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Doug Davis (businessman)

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Doug Davis
Born
Douglas J. Davis

(1974-03-06) March 6, 1974 (age 50)
New York City, US
EducationSyracuse University (BA)
Fordham Law School (JD)
Occupation(s)Entertainment lawyer and record producer
Spouse
Jessie Muscio
​
(m. 2019)​
Children2
Parent(s)Clive Davis
Janet Adelberg
Websitedavisfirm.net

Douglas J. Davis (born March 6, 1974) is an American music industry executive, entertainment lawyer[1] and producer. He has won four Grammy Awards.[2]

Early life

Davis was born in New York City, the son of Clive Davis and Janet Adelberg Davis. Davis has three siblings: Fred, Lauren and Mitchell.[1] He attended The Town School and the Dwight School in New York.[1] Davis graduated from The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University with a degree in political science, and from Fordham University School of Law with a Juris Doctor.[3][4]

Career

Davis is the founder and managing partner of The Davis Firm, PLLC, a music, entertainment and sports law firm.[5]

He is the executive producer of the annual Clive Davis pre-Grammy gala.[6][7] Davis has produced original music for Disney, Netflix, WWE (under the pseudonym, "def rebel"), Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures.[8] Davis was a licensed NBA player agent,[9] who negotiated Metta World Peace's agreement with the New York Knicks.[10][11] In 2015, Davis, along with Roger Gastman, co-curated Work In Progress, an art gallery and marketplace event in Los Angeles.[12] In 2014–2015, Davis pursued the purchase of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks basketball team.[13]

Davis served as a producer of American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom by John Daversa Big Band Featuring 53 DACA recipients, which was released in September 2018.[14] The project received bipartisan support through endorsements from Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris and Lindsey Graham.[15] The album won three Grammys: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album; Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella; and Best Improvised Jazz Solo.[16] In 2019, Davis served as a producer of Shoulder to Shoulder: A Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage by The Karrin Allyson Sextet,[17] and The Omni American Book Club by the Brian Lynch Big Band which won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.[18] Davis served as producer of Four Questions by Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.[19][20] Davis served as producer of Fandango At The Wall In New York by Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra which won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.[21][2] Davis served as executive producer of the Aretha Franklin memorial concert and TV special Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul which aired on CBS.[22]

In 2021, Davis produced New York's "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in Central Park's Great Lawn for an estimated 60,000 people and global TV event broadcast by CNN in 200 countries and featured the performances of Andrea Bocelli, the New York Philharmonic, Jennifer Hudson, LL Cool J, Journey, Carlos Santana featuring Rob Thomas and others,[23] which celebrated the city's emergence from the pandemic.[24][25]

Philanthropy

Davis sits on the Board of Directors of the UJA-Federation,[26] the boards of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University[27] and Fuck Cancer.[28] Davis serves on the entertainment committee for the annual Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Gala[29] and has chaired fundraising events for the Drug Policy Alliance[30] and City of Hope National Medical Center.[31]

Davis was a founding board member of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society, a position he held for ten years.[32] In 2016, Billboard magazine named Davis to its list of top philanthropists in music.[33]

Recognition

Davis appeared in Jeff Rabhan's book "Cool Jobs In The Music Business".[4] In 2012 The Hollywood Reporter called Davis's Twitter (@DJD) one of the "Top 5 Music Power" accounts.[34]

Since 2016, Billboard magazine has annually listed Davis one of the "top power lawyers" in music,[35][36][37][38] since 2017 Best Lawyers in America has recognized Davis for Entertainment Law – Music.[39] Since 2018 Variety has named Davis in its Legal Impact issue [40] and in 2019 Davis was profiled by Super Lawyers for Entertainment & Sports.[41]

In 2018, Variety named Davis Lawyer of the Year at its annual Power Of Law event.[42]

