Joshua Gruss has been the CEO and chairman of Round Hill Music since January 2011. He is based in New York City, with his offices located along 400 Madison Avenue. He is an entrepreneur and a celebrated financial expert and investor.
Academic and Early Career Journey
After completing his high school education at Taft High School, Joshua Gruss joined Trinity College in Hartford for a B.A degree course with a specialty in modern languages. After graduating in 1996, he was hired by Atlantic Records as an assistant in international product development a year later. He quit the job one year into it and decided to join a local band called Rubikon. During that period, he worked briefly in different music companies that included Sony Music and Clear Channel’s Live Music Division. However, his heart was in the financial sector and in 1999, he quit the band to take up a job offer as a financial analyst with Bear Stearns and Co., an investment banking firm based in New York.
Working as a financial analyst drew Joshua closer to the world of finance. Even though he wasn’t trained in the discipline, his passion kept him going against all the odds. In 2002, he left Bear Stearns and Co. for a job at U.S Coast Guard. His two main roles in this job were to serve as a petty officer and later as a boarding officer. The firm operated within the greater New York City area. Joshua Gruss left the company in 2008 after a successful 6-year career.
While still at U.S Coast Guard, Joshua Gruss joined Gruss & Co. as a partner. The private investment firm was based in New York City, giving Gruss a chance to sharpen his financial skills and management prowess at the highest level. He continued playing that role even after quitting U.S Coast Guard. His love for finance led him to pursue an M.B.A. degree at Columbia University Business School in 2008 and got his degree in 2010. Gruss also holds an M.B.A. degree from London Business School. The two post-graduate degrees gave him bragging rights in the finance, investment, and banking sectors. He worked at Gruss & Co. until January 2011 when he quitted investment banking altogether to rejoin the music industry.
Joshua Gruss’ Music Career
Quitting the finance industry presented Joshua Gruss with a perfect opportunity of delving deeper into music, his childhood dream industry. He carried with him investment instincts from the investment world, instincts that helped him to identify a gap in the music industry and found Round Hill Music, a music publishing firm. Gruss’ first landmark achievement in the industry was to lead Round Hill Music into the acquisition of “Land of 1000 Dances”, a 1966 hit by Chris Kenner and “All of Me” by Marks & Simons. Gruss estimates that Land of 1000 Dances earns the company an annual revenue of not less than 200 thousand dollars. In 2002, he led the firm in yet another milestone by acquiring “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want To Be Your Man,” “From Me To You,” and “She Loves You.” The hits have been big success stories for Gruss and Round Hill Music. Some of the firm’s top clients include Charlie Midnight, Fierce Bad Rabbit, Arif Mardin, Arthouse Entertainment, Rubikon, and Spacehog among others.
In an interview conducted in August this year, Joshua Gruss hinted that Round Hill Music would be creating a private equity investment platform through which hitmakers will be investing in music royalties. The CEO will be bringing his experience in finance and investment to leverage on the unexploited potential. He also hinted at the possibility of Round Hill Music going public in the future, although he was reluctant to disclose when. As of now, his eyes are fixed on getting investors satisfied with the dividends they get at the firm.
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