Sarah Lewitinn

Background

About Sarah Lewitinn

TLDR: I've been called "One of the Most Influential People in Music" by New York Magazine and spent the past 10+ years in the corporate world as Music Director for Aritzia. During this time I honed my skills in music supervision, artist relationships, music licensing, budget management, and organizational development. In 2002, following my intership at SPIN Magazine, I became the assistant for Michael Hirschorn at VH1 (former EIC of SPIN). In 2002, and during this time I became the first manager for My Chemical Romance and stellastarr*(before their major label deals), helping them acquire lawyers and booking agents. In 2003 I became the Assistant Editor of SPIN Magazine and was credited with heavily influencing a change in focus to indie and alternative bands. I became a public-facing mascot for the magazine thanks to my monthly hit column, Making Out With and my frequent appearances on music television. As one of the few writers interested in marketing, I assisted the marketing department in talent relations and playing sponsored shows. During my time at SPIN, my blog, (launched in July 2003), established me as a taste-maker in the New York indie rock scene (where I hosted influential parties that shaped the music scene, live music showcases and became an award-winning DJ and ). Shortly after leaving SPIN I wrote my first book, The Pocket DJ (Simon Searchlight) and became a regular fixture on VH1 and MTV. I would later return to VH1 to work in series development. This time of my life was documented in Marc Spiitz's memoir, Poseur, and the best-selling oral history, Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman. My keen skill and identifying talent before they hit bit (helping The Killers get their record deal with Island Def Jam and their UK publishing deal with Universal), caused me to get several offers from major labels to start my own incubator record label. After selecting Island Def Jam in 2005 I launched Stolen Transmission on Island Def Jam in partnership with Rob Stevenson. During this time New York Magazine dubbed me one of the "most influential people in music" alongside Clive Davis and Jay-Z. After the music industry crash I became a featured presenter for FUSE's show "Fuse On Tour" where I presented "The Report". After a brief stint at Edelman, I became the Music Director for NYLON Magazine but was quickly recruited to be the Music Director for Aritzia, which is where I've been for the past decade. Specialties: viral marketing, trend spotting, branding, opinion giving.