Quick Facts
Biography
Curt Frasca (born August 29, 1968 in New York City, United States) is an entrepreneur, and former CEO and co-founder of the company Verse Music Group.
Career
Frasca is a record producer, songwriter, instrumentalist, currently residing in New York City with wife singer/songwriter Sabelle Breer and children. Breer is the daughter of legendary artist Robert Breer. Frasca's work appears on over 150 million albums sold worldwide, including those of Aretha Franklin, Prince, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Moby, John Cougar. Frasca's songs appear on over 50 million albums sold worldwide, including the artists Missy Higgins, Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne. He co-founded Verse Music Group in 2006, Verse Music Group is part of the Wicks Group of Companies. [1]
1980
Growing up in New York, Frasca started drumming at a very early age. In his teens he discovered punk music, bands like The Jam, Sex Pistols, MC5, The Clash and Ramones. Professional career started while still in high school mixing, recording, programming on such influential records as De La Soul "Say No Go", 3rd Bass "Brooklyn Queens", "The Gas Face", albums produced by producer Prince Paul. Other artist's Frasca worked with during this period were Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, Fine Young Cannibals "Good Thing". "When Rolling Stone Magazine showed up to shoot De La Soul for its cover, I knew we had changed the direction of pop music". With mainstream success Frasca's drum programming and mixing skills were in demand.
1990
Columbia Records CEO, Tommy Mottola requested Frasca (then 19) to produce Mariah Carey's "Someday" for her 1991 American Music Awards appearance, that appearance helped Someday reach Billboard's number one in the United States. Frasca and Mariah have remained friends ever since. In the early 1990s Frasca worked heavily with legendary DJ/Producer Shep Pettibone, a few of the artists included Madonna, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Cher, Patti Labelle, Jeffrey Osborne, Cyndi Lauper, Jane Child, Bananarama, Spice Girls, Prince. Moby requested Frasca mix his major label debut Move, the album entered the Billboard dance charts at #1. Remixing k.d. lang "Lifted by Love", Sophie B. Hawkins"Right Beside You", Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger amongst many others. Mid 1990s Frasca focused on signing up and coming talent, founding Verse Entertainment. Verse Entertainment featured a private multi-room facility located in Hell's Kitchen NYC - Verse Studio was profiled in MIX magazine October 1999 issue. Verse studios is a combitination of vintage gear and digital recording tools and features a custom Neve 8058 console from the 1970s and an SSL 9000J.
2000
In 2001 after attempts to capture Avril Lavigne's sound, Arista A&R head Josh Saurbin reached out to the production and writing team of Frasca and Sabelle Breer (Madonna, Ryan Cabrera, Stacie Orrico) to help with the album. Avril Lavigne's debut record Let Go, would go on to sell 18 million albums worldwide and garner 3 Grammy Award nominations.
2002 Frasca and Breer discovered and signed artist Ryan Cabrera producing and co-writing much of his multi-platinum debut release Take It All Away, which debut on at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album included the Top 40 hits "On The Way Down" and "40 Kinds of Sadness". The single "On the Way Down" went double platinum and received an ASCAP Pop Award for most airplay of 2006.
Frasca wrote "Warm Whispers" with the great Missy Higgins for the album On A Clear Night. The album entered the charts at #1.
Frasca founded Verse Music Publishing in 2006.
In 2009, Frasca partnered with and raised $75 million from The Wicks Group to acquire entertainment assets. In 2010 the company officially renamed itself Verse Music Group.
2010
In 2010, Frasca founded Verse Music Group along with Breer as an acquisition platform to purchase music-related intellectual property rights and other assets. Elected to the RIAA Grammy's Board NARAS of Governors.
June 2015, Frasca and partners sold Verse Music Group to BMG Rights Management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Vogue Madonna
- Say You'll Be There Spice Girls
- Everyday People Aretha Franklin
- The Cactus Album 3rd Bass
- Say No Go" De La Soul
- Someday Mariah Carey
- There's Got to Be a Way Mariah Carey
- State of the World Janet Jackson
- The Beginning Seal
- The Promise of a New Day Paula Abdul
- Rescue Me Madonna
- Cream Prince
- Let Go Avril Lavigne
- On the Way Down Ryan Cabrera
- Into The Skyline Cathy Dennis
- A Very Special Christmas Celine Dion
- Under My Skin Avril Lavigne