Warner boss inspires
'My studies exposed me to students from all over America and all over the world ... But it was outside the lecture halls that my experience really came to life.'
“Don’t waste time living someone else’s life,” Warner Music president Dan Rosen said at a recent dinner marking the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Scholarship in Canberra.
Melbourne-raised, Sydney-based Rosen was awarded his Fulbright Scholarship in 2003. The competitive program enables students from Australia to study in the United States.
Rosen recalled how the same week he was awarded his scholarship, his band, Second Dan, won the Triple J Unearthed unsigned band competition.
“So what did I do, faced with two dreams – studying in the United States or taking the next step towards rock’n’roll stardom,” he said.
“I chose to do both. I chose to study for my masters, in the greatest music city in the world, New York.”
Rosen told of how he chose NYU as “it had a law program that was top five in the US, and the campus was in the middle of Greenwich Village, just around the corner from where Bob Dylan and Jimmy Hendrix played their first New York shows”.
Looking back on his experience, he said he is struck by three things.
“One, I rediscovered the joy of learning … Second, I was forced out of my comfort zone,” he said.
“Third, the city itself is the greatest classroom. My studies exposed me to students from all over America and all over the world … But it was outside the lecture halls that my experience really came to life.”
He spoke of meeting Bill and Hilary Clinton, as well as Donald Trump when he was just a businessman.
“I dined with UN ambassadors, consuls general, admirals, and helped to establish the young leaders section of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue,” he added.
“I worked for an Aussie tech company [for which] we got funding from Rupert Murdoch and took on to the NASDAQ.
“I met many of my musical heroes – including Paul McCartney, Bono, Prince and Evan Dando. And I played gigs with my band from Boston to LA.”
Back in New York a few months ago to meet key players in Warner Music, Rosen said, “I realised I had an edge. I had an instant connection … because my Fulbright experience gave me the opportunity not just to learn new skills, but to understand a culture.”