Stephen Finfer and Bruce Springsteen
Stephen Finfer is co-owner and president of world-renowned music-publishing company Arthouse Entertainment. Since founding the company with singer-songwriter and Warner Brothers record executive Kara DioGuardi in 2002, Finfer has utilized his wealth of industry experience to find, sign, develop, and manage some of the most talented songwriters in the world. Under his direction, Arthouse Entertainment acts as a top resource for other record companies seeking outstanding music-related services.
Finfer, who is also a lawyer, began his career in the music industry with Capitol Records, where he worked in the business affairs department. Acting as a lawyer for the Latin label, Mr. Finfer was involved in the signing of international pop superstar Selena Quintanilla. While still working for Capitol, Stephen discovered House of Pain. Soon after, House of Pain’s “Jump Around” became an international phenomenon, prompting representatives of NWA frontman Dr. Dre to contact Mr. Finfer about starting his own record label. While managing his own law firm and management company, Finfer set up a company with Dr. Dre that would ultimately become Death Row Records.
In 1997, Stephen Finfer was appointed General Manager of MCA Music Publishing. He then went on to become the senior director of creative affairs at Famous Music Publishing, before being tapped as General Manager of TVT Music Inc. Responsible for writer, artist and catalog acquisitions, Finfer achieved immediate success at TVT by signing deals with producer Scott Storch and recording artist/producer, Lil Jon.
While still at TVT, Finfer came across an up-and-coming songwriter by the name of Kara DioGuardi. That meeting would launch an ongoing relationship that still exists to this day.
Arthouse Entertainment is coming off its most successful year to date, with over 35 million digital single sales, including the #1, #2 and #10 digital singles worldwide. Its artists received a total of seven Grammy Nominations in 2012, along with 25 ASCAP & BMI Pop Awards to date. Finfer attributes his years developing contacts in the industry and eye for spotting new talent as part of the driving force behind Arthouse Entertainment’s worldwide presence. Together with DioGuardi, Finfer is responsible for all executive decisions made by the company, from staffing to acquisitions.
The company offers a myriad of services which focuses on providing corporate music clients access to the best songwriters, recording artists and producers in the music industry. Thanks to Finfer’s and DioGuardi’s 20 years of varied music and entertainment industry experience, Arthouse Entertainment has been able to differentiate itself from its competitors, establishing itself as a first-class, one-stop music-production house.
As opposed to most music-publishing companies, Arthouse Entertainment focuses on a small, selectively chosen roster of talent to help achieve commercial success. Its size allows the boutique company to hone in on the unique skill-set of its writers, so that they have a better opportunity to develop and succeed.
