Olivier Rosset (born July 14, 1971) is a French

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, founder of

Chronowax Chronowax was a record distribution and production company based in Paris launched by music entrepreneur Olivier Rosset in 1998. Chronowax started as a key anchor for the growing French rap scene. The company's roster would later represent more ...

and co-founder o
Official.fm
He also worked for V2 Music Group as A&R and general manager. In his early years, Rosset was also a professional

bmx BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

rider between 1990 and 1993.

Origins

Rosset was born and raised in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in a strong musical environment and began

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

at the age of 10. He, eventually turned

pro rider in 1991 and travelled regularly to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for contests and created strong creative connexions with American

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artists. In the early 90s, Rosset started to promote rap shows in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for artists such as

Lords of the Underground The Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.) is an American Hip hop music, hip-hop trio based in Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of Dupré Kelly (professionally known as DoItAll) (born January 14, 1971), Al'Terik Wardrick (professionally ...

Dj Cut Killer Anouar Hajoui ( ar, أنور حجوي, link=no, Latn, ar, Anwar Hājawiy; born 6 May 1971), better known as DJ Cut Killer or simply Cut Killer, is a Moroccan-born French DJ and record producer with a versatile repertoire of hip hop music. He ...

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...

Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

La Cliqua La Cliqua is a French hip hop group from the golden era of French Rap. Its members are Rocca, a bilingual French rapper with Colombian roots, Kohndo Kohndo (also known as ''Doc Odnok'', full name ''Kohndo Assogba'') is a French rapper and prod ...

Lunatic Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck". History The ter ...

before relocating to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he started working on music production and management in collaboration with artists such as

DJ Mehdi Mehdi Favéris-Essadi (20 January 1977 – 13 September 2011), better known by his stage name DJ Mehdi, was a French hip hop and house music producer and DJ. He was signed to the label Ed Banger Records, founded by his friend Pedro Winter, in ...

and

Music

Distribution & Production

In 1998, Rosset founded

, an innovative distribution and production company based in

started as a key actor for the growing French

scene. The company's roaster will later represent more than 300 labels such as

SubPop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...

and

Ed Banger Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alterna ...

and sold more than 30 million records between 1998 and 2005. In 2000,

got acquired by

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

V2 Music Group. from 2003 to 2005, Rosset played a pivotal role at V2 Music Group as an A&R and general manager. He signed and developed early careers of bands like TTC, The Knife,

BLoc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...

and Kourtrajmé.

Digital

In 2010, Rosset co-founde
Official.fm
an online music hosting and publishing platform including developing tools for

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

owners, media publishers, music professionals. artists such as

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

redbull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inclu ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Official.fm
got acquired by private investors in 2011. Prior t
Official.fm
Rosset also co-founded with

Jean-François Groff Jean-François Groff is a telecommunication engineer, and one of the key figures in the early development of the World Wide Web at CERN. He worked in close collaboration with Tim Berners-Lee, and helped define the HTTP protocol and HTML language. ...

, Fairtilizer, an audio publishing service.

Music/Technology/Brand advisor

Since 2011, Rosset is an active advisory board member and/or investor of innovative internet companies such a
Shuffler.fmUbicmedia
and had been consulting for brands like

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

...

Discography

* 1995 Double Pact "Impact N°3" (EP) * * 1996 Ideal J "O'riginal MC's sur une mission" (Album), (Night &Day) * * 1996

Shyheim Shyheim Dionel Franklin (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper from New York better known simply as Shyheim. He initially gained fame as a teenager, releasing his debut album ''AKA the Rugged Child'' at the age of 16 in 1994. He has sp ...

(Wu-Tang), Loucha, Raphael "Worldwide" (12") (Arsenal-Barclay) * * 1997

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year * 113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group * 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...

"truc de fou" (12") (mekslow) * * 1999

"les princes de la villes/Hold up" (12") (Small) * * 2000

"tonton du bled" (12") (Small) * * 2000

Alan Braxe Alain Quême (), professionally known as Alan Braxe (born 9 July 1971), is a French electronic music artist. Braxe is most widely known for his collaborative work with electronic bassist Fred Falke and Kris Menace, and for being part of the musi ...

"running" (12") * * 2001

Dj cam Laurent Daumail (born 1973), better known by his stage name DJ Cam, is a French record producer. Daumail's music is largely rooted in hip hop, combined with elements of jazz, dub, and ambient and composed using samples. Daumail first rose to prom ...

"honeymoon" (lp) (Inflammable) * * 2001

back catalogue re-issues (lps) (Def Jam) * * 2002 Mafia K-1Fry "pour ceux" (12"/Video) (Chr/Kourtrajme) * * 2002

Bright Eyes (band) Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst. It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis, arranger, composer and trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotati ...

"lifted or the story..." (lp) (Saddle creek) * * 2002

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as Soul Position, MHz Lega ...

"Deadringer" (lp) (defjux) * * 2003

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

"chutes too narrow" (lp) (subpop) * * 2003

Syd Matters Syd Matters is a French band fronted by composer Jonathan Morali. The other band members are Jean-Yves Lozac'h, Olivier Marguerit, Remi Alexandre and Clement Carle. The name Syd Matters comes from the slight modification of the names of two Pi ...

"A whisper and a sigh" (lp) (3rdside-v2) * * 2004 TTC "batards sensibles" (lp) (big dada-v2) * * 2004 The Knife "Heartbeat" (maxi) (Rabbit-v2) * * 2004 Didier Super "vaut mieux en rire..." (lp+videos) (v2) * * 2004

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

"Banquet" (ep) (wichita-v2) * * 2004

"Needy girl" (video) (Vice-v2) * * 2004

"She's in control) (lp) (Vice-v2) * * 2004 V/A "le nouveau rocknroll francais" ( lp) (chr-v2) * * 2004 Coco rosie "la maison de mon reve" (lp) (touch&go) * * 2004

Antony & The Johnsons Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to r ...

"I am a bird now" (secretly Canadian) * * 2004 V/A "le nouveau rocknroll francais" ( lp) (chr-v2) * * 2005 Kourtrajmé "des friandises pour ta bouches" (DVD) (v2)

References

* Sarah Perez (September 19, 2008)
Fairtilizer Launches Next-Gen Music Company
http://readwrite.com/ readwrite.com] *

(September 18, 2011)
REMEMBERING DJ MEHDI

o

memories of bmx {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosset, Olivier Living people French music industry executives French record producers 1971 births