Photo Courtesy of Mom+Pop
MUSEXPO (www.musexpo.net), the renowned global music industry annual conference and showcase event dubbed the “United Nations of Music,” in collaboration with the highly-respected talent discovery and development firm A&R Worldwide (www.anrworldwide.com), today announces Michael Goldstone, Founder/Co-Owner of Mom+Pop Music as the recipient of the second annual Seymour Stein “Global A&R Award.” The award will be presented during the International Music Industry Awards gala on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at the conclusion, of the 25th global edition of MUSEXPO taking place in Burbank, CA from March 16 – 19, 2025.
The Seymour Stein Global A&R award memorializes Stein’s remarkable legacy by honoring music industry executives who are making significant and important contributions. The award serves to perpetuate that legacy. The inaugural recipient of the award at the 2024 MUSEExpo was Wendy Goldstein, President and Chief Creative Officer of Republic Records.
The award was created by Sat Bisla, President & Founder, A&R Worldwide /MUSEXPO, Richard Gottherer, co-founder of Sire Records, and Mandy Stein, Seymour’s daughter who endorses this important A&R award honoring her late father.
This prestigious award celebrates the A&R career and contributions of Michael Goldstone, Founder/co-owner of the independent record label Mom+Pop Music, now in its 16th year, and his decades-long career signing some of the most successful artists in music.
Michael Goldstone (“Goldie”) is widely regarded for his exceptional A&R skills, and similar to Stein, his keen ability to discover and sign talented and culture-defining artists. He began in the mailroom at Chrysalis Records, quickly ascending to roles in publicity, marketing, and artist development, collaborating with Blondie, Billy Idol, The Specials, and Pat Benatar. His first A&R position was at MCA Records, where he signed Charlie Sexton. He later moved to PolyGram, where he signed the beloved Seattle, WA band Mother Love Bone ushering in a new era of rock.
Goldstone moved to Vice President of A&R at Sony Music/Epic Records, where he signed and developed 90’s giants, Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine, A&R’d the soundtrack for Cameron Crowe’s film about Seattle, SINGLES featuring songs from Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, The Replacements and Alice in Chains. Goldie also signed indie band Shudder to Think, among many others during his tenure at Epic.
That ‘90s decade of success led him to become a partner at DreamWorks Records, where he was instrumental in building the company’s A&R, marketing, and promotion departments, signing Platinum-selling artists Buckcherry and The All-American Rejects.
In the early 2000s, Goldstone was tapped by Seymour Stein himself to aid him in the relaunch of Sire Records, where he signed Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Against Me!, and others.
In 2009, he realized his long-held dream of founding an independent label by creating Mom+Pop Music. Since its inception, Mom+Pop has released music from artists across multiple genres, including Grammy-nominated Courtney Barnett, Del Water Gap, MGMT, Flume, Orion Sun, Maya Hawke, and others. As co-owner with his business partner Thaddeus Rudd, they continue to break new and important ground across the music industry. Additionally, Goldstone with Q Prime co-managed the Grammy-winning alt rock band Cage the Elephant.
Goldstone is a well-recognized music industry success story who has received multiple honors including Billboard Magazine’s annual “Indie Power Players” list. The company also won the prestigious A2iM Award for “Label of the Year” at the 2022 Libera Awards, and Goldstone received the 2024 Transformer Award at the first annual We Are Moving the Needle/RESONATOR Awards presented by Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Emily Lazar. The Transformer award recognized Goldstone for his commitment to advancing gender equity across the music industry.
Throughout his storied career, Goldstone has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Billboard, and Variety with Rolling Stone calling him “the most successful A&R executive of his generation” and “one of the most powerful gatekeepers in the record industry.”
The late Seymour Stein is a legend in the music industry celebrated for his discovery of culture defining iconic artists, and serves as the inspiration for this award. His unparalleled signings include Madonna, Talking Heads, The Ramones, The Pretenders, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and countless others who left an indelible mark on the worldwide canon of popular music.
More announcements about the 2025 MUSExpo will be released in the coming months.
