Caroline Bienstock, Former President/CEO of Carlin Music, Dies at 68
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Caroline Bienstock, the former president and CEO of independent music publisher Carlin Music, has died in New York on 1 September after a long illness, aged 68. She led the company for decades, including through its roughly $250 million sale to Round Hill Music in 2017, and was a prominent figure in the American music publishing industry, serving on the boards of the NMPA, ASCAP, AIMP and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which honoured her with its Abe Olman Publisher Award in 2017.
Carlin Music, once based in New York's Brill Building, held more than 80,000 titles and 8,500 songwriters in its royalty system by 2016, with a catalogue spanning American Songbook standards and hits recorded by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, AC/DC and James Brown, including songs such as "What A Wonderful World," "Spanish Harlem" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Bienstock, born in 1958, was the daughter of Atlantic Records co-founder Mariam Bienstock and Carlin founder Freddie Bienstock, who named the company after her; she joined the family firm in the late 1980s after working in law and at Goldman Sachs, rising to CFO/COO by 1993 and president by 1998. She is survived by her husband, children, grandchildren and brother Robert, also a Carlin executive, with the family requesting donations to ALS charities in lieu of flowers.
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In short
- Former Carlin Music president/CEO Caroline Bienstock has died aged 68
- Led the indie publisher through its 2017 sale to Round Hill Music
- Daughter of Atlantic Records and Carlin Music founders, industry board member
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Billboard's obituary for Caroline Bienstock, former president and CEO of Carlin Music, adds further detail on her career and the company's legacy, though the core facts remain as previously reported: she died in New York on 1 September aged 68 after a long illness.
- 2 months ago Caroline Bienstock, the former president and CEO of Carlin Music, has died in New York on 1 September after a long illness, aged 68.
- 2 months ago Caroline Bienstock, the former president and CEO of independent music publisher Carlin Music, has died in New York on 1 September after a long illness, aged 68.
Explained simply
Caroline Bienstock ran Carlin Music, an independent music publisher whose catalogue included American Songbook standards and songs recorded by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, AC/DC and James Brown. Music publishers own or administer the rights to songs rather than recordings, earning royalties whenever those songs are performed, streamed or covered, which made Carlin's catalogue a significant and valuable asset in the music industry.
Bienstock's family were central to the company's history: her mother, Mariam Bienstock, co-founded Atlantic Records, and her father, Freddie Bienstock, founded Carlin Music in 1966 and named it after her. She trained as a lawyer and worked at Goldman Sachs before joining Carlin in the late 1980s, eventually rising to become its president and chief executive and leading its expansion until the company was sold to Round Hill Music in 2017 for around $250 million.
Beyond her role at Carlin, she was active in the wider music publishing industry, serving on the boards of several trade and songwriting organisations and receiving recognition from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Her death, reported at age 68, marks the end of a career that helped shape how a major catalogue of well-known songs was managed and preserved over several decades.
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