Photo by Greg Allen
A music industry veteran who cut his teeth at Sony Music before heading up the Licensing departments at Zomba Recording Corporation and Warner Music Group’s Rhino Entertainment, Glenn Schwartz has licensed recordings for use in movies, television programs, commercials, compilation albums, jukeboxes, greeting cards, bowling alleys, toys, department stores, gyms, and as samples in hip hop records, among other things. He has also curated “best of” releases for Ms. Lauryn Hill, Gladys Knight And The Pips, Melba Moore, and then some. An award-winning stand-up comic and graduate of Improv Olympics, Glenn combines several of his passions while speaking to corporations about the value of diversity, using popular music to illustrate his points.
Glenn’s favorite projects are the ones where he was told “You’ll never be able to get this licensed,” only to do just that. He also enjoyed/enjoys licensing A-list acts such as Madonna and Led Zeppelin for worthwhile charity projects.
If they presented awards for Best Licensing, Glenn would have a trophy for negotiating the use of the “Try A Little Tenderness” sample on the Kanye West/Jay-Z collab “Otis,” for without that sample the track would be a capella. He has received accolades for his comedy work, including first place at the Gilda’s Club Laugh-Off, Stand-Up NY’s Funniest Gay Male competition and the Caroline’s/Danny’s Off-Broadway comedy contest.
Glenn cherishes his record collection, which includes plenty of original release 45s by The Beatles and The Beach Boys. He also has two copies of Michael Jackson’s CD single “Smile,” which was manufactured but never released. His favorite collectables are his promo merch, which includes a Terence Trent D’Arby electric toothbrush, Lisa Lisa sweat socks, and a Sophie B. Hawkins “As I Lay Me Down” hammock.