Steve Stoute
Steve Stoute
Founder and CEO
UnitedMasters + Translation
Biography
Steve Stoute is an advertising entrepreneur and music industry pioneer. The founder
and CEO of both UnitedMasters and Translation, Stoute was named Executive of the
Year by Ad Age in 2013. With funding from Alphabet, Apple, Andreessen Horowitz and
Disney, Stoute’s companies operate at the intersection of technology, culture, innovation
and storytelling.
UnitedMasters is a revolutionary platform that enables artists to operationalise and
maximize their creative and economic potential while allowing them to maintain full
ownership over their master recording rights. Translation is a leading agency bringing
together award-winning creative and insights to connect brands to culture. Translation
works with some of today’s leading brands including State Farm, AT&T and the NBA.
The two companies come together to offer a unique brand-to-culture platform that
leverages cultural insights to connect brands to audiences in a new, sophisticated way.
Prior to founding Translation in 2004, Stoute was a music industry executive at Sony
Music and Interscope Geffen A&M. He produced albums for Mariah Carey and Nas, led
the production efforts for Gwen Stefani and Enrique Iglesias, and executive produced
the Academy Award-winning 8 Mile film and soundtrack.
Stoute is the critically acclaimed author of The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop
Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. In this NY Times Best
Seller, Stoute builds on his philosophy of a global shift towards a “shared mental
complexion” based on shared experiences and values - rather than the increasingly
irrelevant demographic boxes that have been used to a fault by corporate America.
Stoute’s deep connection to community and hip-hop also permeates his philanthropic
work. He serves on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation and is an advisor to
SocialWorks, a nonprofit founded by Chance the Rapper that supports public schools.
He served as the co-chairman of the New York City Fresh Air Fund in 2003 and played
a key role in the development of minority recruitment campaigns for both the FDNY and
NYPD, for which he received the 2004 Humanitarian Award.