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64-449: In October 1994, four years after David Geffen sold his former record label Geffen Records to MCA Music Entertainment , he joined Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to form DreamWorks SKG. SKG stood for S pielberg, K atzenberg & G effen. The three partners, mainly Geffen along with Mo Ostin , his son Michael and Lenny Waronker later launched the subsidiary record label DreamWorks Records in early 1996. Rufus Wainwright

128-423: A Tumblr post, saying to have been trying to buy the masters for years and described Braun as an "incessant, manipulative bully". Swift also said Borchetta's loyalty was only through contracts, and that he knew "exactly what he was doing" when making this deal with Ithaca Holdings. Swift expressed that these men were "controlling a woman who did not want to be associated with them". The dispute escalated throughout

192-466: A talent agent . He learned about showbiz politics while reading the memos he delivered between agents. In order to obtain the talent agent job, he had to prove he was a college graduate. As he later reported in an interview, he claimed in his job application at WMA that he had graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Because he worked in the mailroom, Geffen was able to intercept

256-497: A $ 100 million deal with ABC. In 2008, Geffen left DreamWorks. In 1995, he donated $ 5 million towards UCLA 's Westwood Playhouse. The theater was renamed the Geffen Playhouse . According to Forbes ("The 400 Richest Americans of 2004") and other sources, Geffen has pledged to give whatever money he makes from now on to charity, although he has not specified which charities or the manner of his giving. In 2002, he announced

320-547: A $ 200 million unrestricted endowment for the School of Medicine at UCLA. The School thereafter was named David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA . On December 13, 2012, UCLA announced that Geffen had donated another $ 100 million in addition to his 2002 donation of $ 200 million, making him the largest individual benefactor for the UC system . The latest donation funds the full cost of attendance for up to 30 students per year, beginning with

384-430: A boy fishing and sitting on a moon crescent. Henry Rollins (both as a spoken-word artist and with Rollins Band ), Tamar Braxton , Nelly Furtado , George Michael , Randy Newman , Morphine , Elliott Smith , Eels , comedian/actor Chris Rock , Powerman 5000 , Papa Roach and others were also signed to the label. The label was presided over by Lenny Waronker and Mo Ostin , who had run Warner Bros. Records until

448-491: A career in music. After playing in several rock bands, he left California and moved to Nashville with his father. There, Borchetta played bass in a country band and spent his days working in his father's mail room promoting country singles. After 8 months on the road, he left his band since they were not finding success. While working with his father, Borchetta learned about the music industry and how it operates, and used this knowledge to pursue jobs at record labels. In 1985, he got

512-636: A division in Nashville, Tennessee for country music acts. Among the artists signed to the DreamWorks Nashville division were Jessica Andrews , Emerson Drive , Toby Keith, Mike Walker , Randy Travis , Jimmy Wayne , and Darryl Worley . After DreamWorks Records' dissolution, former executive Scott Borchetta formed Big Machine Records in late 2005, signing several country music acts to the label. Borchetta also signed Show Dog Records in partnership with Toby Keith, although Keith dropped his association with

576-536: A gift of $ 75 million to support the school's new facilities in the Manhattanville neighborhood, north of Columbia's main campus. In recognition of his donation, the East Building will be renamed David Geffen Hall when opened in 2022. Geffen was initially defensive about his sexuality. During the 1970s he dated Cher and spent 18 months in a relationship with her. They began their relationship in 1973, while Cher

640-683: A job at MTM Records, where he stayed for three years. He then spent two years working as an independent promoter before working in promotion and artist development at several other record labels, including MCA Nashville Records , DreamWorks Nashville and Universal Music Nashville . In 2005, Borchetta left Universal Music Nashville to start his own independent record label, Big Machine Records . Borchetta disagreed with how major labels run their business, and felt that he and his friend Neil Adams could run his own label more efficiently than what he had seen. Borchetta signed his first artist, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (whom he had met in 2004) when she

704-501: A letter from UCLA to WMA which stated that he had not graduated from UCLA. He modified the letter to show that he had attended and graduated, then submitted it to WMA. His colleagues in the mailroom included Elliot Roberts , who later became Geffen's partner at Asylum Records . In 1968, Geffen left WMA and became a talent agent for Ashley-Famous Agency . In 1969, he was executive vice president and talent agent for Creative Management Associates . At this time he also started working as

