Tom Sturges

Sturges is the third son of Preston Sturges, the Hollywood screenwriter and director who passed away when Tom was three years old, and Anne Margaret "Sandy" Nagle (1927-2006).

At age 14, Tom sued his mother for the right to his own custody and won the case, a first time in favor of a minor.

Tom Sturges (born June 22, 1956) is an American music executive, author, mentor, educator, and public speaker.

Sturges has over thirty years of music industry experience, serving as president of Chrysalis Music, EVP/Head of Creative for Universal Music Publishing Group, and VP/GM of Shaquille O'Neals T.W.Is.M Records.

A passionate advocate of creative thinking, Sturges authored 5 books and is a regular guest speaker/panelist.

He has also been an active Grammy member for thirty plus years, and previously served as a trustee and the president for the LA chapter.

Tom is currently an independent music publisher, a professor at UCLA, and a father of three living in Los Angeles.

Born in France, Sturges is one of only seven Americans baptized at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

Sturges graduated from University of California, Davis in 1979 with a BA in music, and attended graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sturges entered the industry as an intern at Arista Music Publishing in 1980.

A month into his internship, Tom took a secretarial position in the copyright department where he typed copyright forms and sent telexes.

Despite not working in a creative role, Sturges built a rapport and friendship with Clive Davis (then President of Arista Records) and began pitching him songs.

Tom's attuned ear soon got him promoted to a creative executive position as a Professional Manager.

Three years later, Sturges left the company to become a songplugger at Screen Gems/EMI.

In 1983, Sturges was onboarded as a General Professional Manager for Lester Sill's Screen Gems/EMI after Chuck Kaye recommended him.

During his time there, Tom played a central role in placing hits like "Another Night" by Aretha Franklin and "We Belong" by Pat Benatar.

He also worked closely with Gerry Goffin, Katrina & The Waves, and worked with Carole King write Anne Murray's #1 country single, "Time Don't Run Out on Me".

In 1985, Sturges began working for Chrysalis Music Group as senior VP/ General Manager of the company.

Sturges helped Chrysalis Publishing achieve five No. 1 singles, 22 gold and/or platinum albums, and eight albums achieved multiplatinum status.

In 1989, Sturges assumed the role of President of Chrysalis where he signed artists, including Smashing Pumpkins, Goodie Mob, OutKast, Green Jelly, Slaughter, Billy Burnette of Fleetwood Mac, as well as songwriters like Antonina Armato ("She Ain't Worth It", "I'll Get By"), Andy Hill ("Restless Heart", "Peace in Our Time"), and Kipper Jones.

Further, Tom engineered the purchase of the Ring-A-Ding Music catalogue (which features the songs of rockabilly artist Dorsey Burnette "It's Late", and "Believe What You Say"), the Roy Ayers song catalog, and oversaw the revitalization of the Paul Anka catalog.

Throughout his time at Chrysalis, Sturges stayed true to his song-plugging roots and pitched songs that became charting hits for artists, including Aretha Franklin ("I Knew You Were Waiting", Grammy-winning worldwide #1 duet hit with George Michael), Cher (#1 pop single "Heart Of Stone"), Celine Dion ("Think Twice"), Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.

After eleven years, Sturges left Chrysalis in 1996, and became the VP/GM of T.W.Is.M Records (Shaquille O'Neal's record label and publishing company).

Tom ran Shaq's record company until 1999, sharing that "like all good things, it came to an end".

Sturges then became the Executive Vice President and Head of Creative for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

Sturges (working with Zach Horowitz) contributed to the company's growth over the years.

While at UMPG, Sturges signed artists including Afroman, 3 Doors Down, 50 Cent, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Jack Johnson, Owl City, Vanessa Carlton, and Chris Brown, as well as writers/producers Mark Batson, Rock Mafia, and Sean Garrett.

Like John Hammond, Sturges believes that his music career stems from his musical literacy/talent, and his ability to detect talent in others (artists & writers, or talented creative execs to work with).

After Tom's mother died in 2006, he discovered that she had kept all her correspondence with his father, as well as his papers, journals and diaries.

He then collaborated on the book with British author Nick Smedley, and included glimpses of those discovered notebooks, and descriptive "interludes" that elucidate Preston's personal life.

Tom is the youngest of Preston's children.

Tom is a contributor for the Huffington Post, and appeared on KTLA, Fox & Friends, CNN, and theToday Show.

His contributions have been featured in publications including Best Life magazine, CNN, Fast Company, People, and The New York Times.

Sturges embraces music education with a holistic spirit of generativity.

Tom lost his own father when he was 3 years old—a loss he likened to losing a limb–driving him to be an "über-Dad" to his three sons (Thomas, Sam, and Kian) and to bring a paternal spirit to his work as an educator and mentor.

Sturges has received over 42 commendations for his volunteerism.

Sturges retired from UMPG in 2011.

As a father, he sais "I wanted to be so much more than a casual observer of my son's life as it went by me."

Sturges' exploration resulted in a host parenting and self-help novels that encourage creativity, including:

In 2019, Sturges wrote a biographic novel about his father, writer-director Preston Sturges', concentrating on the later (and more mysterious) years of his life.