Alan Mintz -- Attorney, Manager, Music Industry Vet. -- Dies at 58

[JamesG]

Alan Mintz -- Attorney, Manager, Music Industry Veteran -- Dies at 58
5/5/2012
by Jem Aswad, Billboard


Alan Mintz -- attorney, label exec, manager and musician -- died Wednesday of acute myelogenous leukemia, a rare and aggressive form of the disease, his family confirmed to Billboard.biz. He was 58.

Mintz began his career in 1986 at Ziffren Brittenham, LLP, where he worked with Nirvana, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Poison, Jane's Addiction and others, and was the tour attorney for Michael Jackson's Bad tour, at the time the largest world tour in history.

He also was a part of the legal team representing Jackson in his purchase of ATV Music (including The Beatles' catalog).







Mintz also met his wife Christie at the firm in 1989: She became his assistant and worked with him on and off for 12 years.

In 1992, Mintz's success and his affection for the creative side of the business led him to Sony Music, where he was West Coast GM for Epic Records and SVP of A&R for Columbia.

"He felt most fulfilled working in the studio with artists," Christie told Billboard.biz on Friday. "He loved watching his artists grow and helping them out with their art and their careers."







He was with Sony until the end of 1996, then spent six years as a Senior Partner at Selverne, Mandelbaum & Mintz, where he worked with Van Halen, Motley Crue, and The Black Crowes, Marcy Playground and others.

Over the following years, Mintz started his own management company -- working extensively with Herbie Hancock, co-producing his Grammy-nominated Possibilities and a documentary about the making of that album -- and then spent two years as the head of A&R in the entertainment division of Starbucks, where he signed Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and John Mellencamp.

From 2008 through 2010, he worked as a manager and producer at Red Light Entertainment, continuing his work with Herbie Hancock as well as Carly Simon.







Last year, he and his family moved to Nashville, where he took a post as an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. In November he was diagnosed with leukemia.

"We moved here for a more peaceful way of life," Christie said. "He loved teaching -- and I think he was diagnosed three months after we got here."



In a conversation with Christie and their twin daughters, the family said that while plans are not yet finalized, they plan to hold a "celebration" of his life in Los Angeles sometime this month.

"It will be a performance-based celebration, all about music and his friends," they said. "We'll make it something he would have liked to go to."

"He actually helped a lot of struggling artists, gave a lot of free advice," Christie said. "We've seen a lot of notes on Facebook from people about how much he helped them. He was just that kind of person."



Mintz is survived by Christie and their daughters, Jennie and Sarah, both 22.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ecutive-320497

[Zoneboy]

Thanks, I thought about posting this earlier but decided against it.

[Marvo301]

Alan Mintz