"He was just such a prince." Industry reactions touch on Cohen's thoughtfulness and ability to mentor.
Rick Cohen, a senior distribution executive who mentored many in the sales and marketing side of the music business during his three-decade long career, passed away on August 5 at Holy Cross Health hospital in Fort Lauderdale FL, likely due to COVID-19 related health issues. He was 77.
In a career that began in indie distribution and a long stint at WEA, culminating with Cohen serving as a senior vp at BMG Distribution during a time when the music industry was at its revenue peak, Cohen was an integral shaper of distribution policies in the tit-for-tat maneuvering between retail chains and labels in their then-seemingly endless struggle to wrest profit margins from each another.
Hundreds of affectionate memories and tributes about Cohen can be found on the Facebook pages of former music industry executives with repeated references to his wide industry knowledge, which he generously and continuously shared with one and all—colleagues, staff, retail accounts, competitor and even music industry reporters.
"Rick was WEA's Philadelphia branch manager when I started at Billboard and quickly became one of my most important sources, always rich in perspective and incredibly gracious, even once when I inadvertently got him in hot water," says Geoff Mayfield, a music industry journalist and consultant on the faculty at Los Angeles College of Music. "He was always one of my favorite people to run into at a convention or an event, fast to greet you with that welcoming smile, a sparkle in his eyes, and the awareness that you were as happy to see him as he was to see you. The outpouring of affection for him on social media the last few days doesn't surprise me at all. He was just such a prince."
While Cohen was known for his business acumen and diving into the weeds to solve thorny business issues, he was also known to enjoy playful fun at work. Outside the job, Cohen was very knowledgeable about wine, while many social media comments marveled at his ability to eat. But, most of all, reactions to his passing lauded his ability to listen and mentor, his thoughtfulness, and his upstanding character in an industry sometimes known back then for some questionable, if not shady, business practices.
In a Facebook post, former national sales director for BMG Strategic Marketing Group Dean Harmeyer recalled, "Rick had a way of turning a phrase that made you think beyond what was said," while former BMG head of credit Joe Heslin added, "When you showed Rick something, he saw beyond what was on the page." More than a few collegues referred to Cohen as "a great record man."
Cohen wasn't your typical music industry executive, many of his friends note. "Rick was into opera and fine wines and was kind of a cerebral executive," says Russ "Bach" Brumbach, former president of Capitol-EMI's distributor CEMA and one of Cohen's early bosses at WEA. "But he really loved working in the music industry."
Tom O'Flynn, a long-time BMG Distribution executive, says, "Rick was the best boss anybody could ever have. He was very demanding of you on a business level but he didn't compromise your personal relationships. If you had to make a decision between job and family, he would steer you right to family and then figure out a way to save your job. He really gave a shit about you as a person."
Cohen was born in Chicago on Nov. 21, 1942. He attended Tulane University, where he studied accounting and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. There he made lifelong friends and was still in touch with his fraternity brothers at the time of his passing.
His first job out of school in the early 1970s was with indie distribution pioneer Milt Salstone and his Chicago-based M.S. Distributing. At the time, labels were making a big push for retailers and wholesalers to convert from paper record keeping to bring computerized technology into the music industry, according to Brumbach, and Cohen was hired to lead that effort for M.S. Soon after joining the company, M.S. sent Cohen to Memphis to open a branch for its rack-jobbing division, Musical Isle.
In the mid '70s, when Brumbach left Liberty and became WEA's Los Angeles branch manager, he brought Cohen to L.A. as marketing manager. After Brumbach moved upstairs to WEA corporate, Cohen moved to his hometown of Chicago to become the sales manager for that branch. He finally got his own branch in 1985 when he became the branch manager in Philadelphia.
After four years there, the call came in 1989 from then-BMG Distribution president Pete Jones, inviting Cohen to come to New York to help lead the company that distributed RCA and Arista, among other labels. Cohen retired in 2001 at age 59 and eventually moved to the Fort Lauderdale area. In retirement he continued enjoying golf and opera and remained active supporting local Democratic candidates in Broward County.
Cohen was married three times, the second time to former WEA sales rep Pam Horovitz, who eventually became president of the National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers (now called Music Business Assn.). On Facebook, Horowitz said her former husband "really cared about his employees, something that is evidenced by the many comments from people he mentored over the years. I am on that list too. Rick really did find his true love with Angela, and I sent her my deepest condolences."
Angela Pumo Cohen, who was a senior television and digital entertainment executive, married him in 1992. "He was the love of my life," she says. "He always said the third time was a charm. I am astounded with the outpouring of love for him in the music business, his fraternity at Tulane and all of his friends and mine."
In addition to his wife, Cohen is survived by two children and five grandchildren. Donations can be made in Cohen's name to Broward Health Foundation.
