Steve Schnur

As Worldwide Executive of Music and Audio for Electronic Arts, Steve Schnur is responsible for the pursuit, creation and continuous development of the international vision for music in EA games. In only three years, Schnur's unprecedented innovations in bringing together the worlds of music and gaming led The Washington Post to recently call him "The Clive Davis of the videogame industry." He has brought established stars, breakthrough new artists and award-winning composers to such top-selling EA franchises as MADDEN NFL, FIFA, NEED FOR SPEED UNDERGROUND, MEDAL OF HONOR, THE SIMS and more, changing the industry's perception of video games from simple 'licensing opportunities' to their now-essential role in artists' careers. His EA TRAX initiative resulted in the first RIAA certified Platinum video game soundtrack with NBA LIVE 2003, and established the collaborative partnership with legendary hip-hop lifestyle company Def Jam to produce the landmark DEF JAM VENDETTA. In 2004, Schnur spearheaded the creation of Next Level Music, EA's groundbreaking joint venture with Cherry Lane Publishing.

Schnur began his career in the 1980s at MTV, where he was part of the original programming team during the network's formative years. Prior to joining EA in 2002, he held various executive positions with Elektra Entertainment, Chrysalis Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records, and has supervised and produced music for films including CRUEL INTENTIONS and MISS CONGENIALITY. Mr. Schnur has been profiled by the New York Times, London Financial Times and CNN, and was selected as 'One Of The Most Creative People In Entertainment' by Entertainment Weekly. He has been an invited guest speaker on the gaming industry and international youth culture at The Rolling Stone New Technology Seminar and The Billboard Plug-In Festival, and delivered the Keynote Address at The 2003 NXNE Music Conference and the 2004 Edinburgh International Games Festival. Steve Schnur is also a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and on the Board Of Directors of the Grammy Foundation.