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768-470: A new label, but at the time Lennon stated that Geffen was the only one with enough confidence in him to agree to a deal without hearing the record first. Yoko Ono , Lennon's wife and partner, stated that Geffen was the only label head to pay attention to her. In December 1980, Lennon was murdered and Double Fantasy became a massive seller. Over the years Geffen Records/DGC has released recordings by artists including Olivia Newton-John , Asia , Siouxsie and

832-515: A new, international television format that would "uncover, develop, and promote pop culture's next musical superstars". The new series, The Launch , premiered in January 2018, with Borchetta as executive producer. In his youth, Borchetta competed in motocross and quarter midget racing in Southern California. He has said in an interview that he became interested in racing after attending

896-403: A personal manager and was immediately successful with Laura Nyro and Crosby, Stills and Nash . When Geffen was engaged in the process of looking for a record deal for young Jackson Browne , Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun suggested that Geffen start his own record label. Geffen co-founded Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts after Geffen was unable to get Jackson Browne

960-469: A record deal anywhere else. The name Asylum was chosen because of the owners' reputations for signing artists who would struggle to find a record company that would contract with them. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records at this time. Asylum became a generator of the Southern California folk-rock sound and signed artists such as Eagles , Joni Mitchell , Bob Dylan , Tom Waits , Linda Ronstadt , Warren Zevon , Judee Sill , and JD Souther . Later in

1024-473: A result of that trip, Mitchell wrote " Free Man in Paris " about Geffen. Geffen can be heard on Barbra Streisand 's The Broadway Album , released in 1985. The track " Putting It Together " features Geffen, Sydney Pollack , and Ken Sylk portraying the voices of record company executives talking to Streisand. Geffen is the subject of several books, most recently The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells

1088-402: A unit merger with sister label, Capitol Records (which they acquired from now-defunct EMI in 2012). As a result, in today's time, Geffen, Interscope and Capitol now operate autonomously under a newly built music label unit, Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Despite the fact that Geffen founded and owned Geffen Records, former president Eddie Rosenblatt, who died on July 17, 2024 (aged 89),

1152-471: Is an American record executive and founder of the Big Machine Label Group . He started the label in 2005 with Taylor Swift as its first signed artist and 13 employees, he served as its president/CEO, encompassing four imprints: Big Machine Records, Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment , The Valory Music Co. and Nash Icon Records. In 2015, he became an in-house mentor on American Idol in

1216-503: Is the founder of London-based Fintech Advisory Ltd, a financial house that specializes in buying Third World debt . The sale made No. 5, 1948 the most expensive painting ever sold (outstripping the $ 134 million paid in October 2006 for Gustav Klimt 's portrait Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I , purchased by cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder ). Wealth-X reported in June 2013 that Geffen owns

1280-630: The 1970 California 500 . After a dormancy as he focused on music, he began racing legends cars in 1995 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway as part of the Summer Legends Shootout Series founded by country music group Brooks & Dunn . In 1999, he moved to the NASCAR SuperTruck Weekly Series and won three consecutive championships from 2003 to 2005, and also raced in the Valvoline Cup Truck Series. He

1344-606: The COVID-19 pandemic , Geffen drew backlash for posting on Instagram that he and a 45-member crew were self-isolating in the Grenadines on the Rising Sun . David Geffen has been ranked the most polluting individual American and second most polluting individual in the world, largely due to his yachts. Geffen is a keen collector of American artists' work, including Jackson Pollock , Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning . According to

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1408-468: The San Fernando Valley of Southern California in the 1970s. His father, Mike Borchetta, worked in record promotions for several Los Angeles record labels, including Capitol Records , RCA Records and Mercury Records . In 1978, when Borchetta was 16, his father moved to Nashville to start his own independent record promotion company. Interested in life beyond Los Angeles, Borchetta began to pursue

1472-572: The Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice for insider trading of options on Activision Blizzard just three days before Microsoft's announced acquisition. Diller denied the allegations and claimed it was "simply a lucky bet". In 2010, Geffen was a recipient of Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 2011, Geffen was awarded with

