Biographie
Kim Richards brings over three decades of expertise and a remarkable track record in the music, film, and television sectors. He has received more than 100 gold, platinum, and diamond records, alongside numerous Grammy and Emmy nominations. A highlight of his portfolio is Pink Floyd's "The Wall," certified diamond with 23 million copies sold, ranking as the third highest-grossing album ever, following the Eagles' Greatest Hits and Michael Jackson's Thriller. His video productions have earned accolades at both the New York and Cannes Film Festivals.
Richards' music industry journey began in his early teens when sound engineers at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles were so impressed by his talent and enthusiasm that they secured a union waiver, making him the youngest sound engineer to work there. He later became one of the youngest Y-1 union sound mixers admitted to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE, Local 695).
During the 1970s, while pursuing his undergraduate and law degrees, Richards worked in Productions and A&R at CBS Records and RSO Records. In 1980, he took on the role of Special (music) Projects Producer for ABC Television in Hollywood. The next year, he joined Allied Artists as Vice President of Productions, quickly rising to Chairman and CEO by the mid-1980s.
A voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Richards has also served in advisory roles for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM). As part of the RIAA technology committee, he played a key role in setting standards for and introducing Compact Discs (CDs), despite industry resistance to replacing vinyl with a new digital format requiring entirely new hardware.
While critics pointed out that cassettes had nearly eliminated 8-track sales and that the smaller size of CDs could reduce shelf visibility, Richards and a slim majority on the advisory board argued that CDs were an essential technological advancement for the industry. He devised a compromise involving oversized packaging to ensure record companies maintained the same level of advertising visibility previously offered by 8-track tapes.
Throughout his career, Richards has collaborated with thousands of artists across diverse genres, including Pink Floyd, Andy Gibb, Queen, Styx, Renegade, ELO, The Spinners, David Bowie, David Naughton, Robbie Dupree, Luis Cardenas, Iron Butterfly, Exodus, Mike Pinera, Brad Delp (Boston), Alice Cooper, Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot), Leslie McKeown, The Osmond Brothers, Donny Osmond, Andy Williams, The Fifth Dimension, Mick Jagger, Neil Diamond, Jermaine Jackson, Carole King, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Blues Image, Della Reese, Glen Campbell, Paul Anka, Tom Jones, Bay City Rollers, and Engelbert Humperdinck.
In early 2008, Richards rejoined Allied Artists International, Inc., the global parent company of Allied Artists Pictures, Allied Artists Music Group, Allied Artists Home Video, and numerous Allied Artists entertainment ventures worldwide.
