#135: Jordan Kurland - Founder of Brilliant Corners Artist Management & Serial Entrepreneur

Making It with Chris G.

Jordan Kurland is a founding partner in Brilliant Corners Artist Management. With offices in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle Brilliant Corners represents a diverse array of artists including Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Toro Y Moi, Best Coast, Soccer Mommy, Real Estate, New Pornographers, and Pup. Kurland is also a partner in Noise Pop Industries. Based in San Francisco, Noise Pop curates, produces, and promotes various events throughout the greater Bay Area including the Noise Pop Festival. He was one of the founding partners of the groundbreaking boutique outdoor music festivals, Treasure Island, which ran from 2007-2018.

Kurland currently sits on the board of three San Francisco based non-profits: McSweeney's, Stern Grove Festival, and experimental art and performance space, The Lab. Previously he served on the boards of 826 National, Marin Headlands Center for the Arts, the Bay Area chapter of NARAS, and Revolutions Per Minute, an organization dedicated to connecting artists with social causes. Additionally, he spent five years on the board of directors for the Independent On-Line Distribution Alliance (IODA) which ended in a partial acquisition by Sony in 2009.

Kurland is politically active. He was on the entertainment advisory committee for Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. Starting in 2004, he launched various election-based projects with the author, Dave Eggers. The most recent was a pair of digital compilations called Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volumes 1 and 2. The two albums raised over $550,000 in 48 hours for voter's rights organizations, Fair Fight, Color of Change, and Voting Rights Lab. Other initiatives include the Future Dictionary of America (2004), the website 90 Days, 90 Reasons (2012), and 30 Days, 30 Songs (2016).

Lastly, Kurland is an investor in San Francisco restaurants Central Kitchen, Salumeria, and Wise Son's Deli as well as the celebrated bar, Trick Dog.

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