Jason Flom (born c. 1961) is an American music industry executive, podcaster and philanthropist. He is the founder of

Lava Records Lava Records (Lava Music, LLC) is an American record label owned by Jason Flom in partnership with Universal Music Group. Company history In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. For the next decade, he continu ...

, and was previously the chairman of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

Capitol Music Group Capitol Music Group (CMG) is an American front line umbrella label distributed by Universal Music Group which oversees handling of record labels assigned to UMG's Capitol Records division. It was inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog ...

. He is also an advocate for those who have allegedly been

wrongfully convicted A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

Career

In 1979, while a college freshman at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, Flom got a job as a trainee field merchandiser at

hanging record posters in stores. In 1981, he moved to the sales research team and, in 1983, into Atlantic's

A & R Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

department. At 20, Flom departed NYU to work full-time at Atlantic. Bands he signed at the time included

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

. In mid April 1994 Jason listened to Hootie & The Blowfish’s debut album and said it was “unreleasable” and tried to pass on one of the all time best selling albums. In 1995, Flom launched

in partnership with

. In 2004, Flom sold Lava Records to Atlantic Records Group, where he was named Chairman and CEO of the

Atlantic Records Group Atlantic Records Group LLC is an umbrella label owned by Warner Music Group. It oversees several labels assigned to its Atlantic Records unit. In total, the label group has nearly three hundred artists on its roster. History In 2004, Time Warner ...

. Flom was named Chairman and CEO of

in 2005. In 2007, he led a merger with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

to create the

, where he was named Chairman and CEO. In 2007 he signed

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

, among others. In 2008, Flom left Capitol Music Group to re-launch his own Lava Records label, this time in partnership with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. In 2013, Flom signed

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

to Lava, which released her debut single, " Royals". Flom founded Lava Publishing in 2014, which has published writing from

Evan Konrad Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhôḥ ...

, Maty Noyes, and all four members of

Greta Van Fleet Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012. It consists of Kiszka brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass guitar, keyboards); and Danny Wagner (drums). They were signed to Lava Records in M ...

. In 2018, Flom co-wrote a children's book called "Lulu is a Rhinoceros" with his daughter, Allison Flom - a book which follows a bulldog named Lulu who identifies as a rhino.

Philanthropy

In 1993, he joined the board of

Families Against Mandatory Minimums Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is an American nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1991 to challenge mandatory sentencing laws and advocate for criminal justice reform. FAMM promotes sentencing policies that give judges the d ...

and soon after became a founding Board Member of the

Innocence Project Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted, through the use of DNA testing and working to reform the criminal justice system to prevent futu ...

. As part of his work with the Innocence Project, Flom launched the podcast ''Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom'' in 2016. The podcast features interviews with men and women who have spent time in prison for crimes they claim they did not commit and other activists, advocates and experts. Notable guests on the podcast include

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

Amanda Knox Amanda Marie Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an American author, activist, and journalist. She spent almost four years in an Italian prison following her wrongful conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a fellow exchange student with ...

, Raymond Santana,

Brendan Dassey Brendan Ray Dassey (born October 19, 1989) is an American convicted murderer from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who at 16 confessed to being a party to first-degree murder, mutilation of a corpse, and second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced ...

, and

Rodney Reed Rodney Rodell Reed (born December 22, 1967) is an American death row inmate who was convicted on May 18, 1998 by a Bastrop County, Texas, Bastrop County District Court jury for the April 23, 1996 kidnapping, abduction, rape, and murder of Stacey ...

, among others. The podcast reached to #7 on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

charts within its first 2 weeks of release, and has since been downloaded over 10 million times. Mr. Flom also sits on the board of directors of th
Legal Action Center
which uses legal and policy strategies to fight discrimination, build health equity, and restore opportunity for people with criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV or AIDS. Flom received the "Torch of Liberty" award from the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

in 1999. He was named "Music Visionary of the Year" in 2000 by the UJA Federation. In 2004, The Correctional Association of New York honored him with their social justice award and in 2005 Flom received the T.J. Martell Foundation "Humanitarian Award." In 2008 Flom was honored as "Partner in Pursuit of Justice" by the Bronx Defenders and was awarded with City of Hope's "Ambassador Award." He received the Innocence Project's "Award for Freedom and Justice" in 2009 and the "Spirit of Life" award by Russell Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 2014. Flom was honored by The Innocence Project of New Orleans in 2017. At the 2022 Clio Awards, Flom was presented a Clio Music Impact Award for his work in criminal justice reform. 2021 saw Flom's company, Lava for Good, honored with a Webby Award win in the Crime & Justice category for ''Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions''. In 2022, Lava for Good won a Silver Anthem Award for Human & Civil Rights - Best Strategy.

References

External links

Lava Records Official WebsiteInterview, 20/20 Feb 2018Interview, Vice News March 2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flom, Jason American music industry executives Living people Wrongful conviction advocacy Year of birth missing (living people) The Bronx Defenders