV program director. In 1998, Despot received recognition from the Croatian government as one of top private entrepreneurs in the country. Despot was born in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, and since 1950 has lived in
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, where his father was a respected businessman. His mother, Mirjana, studied
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
at the Zagreb Conservatory under Italian cellist
Antonio Janigro Antonio Janigro (21 January 19181 May 1989) was an Italian cellist and conductor. Biography Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Milan C ...
and later taught many cellists herself.


Career

Despot's career began at the age of 18 in local press ("Plavi vjesnik") reporting from London on swinging sixties and trilling pop and rock scene. He was the first journalist from
former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
who specialized in covering international popular music, and was the first and only East European journalist to interview
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. This interview was published as one of his first articles, in "Plavi vjesnik" (17 April 1967). In the late sixties, Despot's articles appeared in several Croatian publications, including ''Arena'', ''Studio'', and ''
Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained a reputation as Croatia's newspaper ...
'', interviewing artists such as
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
,
The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...
,
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...
, and
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
. Despot attended recording sessions of The Beatles' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...
'' (London, 1967), Rolling Stones' ''
Let It Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 28 November 1969 by London Records in the United States and on 5 December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. Released during the ba ...
'' (London, 1969),
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
's ''
Ummagumma ''Ummagumma'' is a part- studio, part- live album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and was released on 7 November 1969 by Harvest Records. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmi ...
'' (London, 1969) and
Arsen Dedić Arsenije "Arsen" Dedić (; 28 July 1938 – 17 August 2015) was a Yugoslav and Croatian singer-songwriter. He wrote and performed chansons, as well as film music. He was also an award-winning poet, and was one of the best-selling poets of former ...
's ''Homo volans'' (Zagreb, 1973). In 1967, Despot was part of the very first record producer agreement in Yugoslav recording industry history, producing an EP release for the
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n rock group
Kameleoni Kameleoni (trans. ''The Chameleons'') were a Yugoslav rock band formed in Koper in 1965. They were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav rock scene. Soon after the formation, the band gained the attention of the audience and the media and achieved ...
. In 1968 he produced their soundtrack for the film "Sončni krik" ("Sunny Cry") by director
Boštjan Hladnik Boštjan Hladnik (30 January 1929 – 30 May 2006) was a Yugoslav/ Slovene filmmaker. Hladnik was born in Kranj. He started with amateur short films after acquiring a projector and a 8mm camera in 1947. From 1949 he studied at the Academy for ...
. In 1968 Despot founded the Jugoslavenski Beatles Fan Club/The Yugoslav Beatles Fan Club in Zagreb, a branch of The Official Beatles Fan Club which covered most East European countries. He was also co-founder and on the board of editors of the Zagreb "Pop Express" (1969–1970), one of the first music newspapers in Yugoslavia. Since 1971, he has also contributed to
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...
. Since 1968, Despot has continued to contribute as a
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
music journalist on radio stations, and since 1972 on the
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
n
Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
(Jugoslavenska radiotelevizija or Jugoslovenska radio-televizija, JRT), on
Croatian Radio Television ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...
and subnational radio and TV centers based in Belgrade,
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
and
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
. Throughout the seventies, eighties and nineties Despot had numerous music reports on television, interviews, portraits and special programs, all concerning international popular music. In the mid-seventies he brought the first music videos on Yugoslav television, and in the eighties he introduced Yugoslavia's first music advertising on national TV. In 1974, Despot established an international department for Jugoton, acquiring major license deals for the company and working with artists, managers, publishers, and record company executives for their product releases in the territory of former Yugoslavia. From the seventies through the beginning of the nineties, Jugoton had license for several international artists and had exclusive deals with many international record companies, such as
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
,
Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...
,
BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...
,
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
,
Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
,
Chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...
,
Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
,
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
and many more. Despot edited record albums as well, editing
Bijelo dugme () is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Rock music, rock band, formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1974. is widely considered to have been the most popular and the best-selling band ever to exist in the former S ...
