Paul Stark was a co-founder of Twin/Tone Records. The influential label based in Minneapolis discovered and launched careers of such artists as Soul Asylum, The Replacements, The Suburbs, The Jayhawks, and Ween. For over 25 years he was its President, working with more than 125 bands and overseeing the release of more than 350 projects.
He started his career as a sound engineer/ producer and spent time on the road with touring acts. He has been the owner of several recording studios and has designed and manufactured sound and lighting controls. Paul has been a strong advocate of the digital music revolution. He became an Internet service provider in 1995. In 1997, he was one of the first customers to use Liquid Audio's server software, format and DRM to distribute the Twin/Tone catalog online. In 1999 Paul went to work with the San Francisco start-up, Liquid Audio, becoming its Vice President of Music Services. In this position he was responsible for overseeing Liquid Audio's digital music distribution services, including delivering and reporting on all digital streams and download activity for more than 1,500 record labels. He left Liquid Audio during the summer of 2001. (Liquid Audio was sold to a Wal-Mart related company in 2003 and provided the solution for music downloads on the Wal-Mart website until 2009.) Today, Paul splits his time between running Twin/Tone Digital (which, among other things, sells custom burned CDs of the Twin/Tone Catalog) and as a consultant to the entertainment industry. He is active helping clients with developing internet related strategies and marketing plans. He is a strong advocate of watermarked non-DRM downloads and the great future that the internet holds for independent artists. For fun he spends time at the infamous downtown Minneapolis night club, First Avenue, working on upgrading their sound and lighting system and trying to bring them into the 21st century with live Web casting and on-line downloads of archived shows. Paul holds a B.A. in psychology and communications from the University of Minnesota. contact: paul@paulstark.us Links: Twin/Tone Records hi-res photo |