Tom Silverman

Tom Silverman is an American entertainment executive.

Early life and education

Silverman grew up in White Plains, NY, and earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science from Colby College in 1976. He attended graduate school at Western Michigan University, where he majored in environmental geology.

Career

Silverman is the founder and CEO at Tommy Boy, a record label established in 1981. He was also a vice president of Warner Bros. Records from 1985 to 2002, while Tommy Boy was an independently distributed subsidiary of that company. After splitting with Warner, Silverman co-founded the independent film and television company Tommy Boy Films.

He co-founded the annual New Music Seminar, which initially ran from 1980 to 1994 and relaunched in 2009, and continues every June in New York City. He co-founded Dance Music Report magazine, which ran from 1978 to 1992. Tom co-founded the Dance Music Hall of Fame, which existed from 2003 to 2005.

Silverman serves on the boards of SoundExchange, a founding board member of American Association of Independent Music (A2IM and its predecessors NAIRD/AFIM); Merlin, a global rights agency representing the world's most important set of independent music rights; and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He previously served on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Dance Music Hall of Fame, plus the NARM Manufacturer’s Advisory Board.

Awards

In 2013 he was awarded the A2IM Libera Lifetime Achievement Award.^[1] He received the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Heroes Award in 2000.