Clive Davis Lauds ‘Leaders in the 21st Century Music Business’ at 20th Anniversary Celebration of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute

Thom Duffy
·2 min read
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As more than 500 members of the New York University community and music industry gathered in Brooklyn April 11 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, the legendary music executive who endowed the school spoke to them via a congratulatory video.

“It’s incredible to see how far the program has come and how successful the students have been,” Clive Davis, who was unable to attend the event, said via video that night. “There are students winning Grammy Awards in major categories, actually dominating the Billboard charts, and occupying major positions at record labels, agencies and management companies.

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“I hope students continue to find success and emerge as the leaders in the 21st century music business,” said Davis, who, in his seventh decade as a force in the recording industry, is the chief creative officer of Sony Music.

As if to highlight Davis’ assertion, earlier that same day, one of the most successful alumna of the school, Maggie Rogers, announced her first arena tour. (At the party, organizers displayed a photo, which appeared in Billboard’s 2016 Top Music Business Schools list, showing Rogers at a masterclass with Pharrell Williams, who praised her track “Alaska.” A viral video of that moment helped launch her career.)

Other alumni joined the celebration of the institute, which is part of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, venue known as 74Wythe.   (The institute itself is located on Jay Street in downtown Brooklyn).

Singer-songwriter Madison Love, who was honored at the Tisch School of the Arts Gala on April 8, joined fellow alumni including Noah Yoo and Sedona Schat, who perform as Cafuné, and who were recently signed to Elektra Records, as well as Grammy-nominated producer Dan Knobler.

DJ and producer D-Nice, Grammy Award nominees Marc Soto and Kaleb Rollins, Beastie Boys manager John Silva, Def Jam Recordings executive Riggs Morales, Jules Parker from Spotify and Tim Pattison from BMI also were joined at the celebration by faculty, staff, supporters, students and their parents.

“For the past 20 years the Clive Davis Institute has fostered some of the industry’s most exciting new musical artists and creative business minds,” said Allyson Green, dean of the Tisch School. “Our outstanding faculty, leaders and staff cultivate an exciting learning environment that allows for both the freedom to experiment and the tools to navigate the competitive music world.”

The chairman of the Clive Davis Institute, Nicholas Sansano, described the event as an expression of gratitude to those who have supported the school over the past two decades.

“Our goal was to give back to our community, for all that they have accomplished and for how well they’ve represented CDI,” said Sanano. “From our alums and their families, to our students, and so many people within the industry that have supported us over the years, we just wanted to celebrate and say thank you.”

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