Jason Flom

Music industry career

In 1979, while a college freshman at New York University, Flom got a job as a trainee field merchandiser at Atlantic Records hanging record posters in stores. In 1981, he moved to the sales research team and, in 1983, into Atlantic's A&R department. At 20, Flom departed NYU to work full-time at Atlantic. Bands he signed at the time included Skid Row and Stone Temple Pilots.

In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. In 2004, Flom sold Lava Records to Atlantic Records Group, where he was named chairman and CEO of the Atlantic Records Group. Flom was named chairman and CEO of Virgin Records in 2005. In 2007, he led a merger with Capitol Records to create the Capitol Music Group, where he was named chairman and CEO. In 2007 he signed Katy Perry. In 2008, Flom left Capitol Music Group to re-launch his own Lava Records label, this time in partnership with Universal Music Group's Republic Records. In 2013, Flom signed Lorde to Lava, which released her debut single, "Royals".

Flom founded Lava Publishing in 2014, which has published writing from Evan Konrad, Maty Noyes, and all four members of Greta Van Fleet.

In 2018, Flom co-wrote a children's book titled Lulu Is a Rhinoceros with his daughter Allison Flom—a book which follows a bulldog named Lulu who identifies as a rhino.

Notable A&R/production acts

• Twisted Sister
• Ratt
• Skid Row
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Hootie & the Blowfish
• Filter
• Kid Rock
• Placebo
• Maty Noyes
• Tate McRae
• Jessie J
• Lorde
• Anna Graves
• The Warning
• YONAKA
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• somegirlnamedanna
• Moon Taxi
• Marino
• Ricky Luna
• Cemetery Sun
• White Lion

Philanthropy

In 1993, he joined the board of Families Against Mandatory Minimums and soon after became a founding board member of the Innocence Project. As part of his work with the Innocence Project, Flom launched the podcast Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom in 2016. The podcast features interviews with men and women who have spent time in prison for crimes they claim they did not commit and other activists, advocates and experts. Notable guests on the podcast include Kim Kardashian, John Grisham, Meek Mill, Amanda Knox, Raymond Santana, Brendan Dassey, and Rodney Reed, among others. The podcast reached #7 on the iTunes charts within its first 2 weeks of release, and has since been downloaded over 10 million times.

In 2018, Flom and Jeff Kempler founded Lava for Good. Its podcast series are hosted by human rights and justice experts, activists, attorneys, journalists, as well as formerly incarcerated persons. The Lava for Good lineup includes Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng, Righteous Convictions with Jason Flom, Bone Valley, The War on Drugs, False Confessions, as well as Junk Science.

2021 saw Lava for Good honored with a Webby Award win in the Crime & Justice category for Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions. In 2022, Lava for Good won a Silver Anthem Award for Human & Civil Rights - Best Strategy. Wrongful Conviction and Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng were honored with Silver and Bronze/Listener's Choice Awards, respectively, at the first inaugural Signal Awards announced in January 2023.

Flom also sits on the board of directors of the Legal Action Center, which uses legal and policy strategies to fight discrimination, build health equity, and restore opportunity for people with criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV or AIDS.

In 1999, Flom received the Torch of Liberty award from the American Civil Liberties Union. He was named Music Visionary of the Year in 2000 by the UJA Federation. In 2004, the Correctional Association of New York honored him with its social justice award and in 2005 Flom received the T.J. Martell Foundation Humanitarian Award. In 2008, Flom was honored as Partner in Pursuit of Justice by the Bronx Defenders and was awarded with City of Hope's Ambassador Award. He received the Innocence Project's Award for Freedom and Justice in 2009 and the Spirit of Life award by Russell Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 2014. Flom was honored by the Innocence Project of New Orleans in 2017. At the 2022 Clio Awards, Flom was presented a Clio Music Impact Award for his work in criminal justice reform. In 2023, he the lifetime achievement award at Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards.