1536-738: The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association . He won the SVRA Group 6 national championship in 2020. In June 2020, Borchetta debuted in the Trans-Am Series TA2 class at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course . A year later, when Trans-Am joined the IndyCar Series at the new Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Big Machine Records assumed naming rights of the weekend while Borchetta entered the Trans-Am support event. Borchetta acts as

1600-581: The UCLA medical school , which is named after him. In June 2021, Geffen gave $ 150 million to the Yale School of Drama . This gift allowed the drama school to eliminate tuition for all students enrolled in master’s, doctoral, and certificate programs. The school was renamed the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. In September 2021, Columbia Business School announced that David Geffen had made

1664-562: The United States . His older brother Mitchell (born Mischa) Geffen (1933–2006) was an attorney who attended UCLA Law School and later settled in Encino, California . Geffen graduated from Brooklyn's New Utrecht High School in 1960 with a "barely passing 66 average". He attended the University of Texas at Austin for a semester, and then Brooklyn College , before again dropping out. He then moved to Los Angeles, California to find his way in

1728-440: The "most famous Malibu battle" for beach access. The Coastal Commission later contacted the state transportation department without receiving a response to ask if the curb cuts that prevented public parking were valid, amid rumors that Geffen had installed four fake garage doors. On March 9, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Geffen, Barry Diller and Diller's stepson, Alex Von Furstenberg , were being investigated by

1792-498: The 1970s Geffen left Asylum, which was later acquired by Atlantic's parent company, Warner Communications , and merged with Elektra Records in 1972 to become Elektra/Asylum Records. The label was revived in 2004 as an urban music operation, signing hip-hop artists such as Waka Flocka Flame, Cam’ron, Gucci Mane, Paul Wall, Mike Jones and Bun B. Geffen remained in charge until December 1975, when he went to work as vice chairman of Warner Bros. film studios. He then retired and in 1977

1856-758: The Banshees , Elton John , Cher , Sonic Youth , Aerosmith , Whitesnake , XTC , Peter Gabriel , Weezer , Lone Justice , Blink-182 , Guns N' Roses , Nirvana , the Simpsons , Lifehouse , Tyketto , Pat Metheny , Sloan , the Stone Roses and Neil Young . The label had been distributed by Warner Bros. Records since its inception, but in 1990 the label was sold to MCA Records with Geffen receiving shares in MCA worth $ 550 million. A year later, Matsushita Electric acquired MCA and paid Geffen $ 670 million. Geffen continued to run

1920-623: The Class of 2017. In 2015, Geffen pledged $ 100 million toward renovation of what was then called the Avery Fisher Hall, part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. His gift, which amounted to about 20% of the hall's renovation costs, gave him naming rights in perpetuity over the building, now known as David Geffen Hall . In December 2020, Geffen pledged to donate $ 46 million to

1984-671: The Geffen Film Company in 1986 and co-founded DreamWorks SKG (with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg ) in 1994. David Geffen was born in Borough Park, Brooklyn , New York, to Abraham Geffen and Batya Volovskaya (1909–1988). Geffen's mother owned a clothing store in Borough Park called Chic Corsets by Geffen. Both of his parents were Jewish immigrants who met in British Mandatory Palestine and then moved to

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2048-607: The Lincoln Project , a Republican-led super PAC that opposed the re-election of Donald Trump and the Republican Senators who supported Trump in the 2020 election. Until 2017, Geffen owned a Malibu compound on Carbon Beach . In 1983 Geffen received permits from the California Coastal Commission to build a Cape Cod-style compound over multiple beachfront lots in exchange for creating a public pathway to

2112-682: The New Hollywood (2001) by Tom King, who initially had Geffen's cooperation, but later did not. An earlier biography was The Rise and Rise of David Geffen (1997) by Stephen Singular. He is also a featured character in Mailroom: Hollywood History From The Bottom Up by David Rensen, in Mansion On The Hill by Fred Goodman, in Hotel California by Barney Hoskyns, and in several books about Michael Ovitz . He

