Charlie Walk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charlie Walk
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Walk in 2014
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| Born | September 2, 1968 |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Spouse(s) | Lauran Walk |
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Charlie Walk (born September 2, 1968) is an American music executive and entrepreneur. He has held important leadership roles in the music industry. From 2016 to 2018, he was the president of Republic Records. Before that, he was the president of Epic Records from 2005 to 2008. In 2018, he appeared as a judge on the Fox TV show The Four: Battle for Stardom.
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Early Life and Family
Charlie Walk knew he wanted to work in music from a young age. When he was eight years old, he loved listening to Boston's WRKO radio station.
In 1987, while studying at Boston University, he started working for Sony Music. He was a college marketing representative. He graduated in 1990 with a degree in Business Administration.
Charlie Walk married Lauran Miller in 1997. They have four children. The family has lived in Tribeca and Water Mill since 2003.
Music Career
Charlie Walk has had a long and successful career in the music business. He has helped many famous artists become popular.
Columbia Records
In 1990, Walk joined Columbia Records. He started as a marketing and promotion manager. One of his first big jobs was helping the New Kids on the Block become famous.
He quickly moved up in the company. By 1997, he was Vice President in Pop Promotion. In 1998, The New York Times called him one of the music industry's "young guns."
At Columbia, he worked with many top artists, including:
- Destiny's Child and Beyoncé Knowles
- Will Smith
- Maxwell
- John Legend
- Mariah Carey
- The Fugees
- Lauryn Hill
- Wyclef Jean
- John Mayer
- Bruce Springsteen
- Aerosmith
In 2000, he became Executive Vice President of Promotion. By 2004, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Creative Marketing and Promotion. In this role, he created new ways to market music and handle licensing deals.
Epic Records
In December 2005, Charlie Walk became the president of Epic Records. Some artists, like Jessica Simpson, moved to Epic to continue working with him. He also worked with established artists like RedOne.
Walk created a special partnership with ABC television. This allowed Epic artists' songs to be featured on ABC shows. Viewers could then buy the songs they heard. He also helped new artists become popular, such as:
He left Epic Records in December 2008.
JWALK
After leaving Epic, Walk started his own entertainment company called CWE Media in 2009. This company created TV content for Endemol. It also had divisions for managing talent and branding. The company operated until 2011.
Later in 2009, Walk co-founded RJW Collective, which later became known as JWALK. This company worked with big clients like the clothing brand Lacoste and the TV network ABC.
Republic Records
In 2013, Walk joined Republic Records as an Executive Vice President. He was in charge of the marketing, public relations, and promotion teams.
In 2014, he helped produce a special TV show called "Total Ariana Live" on MTV. It was a one-time return of the popular show Total Request Live. He also helped bring John Varvatos Records to Republic.
Walk played a key role in many successful music campaigns:
- He led the campaign for Enrique Iglesias' song "Bailando" in 2014. This song, with both English and Spanish lyrics, became very popular on pop radio. It was the highest-charting bilingual song since "The Macarena" in 1996.
- He helped with Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" campaign. This song was the first to debut at number one on the pop music radio charts.
- He also led the promotion for Lorde's hit song "Royals". He focused on getting her music played on alternative radio stations and blogs, rather than just mainstream ones.
- He also signed singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld to Republic.
In February 2016, Walk became president of the Republic Group. This new group was part of Universal Music Group. His job was to create partnerships with other music labels and continue his work in promotions and artist development. In 2016, he also co-founded Guess Music. He signed the band DNCE to the label.
Aspen Artists
In 2023, Charlie Walk started a new company called Aspen Artists. It is a media platform that helps market, brand, and promote music artists. Aspen Artists has offices in New York City and Mexico City.
