Poll Results: Mystery Man Identified

We’re ready to announce the results of our last online poll. A plurality of readers, 27%, recognize him as the man who sold them a used car. Vince Shlomi (aka Vince Offer), the Shamwow guy and former America’s Top 40 Countdown host Casey Kasem tied for second place with 19% each. Tony Soprano’s prodigal nephew Christopher Maltisanti scored 12% of the vote with former Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa, currently residing in the end zone at Giants Stadium, came in last with 8%.  But readers also identified him variously as “the man who fit my blinds”, “Kwatinetz” (an obvious reference to manager Jeff Kwatinetz) and “the I-man”, which could be a reference to ultra lame radio talk show host Don Imus, or the winning entry. Yes. The I-man could easily be Don Ienner, former SonyBMG Recorded Music Chairman and venerable bully. Ienner’s outbursts were legendary during his reign at Sony, where he ruled with an iron fist and street level style.

An in-depth Billboard interview with Ienner last January revealed a kinder and gentler Donnie. Thoughtful. Pensive. Retrospective. After leading a group in a failed attempt to buy EMI Music Group (ultimately purchased by UK private equity Terra Firma)  he evidently became a partner in a commercial jingle house in Manhattan and is co-managing a couple of terrific new artists, Hot Chelle Rae and Lionel Neykov. Don’t laugh–I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot from them in the near future. After all, it takes time to develop new artists. Don is also working on developing a new “widget/distribution platform”, whatever that means. He noted that he didn’t pay that much attention to Napster as a threat to the recording industry and really wasn’t concerned until Kazaa became huge a few years later. Don also revealed that his big cathartic moment came in 2003 when his son told him that he didn’t need to take his CD’s off to college with him because all his music was already on his laptop computer. *

Don Ienner, we salute you!

*Note: Napster launched in 1999

© 2009, Wayne Rosso. All rights reserved.