2176-449: The November 2008 election . Proposition 8 would have amended California's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage . California's voters passed Proposition 8 by a margin of 52.24% to 47.76%. Decisions in federal courts ultimately invalidated California's prohibition of same-sex marriage. See 2008 California Proposition 8 § Legal challenges . Geffen, among other wealthy Democrats, donated to

2240-539: The President's Merit Award for "indelible contributions to the music industry" from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the 53rd Grammy Awards . While Geffen has produced music, he has also been the subject of several songs, documentaries and books. Joni Mitchell and Geffen were close friends and, in the early 1970s, made a trip to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Robertson's wife, Dominique. As

2304-524: The beach. He failed to build that pathway, and in 2002, filed a lawsuit to block public access altogether. After a protracted three-year legal battle, Geffen reached a settlement with the Coastal Commission, granting the public a nine-foot-wide easement to the beach and reimbursing the state and non-profit groups $ 300,000 in legal fees. The pathway was opened on May 30, 2005, to national and international media coverage. The controversy has been called

2368-667: The chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Paul Schimmel : "There's no collection that has a better representation of post-war American art than David Geffen's." In October 2006, Geffen sold two paintings by Jasper Johns and a De Kooning from his collection for a combined sum of $ 143.5 million. On November 3, 2006, The New York Times reported that Geffen had sold Pollock 's 1948 painting No. 5, 1948 from his collection for $ 140 million (£73.35 million) to Mexican financier David Martinez . Martinez

2432-744: The chief promoter of the event, which moved the Nashville Superspeedway from 2024 onward after development eliminated the downtown-Nashville street circuit. Big Machine Racing, a NASCAR Xfinity Series team owned by Borchetta, began competition in 2021 with Jade Buford as the driver for 32 of the 33 races, with Danny Bohn running the other. In 2022, Borchetta fielded his car for a variety of drivers, these being Marco Andretti , Jade Buford, Ross Chastain , Austin Dillon , Ty Dillon , Kaz Grala , Parker Kligerman , Tyler Reddick , Nick Sanchez , and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. . In 2023, Kligerman returned to

2496-541: The entertainment business. He attended Santa Monica College (then known as Santa Monica City College) in Santa Monica, California , but soon left. Geffen attributed his challenges in school to dyslexia . After a brief appearance as an extra in the 1961 film The Explosive Generation , Geffen began his entertainment career in 1964 as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency (WMA), where he quickly became

2560-416: The entertainment industry. In 1980, he founded his eponymous record label and recruited Warner Bros. Records executive Ed Rosenblatt as president. The Geffen label's meteoric rise to prominence within the year proved a bittersweet success. Geffen's first artist to sign on was Donna Summer , who was anxious to leave Casablanca / PolyGram Records . Geffen shortly after released her The Wanderer album,

2624-464: The label before leaving Geffen Records in 1995. In late 1996 after being sold to Seagram , MCA reincorporated into its subsidiary name, Universal Studios, Inc. , while MCA Music Entertainment was renamed Universal Music Group . The Geffen label was restructured under the recently renamed company. On December 10, 1998, Seagram acquired PolyGram for $ 10.6 billion; the latter's music division was merged into UMG, thus, on New Year's Day 1999, Geffen Records

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2688-589: The latter label in 2005. Meanwhile, Borchetta signed Taylor Swift to Big Machine Records. The latter label merged with Universal South Records to become Show Dog-Universal Music . David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor . In music, he co-founded Asylum Records (with Elliot Roberts ) in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and co-founding DreamWorks Records (with Mo Ostin , Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker ) in 1996. In film, he founded

2752-472: The lead single of which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 , and the album certified gold. Casablanca countered by releasing more singles off her 1979 Bad Girls album such as the song Walk Away and a similarly named hits compilation to compete, but by then New Wave sound was dominating the airwaves. The November 1980 release of John Lennon 's album Double Fantasy seems an impressive feat for

2816-468: The mid-1990s. Ostin stated at the time: "What you find in the record business is there is more and more a trend toward corporate control, corporate values, and here you’re dealing with a creatively oriented operation." Geffen Records distributed DreamWorks Records until 1999, when Interscope Records took over distribution duties (meanwhile, as Interscope and Geffen switched international distribution to Polydor Records , DreamWorks Records followed suit). It

