SCHUR LAUNCHES SURETONE WITH INTERSCOPE BACKING
The six-year Geffen Records President is getting back to his entrepreneurial roots with Suretone Records, a joint venture with UMG’s Interscope Records, announced today.
Schur founded and managed Flip Records, where his roster included Limp Bizkit and Staind, as he built up a grass-roots marketing system that developed new artists into multi-platinum superstars without the traditional means of radio and television.
Interscope Geffen A&M Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine has been a longtime supporter of Schur: “Jordan has been part of our family for the last six years and has been responsible for extraordinary successes. I’m thrilled that he has decided to stay at Interscope to pursue his dreams.”
Schur will continue to oversee the recording careers of Weezer, The Cure, Rooney, New Found Glory and Angels and Airwaves, the new band put together by blink-182’s Tom DeLonge. Blink-182 will remain on Geffen and carry the Suretone imprint. The Pink Spiders (which will be released through Geffen), Headway, Eastern Conference Champions and all newly signed acts will be on Suretone Records and released by Interscope.
Commented Schur: “It’s great to be back in the natural territory of ownership, and I’m grateful for it to be with my partners at Interscope Geffen. It is my intention to make this new company stand for great artists and timeless music, and I’ve never felt stronger about the prospects for achieving that. ”
The Firm CEO Jeff Kwatinetz, who represents several artists on the new label, is also a big Schur fan. “He is the most dynamic, talented and driven executive in the music business today. The fact that he is leaving the corporate culture and returning to being an owner whose destiny is directly tied to his artists is only good news for myself and my clients."
The 41-year-old exec became the head of Geffen Records in 1999, then oversaw the newly organized label that resulted in 2003, when MCA was merged into Geffen Records. In 2004, when DreamWorks Records was folded into the new Geffen, Schur was joined by Polly Anthony. Among the artists Schur worked with were blink-182, Snoop Dogg, Ashlee Simpson, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, Papa Roach, Counting Crows, Common, the Cure, Rob Zombie, New Found Glory, Sigur Ros, Lifehouse, Puddle of Mudd, Rooney and Bloodhound Gang.
Schur also founded fashion house Michon Schur with his wife, designer Stephanie Schur, and is a partner and director of sportswear label Lotto North America. He also is a partner and officer in Jordan Realty, with extensive real-estate holdings in Manhattan, and in Cityside Archives, a New York City-based document retention company.
