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Charles Koppelman dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 28 November 2022
Veteran US music publishing and record label exec Charles Koppelman has died, aged 82.
In a statement on Facebook, his daughter, Jenny Koppelman Hutt, said: “With a very heavy heart, we want to share that our beloved father, pop-pop and best friend Charles Koppelman passed away peacefully earlier today surrounded by his entire family. His larger than life presence will be with us forever”.
Originally a singer in the group The Ivy Three, Koppelman was hired by Don Kirshner to be a songwriter at his Aldon Music company. Drawn more to the business side of things, he shifted roles after Aldon was sold to Columbia Pictures in 1963, becoming Director of Screen Gems/Columbia Music – the company formed by the merger.
Two years label, Koppelman left to form his own company, Koppelman/Rubin Associates, alongside his former Ivy Three bandmate Don Rubin. One of their earliest signings was The Lovin Spoonful.
In the early 1970s, he moved to CBS Records, where he held a number of roles and signed acts including Billy Joel, Journey and Phoebe Snow. He eventually became General Manager Of Worldwide Publishing for the company. Then in 1975, he founded The Entertainment Company with Marty Bandier, working with artists including Diana Ross, Dolly Parton and Cher.
A decade later, in 1986, Koppelman and Bandier founded SBK Entertainment World, in order to buy a catalogue of 250,000 songs owned by CBS. Then in 1989, they sold that company to EMI for $300 million. The pair were given their own label, SBK records, while Koppelman became Chair of EMI Music Publishing, and Bandier was named Vice Chair. Koppelman later also became CEO Of EMI Records Group North America.
In later years, he worked outside of the music industry, taking roles at Steve Madden Ltd and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
