Josh Gruss is the CEO of Round Hill Music Royalty Partners (RHM), headquartered in New York, NY.
He is also CEO of the UK-listed Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Ltd, which trades on the London Stock Exchange.
Gruss previously worked at Bear Stearns as a Financial Analyst.
Gruss served in the U.S. Coast Guard for six years, holding the ranks of Petty Officer and Boarding Officer.
Josh Gruss: Career history
Josh Gruss joined Atlantic Records as an Assistant in International Product Development immediately after finishing his college education.
His stint with Atlantic Records lasted one year. Instead of continuing employment within the music industry, Gruss moved to the investment bank Bear Stearns as a Financial Analyst for two years. After working as an analyst, Gruss joined the Coast Guard as a Petty Officer and Boarding Officer. He simultaneously worked in his family office, Gruss and Co., from 2002 to 2011.
It was in 2011 when Gruss left his family office and co-founded the first private equity music rights platform, Round Hill Music. His partners were Richard Rowe, who previously served as President of Sony/ATV, and Neil Gillis, previously a Senior Vice President at Warner Chappell Music.
RHM is focused on music royalty investments, initially acquiring the rights to six Beatles songs. When EMI was sold to a group of investors, RHM was able to acquire the rights to additional songs from smaller artists. Gruss and RHM made a big splash in 2018 when they acquired Carlin America, a publishing company, for a reported $245 million dollars. The deal included the rights to over 150,000 songs from acts including The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Bruno Mars, Black Sabbath, Kiss, and The Goo Goo Dolls.
In 2014, Gruss bought and modernized the Quad Studios Nashville. Songs recorded at the studio include “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett and “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young.
In the beginning of 2020, Gruss founded a new record label called Black Hill Records which focuses on hard rock genres. It had signed four acts as of 2022, consisting of The Cult, Black Pistol Fire, Jared James Nichols, and Tash Neal.
Towards the end of 2020, Gruss and RHM raised $291 million dollarsfor a new music royalty fund.
In 2021, Gruss and RHM purchased the Telegram Studios labeland their masters, which includes Ziggy Marley and Estelle.
In his free time, Gruss plays guitar and writes for the rock band named Rubikon. The band tours and opens for many other acts including Shinedown and Sevendust. Their highest charting song commercially is titled “Blood on my Hands,” peaking at #37 on the Billboard Rock chart.Music Business Worldwide