Biography
From the rock revolution to the digital revolution Dean Kay has successfully participated in the music industry as both a creator and business person.
He has been at the helm of some of the most highly respected and forward thinking music publishing companies in the world, first as COO of the Welk Music Group, a major independent company, then as President of the US division of the PolyGram International Publishing Group and now as President/CEO of his own precedent setting venture, Demi Music Corp. Kay's platform for reinventing the music publishing business and forging a new set of parameters designed to become the industry standards in the digital age.
Throughout his career, Dean has nurtured the careers of scores of songwriters, recording artists and music industry executives and has consummated innumerable acquisitions around the world including the purchase of over 100 music publishing catalogs involving more than 100,000 copyrights.
Along the way he has been the chief caretaker of the creative treasures of a diverse group of musical geniuses including Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole Porter, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Johnny Horton, Don Williams, Bob McDill, Wayland Holyfield, Ricky Skaggs and Rick Springfield to name a few.
Dean's creative roots, however, have always been the foundation for his business accomplishments. Prior to his involvement in publishing, he was a successful songwriter, having had many of his compositions recorded (including "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra), was a recording artist for RCA Victor Records, appeared daily as a featured entertainer on the nationally televised Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, performed live across the United States and produced dozens of phonograph records and radio and television commercials.
Dean's kinship with, and understanding of, the creative community facilitates a unique, symbiotic relationship between business and art which has been a distinguishing factor in his business endeavors throughout his entire career.
For the past several years, he has immersed himself in the workings of Internet with the intent of using his rich experience in the traditional music industry to create a bridge between the industry's past and its future. Today, Dean is a sought after speaker, consultant, and adviser regarding the use of music in the Internet space while simultaneously utilizing the ever expanding array of new technologies to enhance the opportunities of his current roster of talented creators.
Dean's daily news digest, The Dean's List, chronicles the rapid - and irreversible - transformation taking place in the entertainment industry and is read by songwriters, artists, prominent music and digital distribution industry professionals, politicians, government agencies, university students and members of the legal community throughout the world. The Dean's List and its sister web publication, The ASCAP Daily Brief (powered by The Dean's List) now reach 165,000 subscribers a day.
Dean has been a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) since 1989 and is co-chairman of ASCAP's New Technology Committee. He is also on the Board of the ASCAP Foundation. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of both the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and the Harry Fox Agency, Inc (HFA). Through the years he has been a member of many other music industry Boards including the Country Music Association (CMA), the Academy of County Music (ACM), the Association of Independent Music Publishers.
