Steven Schnur
Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing
President, Artwerk Music Group
Electronic Arts
As Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing for Electronic Arts, Steven
Schnur is responsible for the pursuit, creation and continuous development of
the global vision for music in EA games. In only seven years, Schnur’s
unprecedented innovations in bringing together the worlds of music and gaming
led The Washington Post to call him “The Clive Davis of the videogame industry.”
He has brought established stars, breakthrough new artists and award-winning
composers to such top-selling EA franchises as Madden NFL, FIFA, Need For
Speed, The Sims and more, changing the industry’s perception of video games
from simple licensing opportunities to a series of groundbreaking co-marketing
partnerships, as well as EA’s now-essential role in launching artists’ careers. His
EA TRAX initiative resulted in the first RIAA certified Platinum video game
soundtrack with NBA Live 2003, and established the collaborative partnership
with legendary hip-hop lifestyle company Def Jam to produce the landmark Def
Jam Vendetta. In 2005, he created EA Recordings, a digital record label focused
on the distribution of EA’s enormous collection of scores and songs. In 2008, he
formed Artwerk Music Group, a joint venture with Nettwerk, through which EA
now directly signs, develops and launches artists for publishing, master
recordings, sync deals, distribution and beyond.
Prior to joining EA in 2001, he held various executive positions with the Warner
Music Group, MTV, EMI and BMG, and has supervised and produced music for
films including CRUEL INTENTIONS and MISS CONGENIALITY. Mr. Schnur
has been profiled by the New York Times, London Financial Times, and CNN,
was selected as ‘One Of The Most Creative People In Entertainment’ by
Entertainment Weekly, both “One of the Most Powerful People in the Music
Business” and “One of the Top 20 Power Players in Digital Entertainment” by
Billboard Magazine and “One of The Top 25 Power Players in the new
Hollywood” by The Wall Street Journal. He is an Associate Professor of Music
Business Studies at Belmont University, has contributed to the Berkeley School
Of Music textbook The Future Of Music, and is a frequent guest speaker on
international youth culture and the entertainment industry.
Steve Schnur is also a board member of City Of Hope, a voting member of the
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), is a board member of
the Country Music Association, and currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the
Grammy Foundation.