Luke Wood

Luke Wood ex-president (2012-2020) of Beats Electronics,[1][2] a producer of audio products and equipment founded by musician Andre "Dr. Dre" Young and Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records.[3] Wood is also a Beats Electronics board member.[1] He is a former music industry executive and was a guitarist for the 1990s alt-rock band Sammy.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in American Studies in 1991 from Wesleyan University and currently sits on the Board of Trustees. [5]

For the English cricketer, see Luke Wood (cricketer).
Luke Wood
OccupationEx-President (2012-2020), Beats Electronics
Known forBeats Electronics, Former Music Industry Executive, Rock Guitarist

Early career

Prior to Beats Electronics, Wood was chief strategy officer of Interscope Geffen A&M[6] and president of its rock imprint DGC Records.[5] He oversaw the company’s traditional and digital business development, emerging business and revenue, and operational strategy.[5] As DGC’s president, Wood was responsible for all Artists & Repertoire (A&R) and marketing decisions and for developing and guiding the label’s artists including Weezer, All-American Rejects, Rise Against, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.[5] He also founded Tiny Evil Records.[5] Before working in A&R, Wood was involved in the firm’s marketing and publicity.[3]

On 1991, Wood served as a director of publicity for Geffen Records, where he represented bands including Nirvana and Sonic Youth.[5] He later served as director of marketing for Geffen Records and as vice president of A&R at DreamWorks Records.[5] While Wood was at Geffen in 1994, the company posted the first commercial MP3 file, an Aerosmith song released on CompuServe.[6]

Wood joined Interscope Records in 2003 (during its merger with DreamWorks) as executive vice president of A&R, where he developed label deals with Downtown Records and signed artists such as TV on the Radio, All Time Low, Yelawolf, Jimmy Eat World, Elliott Smith and AFI.[5]

Beats Electronics

Wood joined Beats Electronics in February 2011 as president and COO, working directly with Dr. Dre and Iovine on product development[3] and overseeing day-to-day operations at the company.[6] Wood was instrumental in Beats Electronics’ acquisition of subscription music service MOG in July 2012 which was later launched into Beats Music in January 2014.[7] Under Luke Wood’s leadership, in August 2014 Beats Electronics and Beats Music were officially acquired by Apple Inc. for $3 billion.[8] In April 2020, Wood stepped down as president of Beats Electronics and was succeeded by the head of Apple Music, Oliver Schusser.

Music career

Wood was guitarist for Sammy, a 1990s alt-rock band that released three albums: Debut Album (1994) and Kings of the Island Empire (1995), released by Smells Like Records, and Tales of Great Neck Glory (1996), released by Geffen/DGC Records. In September 2014, Wood was added to Fender Guitar’s Board of Directors.[9]

References
  1. "Matthew Costello Named COO of Beat Electronics". Billboard. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  2. Johnston, Lisa (6 November 2013). "Beats Names Costello COO; Wood Joins Board Of Directors". Twice. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. Halperin, Shirley (1 February 2011). "Luke Wood Named President and COO of Beats Headphones". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. Dishman, Lydia. "How Dr. Dre's Burgeoning Headphones Company Stays True To Its Bass-Thumping Roots". Innovation Agents. Fast Company. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  5. "Luke Wood". CrunchBase. TechCrunch. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  6. Copeland, Michael V. "Total Sonic Domination Is What Drives Beats: 11 Questions With Luke Wood". Business. WIRED. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. Peoples, Glenn. "Beats Electronics President and COO Luke Wood Talks About Mog Acquisition, Future of Beats". Billboard.Biz. Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  8. "Beats is now officially part of Apple". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  9. "Fender Adds Beats President to Board". Music Inc Magazine.
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