Jeff Ayeroff graduated from
USC Gould School of Law in 1971, and worked as an Entertainment Attorney before joining the ranks at
A&M Records as an assistant to then-President of the label,
Gil Friesen, in 1974. He became A&M's Director of Product Management & Creative Services in 1977 followed by Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services in 1978. At A&M, Ayeroff developed visual campaigns for
The Police,
Peter Frampton,
The Carpenters, and
Supertramp, to name a few. Beginning in 1983, his duties as senior vice president of
Warner Bros. Records, included overseeing marketing, advertising, creative direction and music videos for artists such as:
Madonna,
Steve Winwood,
ZZ Top,
Don Henley,
Prince, and
Dire Straits. Ayeroff earned two
Grammy Award nominations in the category of
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1985 and 1986 for his work with
A-ha and
Talking Heads. He sensed massive potential in the fledgling A-ha and convinced executives at
Warner Records to create the iconic music video for "
Take On Me", which he himself had conceived. His creative direction on the
Stop Making Sense album cover was also included in the
Museum of Modern Art exhibition "Making Modern Music: Design For Ear and Eye." Ayeroff left
Warner Records in 1987 and, along with partner Jordan Harris, opened the U.S. label offices for
Virgin Records after an invitation from company owner
Richard Branson. Ayeroff and Harris signed and marketed an artist roster at Virgin U.S. which included
Paula Abdul,
Janet Jackson,
Lenny Kravitz,
The Smashing Pumpkins and others. During his time at Virgin Records, Ayeroff also founded the progressive-aligned political organization
Rock the Vote to help increase voter turnout among voters ages 18 to 24. Through alliances with other Entertainment companies, such as
MTV, Ayeroff created commercial and print campaigns with contemporary music artists to appeal to a young voter demographic. The organization supported the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly referred to as the "motor voter" bill, which expanded access to voter registration. It was signed into law by President
Bill Clinton. The law requires state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or public assistance. Rock The Vote also protested against the
Parents Music Resource Center who, at the time, began advocating for warning labels to be added on covers of music releases that contained profane lyrics. It was reported in 2016 that Rock The Vote had registered more than 6 million voters online. In August 1993, both Ayeroff & Harris resigned from Virgin Records after the company was sold to
Thorn EMI. Industry sources said the resignations were because of a management logjam at the company and the subsequent erosion of their duties. Ayeroff and Harris went on to co-found
Work Group in 1995, a West Coast-based subsidiary of
Sony Music, where they developed the careers of
Jennifer Lopez,
Jamiroquai,
Fiona Apple, Ayeroff was hired by
Apple Records in 2000, as a key consultant to oversee the marketing of
1, a career-spanning retrospective of
The Beatles which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide to date. Returning to the
Warner Records in 2001 as the label's chief creative director and vice chairman, he oversaw the visual campaigns for
Josh Groban,
My Chemical Romance,
Green Day, and more. Ayeroff left Warner Bros. in 2004 at the conclusion of his contract. In 2008, Ayeroff became co-CEO (along with Jon Rubin) of
Steve Bing's boutique label imprint
Shangri-La Music. Ayeroff and Rubin also began ArtistsFirst, a creative and marketing consulting agency, which has launched international humanitarian activism with its music. == Selected Credits ==