2880-419: The most valuable private art collection in the world, and estimated its worth at $ 1.1B at the time. In February 2016, Bloomberg News reported that Geffen had sold De Kooning's 1955 oil painting, Interchange , for $ 300 million, and Pollock's 1948 painting, Number 17A , for $ 200 million, both to hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin . Geffen is a donor to Democratic Party candidates and organizations, and

2944-523: The night before. "Taylor and I remained on very good terms when she told me she wanted to speak with other record companies and see what was out there for her. I never got in her way and wished her well." He said that she had the opportunity to own not just her recordings, but everything else. In its 14th season , Borchetta became the senior mentor of the reality music competition American Idol . In February 2017, Canadian media company Bell Media announced that it had partnered with Borchetta to develop

3008-538: The principal executive at DreamWorks Records, said: "Despite the challenges of the music business today, Universal is acquiring a wonderful asset and the sale will assure the strongest possible future for our artists". Under the new deal, DreamWorks Records was placed within the Interscope Geffen A&;M label, under the direction of Jimmy Iovine . After the finalisation of the label's sale to UMG on January 9, 2004, 100 employees were laid off at DreamWorks, as it

3072-534: The program's 14th and 15th seasons. He is also a sports car racing driver in the Trans-Am Series and owner of NASCAR Xfinity Series team Big Machine Racing . Before Big Machine, Borchetta was a race car driver and executive at the Nashville divisions of DreamWorks Records and MCA Records as well as MTM Records . Borchetta was born in Burbank, California to parents Shari and Mike Borchetta. He grew up in

3136-474: The richest people in the entertainment industry. In February 2020, Geffen sold his Beverly Hills estate to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $ 165 million, a price believed to be the highest ever paid for a home in a California real estate transaction. In June 2020, Geffen purchased Casey Wasserman 's Beverly Hills estate for $ 68 million. In 2007, Geffen bought a half-share in friend Larry Ellison 's luxury yacht Rising Sun , then at 138 metres (453 ft)

3200-735: The sixth largest motor yacht in the world. After Ellison ordered a new and more compact 91 metres (299 ft) yacht, he sold his remaining half share in Rising Sun to Geffen in 2010. In 2009, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich agreed to a divorce settlement with his wife Irina that resulted in her taking ownership of the 115-metre (377 ft) yacht Pelorus . Approached on Geffen's behalf by broker Merle Wood, Geffen bought Pelorus in 2011 for $ 300 million. Later that year Geffen sold Pelorus to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for €214 million, way below its former price. During

3264-670: The time, was under leadership of Jimmy Iovine . In 2003, Universal dissolved MCA Records and DreamWorks Records ; MCA president Jay Boberg had resigned the prior spring while UMG (in October) acquired the latter label from Geffen's film label, DreamWorks Pictures , with rosters from both labels transitioning to Geffen Records. The acquisitions and later dissolutions of both imprints caused 120 staff layoffs, while some remained under Geffen; few went to work for its parent, Interscope. In February 2024, Universal Music Group reorganized Geffen Records and its parent label, Interscope Records, through

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3328-520: The year, both parties claiming to be owed millions of dollars from the other. Swift accused Braun and Borchetta of holding her back from being able to perform her older songs during her American Music Awards for her Artist of the Decade award, as well as for her Netflix documentary, Miss Americana . On the same day Swift posted on her Tumblr account, Borchetta went on Big Machine Records and posted his own statement. He said he forewarned Swift through text

3392-509: Was 14 years old. Swift went on to become Big Machine's most successful artist and win the label two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year for the albums Fearless at the 2010 Grammy Awards and 1989 at the 2016 Grammy Awards . On June 30, 2019, Ithaca Holdings, run by Scooter Braun , bought Big Machine Records, with Borchetta staying on as CEO. This transaction included the masters of Swift's first six albums. Swift voiced her frustrations in