Personal life

Davis lives in New York City with stylist wife Jessie Davis and their daughters Billie and Cody in a townhouse originally built for Clement Clarke Moore.[43] In 2007, during an emergency appendectomy, Davis was found to have a carcinoid tumor.[44] Davis described the moment as one of dumb luck which could have led to a terminal condition that became an awakening[43] and the impetus for his philanthropic work.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c Stern, Alix (4 October 2019). "On Again, Off Again, and With a Nudge, Now On Forever". New York Times.
  2. ^ a b "Artist - Doug Davis". Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Music With a Message". Maxwell Perspective. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Spring 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Rabhan, Jeff (2013). "Cool Jobs In The Music Business". inTune/Hal Leonard.
  5. ^ "The Davis Firm - Firm Overview". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  6. ^ Davis, Clive (2013). The Soundtrack of My Life Simon & Schuster
  7. ^ Diehl, Matt (February 2, 2015). "From Aretha Franklin to Puff Daddy, Industry Heavyweights Share Inside Stories From Clive Davis' Legendary Pre-Grammy Gala". Billboard Magazine.
  8. ^ Parisi, Paula (2 November 2018). "For Mickey Mouse's 90th, Not Your Grandfather's Custom Music House". Variety.
  9. ^ "Agents Rumors - HoopsHype". hoopshype.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  10. ^ Berman, Marc (July 15, 2013). "Knicks, Metta World Peace have mutual interest". New York Post.
  11. ^ Beck, Howard (July 15, 2013). "Metta World Peace Finds His Way Back Home". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Halperin, Shirley (November 26, 2015). "'Work In Progress' Pop-Art Marketplace Opens in Downtown L.A." The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ^ Johnson, Richard (September 12, 2014). "The Lawyer Who Could Be The Next Owner Of The Hawks". The New York Post.
  14. ^ Redmon, Jeremy. "Young immigrants from Georgia featured on Grammy-nominated jazz album". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  15. ^ Saval, Malina (28 September 2018). "Immigrant Song: 'American Dreamers' Album Is Hope on Wax". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  16. ^ "Dreamers Get Some Stage Time at Grammys, After Playing on a 3x-Winning Big Band Album". Variety. 10 February 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  17. ^ Newman, Melinda. "Harry Belafonte, Rosanne Cash, Karrin Allyson Celebrate 'Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage'". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Awards Winners & Nominees Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  19. ^ "Grammys 2021: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. March 14, 2021.
  20. ^ "Arturo O'Farrill & ALJO Release New Album: "Four Questions"". latinjazznet.com. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  21. ^ "Grammys 2023: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. February 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Trakin, Roy (January 15, 2019). "Ken Ehrlich Pays Tribute to Aretha Franklin With Joyous Grammy Tribute".
  23. ^ Halperin, Shirley (August 22, 2021). "'Bruce Springsteen Was in His Dressing Room': 'We Love NYC' Producer on the Effort to Keep the Concert Going". Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  24. ^ Arnold, Chuck (August 22, 2022). "We Love NYC concert: Music history before Central Park was washed out". New York Post. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  25. ^ Sisario, Ben (November 21, 2022). "Central Park Concert Draws Thousands to Cheer New York's Comeback". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "Leadership » UJA-Federation of New York". UJA-Federation of New York. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  27. ^ "NYU's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Announces The Members of Its First Advisory Board".
  28. ^ Digital, Daymarker. "Fuck Cancer". Fuck Cancer. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Fairfield County Look - Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation 2012". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  30. ^ "Re:FORM Art Auction - Offline". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  31. ^ Chagollan, Steve (8 June 2015). "Natalie Cole, Aloe Blacc to Perform at Songs of Hope Fundraiser". variety.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  32. ^ "Meet the Board". Archived from the original on 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  33. ^ a b "How Swizz Beatz & A Brush With Death Inspired Entertainment Lawyer Doug Davis to Give Back". Billboard.
  34. ^ "20 Music Industry Innovators". The Hollywood Reporter.
  35. ^ "The Music Industry's Top Lawyers 2016: Who Made the List?". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  36. ^ "Billboard's 2017 Top Music Lawyers Revealed". Billboard.
  37. ^ "Revealed: Billboard's 2018 Top Music Lawyers Led By Universal's Jeffrey Harleston". Billboard.
  38. ^ "Revealed: Billboard's 2019 Top Music Lawyers Led by BTS Counsel Debbie White of Loeb & Loeb". Billboard.
  39. ^ "Best Lawyers in the New York Area". issuu.com. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  40. ^ Doperalski, Daniel (2019-04-10). "Variety's 2019 Legal Impact Report". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  41. ^ "Top Rated New York, NY Entertainment & Sports Attorney | Doug Davis". Super Lawyers.
  42. ^ Saval, Malina. "Doug Davis Discusses Using Music for a Cause at Variety's Power of Law Event". Variety. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  43. ^ a b Stern, Alix (4 October 2019). "On Again, Off Again, and With a Nudge, Now On Forever". New York Times.
  44. ^ Saval, Malina (18 April 2018). "Music Attorney Doug Davis Combines Career Success With a Passion for Causes". Variety.
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