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Les
Garland's success as a business executive has always been fueled by his
passion for music. His career began as a rock radio and television
personality. He went on to become one of radios most influential
programmers, exerting even more influence on the 80's as one of the
co-founders and originators of both MTV: Music Television and VH-1,
where he served as MTV Networks Senior Executive VP. In the 90s, Garland
played an essential role in the worldwide rollout of the interactive
music channel, The Box. From there, Garland went on to found
sputnik7.com as its President. The site recently received the 2001 Webby
Award for best music site, and has been awarded the Invision Award of
Excellence in Entertainment, a Gold Invision for Best Entertainment
Streaming Media Site, the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, and was a 2000 Webby
Award nominee. A Clio-award recipient, Garland is continuing to define
his career by remaining on the front edge of popular mass entertainment
through projects under his consulting company, AfterPlay Entertainment.
Before sputnik7.com, Garland was Exec/VP at The Box music network,
responsible for all Entertainment Programming, Promotion, Ad Sales and
Marketing, overseeing the roll-out of the interactive music channel from
a base of 200,000 homes at its inception to more than 30 million.
AfterPlay consultation clients have included Alliance Entertainment
Corp., AOL-Latin America, Avevo (formerly OnRadio), Chalfont/Internet
Plc. (Smartflash), Cisneros Television, City of Miami Beach, The College
Television Network, Communications Equity Associates, Enigma Digital
(acquired by Clear Channel Communications), where Garland served on the
board of directors, Europes Entertainment One, Medalist, SLS
Loudspeakers, and Turnberry Associates. Mr. Garland was a co-founder of
Quantum Media along with Robert Pittman, following their years together
at MTV. His is the DJ voice-over in the Jefferson Starship 80s
number-one-song We Built This City on Rock N Roll. In the late 90s,
Garland produced the PEPSI-COLA Radio Campaign in association with BBDO,
featuring such artists as Luscious Jackson, Notorious B.I.G., the Fugees,
PM Dawn and Patra. He headed up West Coast Operations for Atlantic
Records prior to joining Mr. Pittman in 1981 to launch MTV: Music
Television and VH-1.
Recognized as one of Americas top radio programming executives, Garland
was instrumental in merging radios freeform FM sound with contemporary
music formats that led to consecutive Radio Station of the year and
Programmer of the Year awards at RKO Radios KFRC/San Francisco.
CKLW/Detroit, WRKO/Boston and K-100 FM in Los Angeles were among the
radio stations programmed by Garland in the prime years of contemporary
music radio.
As a result of his role in the music industry, from radio, music
television, and new media, Garland is frequently sought out for speaking
engagements. He has keynoted the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Australian
Radio Broadcasters, the New Music Seminar, the Billboard International
Music Confab, and the International Music and Media Conference.
Appearances also include Webnoize, MB2005, CMJ, IMX, Network 40, Album
Network, Gavin, Billboard, and Radio & Records. He is a frequent
participant at college symposia and has served on the board of the
National Association of College Broadcasters. Mr. Garland was recently
invited to be a founding member of The Academy of Digital Music Arts and
Sciences. Profiles of Garland have appeared in numerous publications
including Vanity Fair, TIME
Magazine, GQ, People Magazine, MS., USA Today, The New York Times,
Newsweek, Forbes, andOcean Drive.
Television exposure has included Good Morning America, The CBS Morning News, The Today Show,
Entertainment Tonight, and even a humorous cameo on Late Night With
David Letterman in the company of Mr.
Eddie Murphy.
Garland's passion for music is equaled by his passion for golf. He was
into golf way before golf was cool, says PGA Tour Pro Tommy Armour III.
Following his years at MTV, he briefly caddied on the PGA Pro circuit
for Mr. Armour. "Some guys buy sailboats and sail around the planet,
said Garland. I looped a golf bag and went in search of The Secret!"
That same passion for music artistry recently led Garland into personal
co-management, representing platinum recording group, Dream.
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