Mark Josephson, a major force on the New York music scene with his Rockpool record pool and his cofouding of the New Music Seminar, died March 2. He had a fatal heart attack, according to his father, Jack Josephson.
Rockpool was a record pool in the 80s promoting primarily rock and new wave records, which DJs subscribed. It was highly influential in the burgeoning college radio market, which boosted the emerging alternative, rap, and dance music markets.
The New Music Seminar was an annual music festival and conference that ran from 1980 to 1995. Josephson partners with Tom Silverman, Joel Webber, Danny Heaps and Scott Anderson to launch the first seminar, attended by 220 people at a New York rehearsal studio. At its peak, the NMS attraced more than 8,000 people from 35 countries, largely setting the agenda for emerging trends in the music industry in the trailing year.