References

References

1. (7 January 2020). "A Record Exec's Crusade for Justice".
2. (1 June 1999). "Flom Renews Atlantic Pact as Lava Remains Red-Hot". Business Wire.
3. Wild, David. (1991-09-19). "Skid Row: Pretty Bad Boys".
4. "History of Elektra Entertainment Group – FundingUniverse".
5. Gallo, Phil. (2004-04-01). "Flom flows to Atlantic post".
6. Leeds, Jeff. (2007-01-26). "EMI Merging Record Labels and Ousting Capitol's President". The New York Times.
7. (2009-03-30). "Katy Perry on the Cover of PAPER in 2009".
8. (2012-10-16). "LAVA Records Renews Partnership with Republic Records".
9. (2014-10-01). "From Lorde to Jessie J, the Hits Keep Coming for A&R Superstar Jason Flom".
10. "Evan Konrad Signs to Lava Records, Debuts New Song 'Long Way Out': Exclusive".
11. (2015-05-22). "Kobalt, Jason Flom Deal for Lava Music Publishing".
12. Pesce, Nicole Lyn. "How this father-daughter duo wrote Lulu is a Rhinoceros, an adorable children's book about accepting yourself".
13. Petronzio, Matt. (4 October 2016). "Meet the millionaire music executive helping the wrongfully convicted".
14. "Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom {{!}} Lava for Good Podcasts".
15. (2016-07-19). "Board Member Jason Flom Premieres Podcast on Wrongful Convictions".
16. Barchenger, Cydney Henderson and Stacey. "Kim Kardashian returns to the White House to make the case for another convict's release".
17. (2019-04-22). "For a convicted double murderer long on famous supporters, basic detective work could be key - The Washington Post". [[The Washington Post]].
18. (2018-08-15). "Meek Mill Talks Criminal Justice System On 'Wrongful Conviction' Podcast".
19. Gell, Aaron. (21 November 2016). "How a Music Mogul Became a Powerful Voice for the Wrongfully Convicted".
20. (2019-10-05). "Kim Kardashian West speaks out in favor of 'Making a Murderer' subject Brendan Dassey".
21. "'Wrongful Conviction' Podcast Visits Rodney Reed on Death Row as He Awaits a Stay of Execution".
22. Gell, Aaron. (21 November 2016). "How a Music Mogul Became a Powerful Voice for the Wrongfully Convicted".
23. America, JOCE STERMAN and ALEX BRAUER {{!}} Spotlight on. (2022-05-02). "Exec who launched stars like Katy Perry and Kid Rock is now helping free the innocent".
24. Peukert, Amanda. (2022-05-02). "Maggie Freleng's New Podcast Aims to Exonerate".
25. Quah, Nicholas. (2022-12-13). "The Best True-Crime Podcasts of 2022".
26. Ho, Rodney. "Atlanta comic, actor Clayton English digs into history and fallacies of 'The War on Drugs' in new podcast".
27. "Podcast Featuring Making a Murderer Lawyers Asks: Why Would an Innocent Person Confess to a Crime?".
28. (2020-08-04). "NEW: Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science".
29. "NEW Webby Gallery + Index".
30. "Entry".
31. "Signal Award Winner".
32. "Legal Action Center {{!}} Jason Flom".
33. (1999-07-17). "Update".
34. (2000-06-12). "Bizzers flow to Lava prez".
35. "Members".
36. "From Music Exec to Criminal Justice Reformer".
37. Bacardi, Francesca. (2014-07-28). "Russell Simmons Celebrates 15th Anniversary of Art for Life Benefit".
38. Strachan, Sue. (21 June 2017). "Innocence Project New Orleans honors five at 16th Anniversary Gala".
39. Willman, Chris. (2022-05-12). "Clio Music Awards Honor Jason Flom, Mary J. Blige, Sandy Hook/'Teenage Dream' Spot and More in Nashville Ceremony".
40. (30 July 2024). "Past Awardees - 2023 - Muhammad Ali Center".