3456-671: Was acknowledged to have been the one who led Geffen Records during its glory years in the 1980s and 1990s. Through the Geffen Film Company , Geffen produced dark-tinged comedies such as the remake of Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Risky Business (1983) and Beetlejuice (1988). Geffen was the Broadway backer for the musicals Dreamgirls and Cats . In 1994, Geffen co-founded the DreamWorks SKG studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg . In 1995, DreamWorks signed

3520-490: Was an early financial supporter of President Bill Clinton . In 2001, he had a quarrel with the former president over Clinton's decision not to pardon Leonard Peltier , on whose behalf he had lobbied the President. Geffen was an early supporter of Barack Obama ’s presidential campaign and raised $ 1.3 million for Obama in a Beverly Hills fundraiser. Along with other Hollywood figures including Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt , Geffen donated to oppose Proposition 8 in

3584-429: Was announced on November 11, 2003, that Universal Music Group (the former MCA Music Entertainment, and parent of Interscope, Geffen, and Polydor) reached an agreement to acquire DreamWorks Records from DreamWorks for "about $ 100 million". The purchase came at a time when the music business was "going through major changes" as it struggled to "counter falling sales and the impact of unofficial online music sales". Mo Ostin,

3648-457: Was folded into Geffen Records . Notably, the label's A&R staff were kept on to the label. Polly Anthony joined Jordan Schur as Geffen co-heads in 2004. Its country music division, DreamWorks Nashville, which began in June 1997, remained operational until September 1, 2005, when it was shut down by Universal Music Group Nashville following the departure of the label's biggest star, Toby Keith . Between 1997 and 2005, DreamWorks also operated

3712-490: Was from this moment that Geffen became a media celebrity. Eventually, Cher left him for Gregg Allman . Geffen eventually came out as gay in 1992. In May 2007, Out magazine ranked Geffen first in its list of the 50 "Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America". Geffen reportedly married former go-go dancer Donovan Michaels in 2023. As of October 2023, Geffen has an estimated net worth of $ 9.1 billion, making him one of

3776-539: Was inducted into the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame in 2020; his SuperTruck crew chief James Buttrey was enshrined a year later. In March 2021, Borchetta was named executive advisor to the Hall of Fame. Borchetta befriended NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham while filming a 2014 episode of Evernham's television series AmeriCarna , and Evernham invited him to drive a 1972 Chevrolet Corvette in

3840-466: Was informed (erroneously) that he had cancer. During his retirement period he spent a short time (the fall of 1978 and spring of 1979) teaching a noncredit seminar on the music industry and arts management at Yale University , where he featured classroom guests Jackson Browne and Paul Simon . In 1980 a new medical diagnosis revealed the error in the original diagnosis and Geffen was given a clean bill of health, whereupon he decided to return to working in

3904-443: Was merged with its sister label, Interscope Records , and PolyGram subsidiary, A&M Records , to become Interscope Geffen A&M Records . Its division, DGC Records, would be absorbed into Geffen soon after, but Beck and Sonic Youth did not fulfill their contracts with the sublabel until 2003. After years of low sales and profits, Geffen laid off or vacated 110 workers, but later recovered under Interscope's supervision, which at

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3968-486: Was still married to Sonny Bono , but their marriage was already ending. Geffen helped Cher gain independence in her career, since she was dependent on Sonny for some business contracts that Geffen would later call "slave labor." In early 1974, Cher's divorce became public and was heavily covered by the media, and it was at this time that Cher and Geffen made their first appearance together, at the Grammy Awards ceremony. It

4032-519: Was the first artist to be signed to the new record label, in early 1996. The logo for the label was the last project completed by artist Roy Lichtenstein . The distinctive design, incorporating a musical note in the artist's trademark "dream balloon," debuted on the packaging for Beautiful Freak , the first album from Los Angeles-based band Eels , and the second release from the record company. The record label's first release, George Michael 's Older album, had featured DreamWorks Pictures ' logo of

4096-488: Was the subject of an American Masters PBS television documentary titled Inventing David Geffen . The documentary was directed by Susan Lacy and was first broadcast on 20 November 2012. In the first series of The West Wing , the actor Bob Balaban played a character reported to be a thinly-veiled version of Geffen, as he pressured a sitting President to come out more strongly for Gay rights in America . Scott Borchetta Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962)

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