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Clive Calder (born 1946) is a South African-born and UK based record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group and its subsidiary Jive Records. He is currently the wealthiest music billionaire in Britain, worth an estimated £1.3bn. ^[1]

Career

Calder was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He grew up off Louis Botha Avenue, Johannesburg.^[2] He played bass guitar for local bands and it's said he kept tax manuals on his bedside table for reading.^[3] Calder started his first record company in 1971 in South Africa with Ralph Simon. By 1975 they'd relocated to London and had began Zomba as a artist and producer management company. By 1978 Zomba had expanded to include publishing, and opened offices in New York City. In 1981 they formed their first record label Jive and Calder began to create a name for Jive as an important outlet for hip hop and rap.

Jive's success was followed by Silvertone Records in 1988 and countless others throughout the ninties. After an unspecified "ethical disagreement," Calder bought Simon's stake in Zomba and became the sole owner in 1990. In the late nineties, Jive expanded its success to include teen pop phenomenons such as Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Britney Spears, all of which topped the charts. In 2002 he sold Zomba for US$2.74 billion to the German-based media group Bertelsmann.^[4] Though he was offered a position with BMG, he instead chose to stay on temporarily as an advisor during the integration period, but left the business in 2003.

Personal

His current primary residence is in the Cayman Islands. Calder is a cricket fan and has been spotted watching matches in Johannesburg.

See Also

• Zomba Group of Companies
• Jive Records
• Ralph Simon

References

External links

• Music Industry Online
• BBC Online