in 1975 for "Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu" and in 1976 for "Eto! Baš hoću". Both albums were recorded in Air Studios, London and produced by
Neil Harrison Neil Harrison (born 4 December 1950) is a British musician and dramatist. He was a founder-member of The Beatles tribute band, The Bootleg Beatles, in which he played John Lennon. The Bootleg Beatles In 1979, aged 28, Harrison had joined th ...
. Despot helped bring to Yugoslavia many important artists, like
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
in 1975,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
(1976),
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
&
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...
(1976),
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
(1979),
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
(1984),
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
(1985),
Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...
(1990),
Eros Ramazzotti Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...
(1990, 1994),
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
(1991),
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 ...
(1990, 1996, 1997) and many more. For many of these artists it was their first visit in East Europe. In 1991 after Croatia became independent from the former Yugoslavia, Jugoton became Croatia Records. Despot remained with the company until 1994, when he established his own record company Koncept VD, a label exclusively representing BMG Music, MCA,
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
and
GRP Records GRP® Records (Grusin-Rosen Productions) is a jazz record label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen in 1978. Distributed by Verve Records, GRP® was originally known for its digital recordings that focuses on its jazz genre. History With Gr ...
repertoire in new states in the former Yugoslavia. The label signed domestic artists as well, such as Croatian singer-songwriter Arsen Dedić, and the Soul Fingers from Zagreb. Their albums on Koncept label won the Porin music award for best releases in Croatia, an award which Despot helped to originate as one of founding members of the Croatian Phonographic Association. The Porin was established in 1993 for outstanding achievements in the Croatian recording industry. In 1999, Despot created Simbol Music, a consulting company that assists music artists and labels. In 2000 and 2001, he also created the
Cantus A cantus (Latin for "singing", derived from ''cantare'') is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, German, French, and Baltic fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict trad ...
label (a record division of the
Croatian Composers' Society Croatian Composers' Society (, HDS) is a professional organization of composers in Croatia. The society has more than 300 full and over 9000 associate members. The full membership is available to composers, musicologists and music writers, whose ...
, HDS). He added Croatian artists such as
Tony Cetinski Anthony Cetinski (born 31 May 1969) is a Croatian pop singer. Biography Born into a family of musicians in Pula (then SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), Cetinski began singing when he was 15 years old with various local groups. He moved from Rovinj to ...
,
Goran Karan Goran Karan (born 2 April 1964) is a Croatian singer-songwriter. He specializes in songs influenced by Dalmatian folk music and is known for his powerful and refined tenor voice. Karan's collaboration with composer Zdenko Runjić led to some of h ...
,
Matija Dedić Matija Dedić (2 March 1973 – 8 June 2025) was a Croatian jazz pianist and composer, son of singer-songwriter Arsen Dedić and singer Gabi Novak. Early life and education Matija Dedić was born in Zagreb on 2 March 1973, to Arsen Dedić and Gabi ...
, and
Tamara Obrovac Tamara Obrovac (born 1962 in Pula), Croatian singer, composer, songwriter and flutist is one of the most impressive artists on the Croatian music scene, her main expression is ethnically inspired contemporary jazz influenced by the particular ...
. Their albums have won many Porin awards as well. In 2001, Despot contracted with the Neweurope Corporation (NEC) in Florida, a private corporation with a "Click-Media-Mortar" business model centered around the New Europe theme. NEC targets over 28 million first- and second-generation Europeans living in the United States and millions of American fans of European music, screening European recording artists' songs and videos, as well as European TV programs, for marketing in the United States. Despot is now a corporate partner as the Director of Neweurope Media & Entertainment Center (NEMEC). Since 1993, Despot has been a member of
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 academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gramm ...
in the United States and since 2000 is also a member of The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. In 2008, when The National Academy was celebrating its 51st anniversary, Despot was honored as "the heart and soul of our organization... in appreciation and recognition of 15 years of membership in the Academy and supporting its education, advocacy and human services initiatives". In 2013, Despot won the Lifetime Achievement Award Porin for outstanding accomplishments in the recording industry in Croatia. It was presented to him on behalf of the
Croatian Music Institute Croatian Music Institute (, HGZ) is the oldest music institution in Croatia. It is the second most important concert hall in Zagreb after the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. Institution was founded in 1827 as "Musikverein" (English: musical soci ...
by Arsen Dedić.


References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Despot, Veljko Living people Croatian record producers 1948 births Businesspeople from Zagreb