Josh Gruss

Josh Gruss
Born	(1974-03-14) March 14, 1974
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, musician, songwriter
Known for	Co-founder of Round Hill Music; co-owner of Quad Studios Nashville; guitarist and songwriter for Rubikon; chairman and CEO of Round Hill Music

Joshua Carl Gruss (born March 14, 1974), widely known as Josh Gruss, is an entrepreneur, musician, and songwriter based in New York City. He is a co-founder of Round Hill Music, a U.S.-based music publishing company, and holds co-ownership of Quad Studios Nashville, a recording studio located on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, Gruss performs as a guitarist and songwriter for the Boston-originated band Rubikon and acts as chairman and CEO of Round Hill Music.

Early life

Josh Gruss was born in 1974 to Agneta Angel and Martin Gruss and is the grandson of financier Joseph S. Gruss. He completed his secondary education at Taft School in 1992, attained a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College (Connecticut) in 1996, and earned executive MBA degrees from both Columbia University and London Business School in 2010. Furthermore, he pursued studies in music business and guitar at Boston's Berklee College of Music.

Career

Gruss launched his professional journey at Atlantic Records before transitioning to roles as an analyst at Bear Stearns and within his family's enterprise, Gruss & Company. He served six years in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, including active duty following the events of September 11.

In 2010, alongside Richard Rowe and Neil Gillis, Gruss established Round Hill Music, recognized as the first private equity firm concentrating on music royalty investments. The firm acquired rights from artists including The Beatles and The Offspring. By 2013, he secured publishing rights to "Land of a Thousand Dances," which yielded approximately $200,000 annually in royalties. The following year, Gruss partnered with songwriter Marti Frederiksen to revitalize Quad Studios Nashville.

In 2018, under Gruss's leadership, Round Hill completed a $245 million acquisition of Carlin America’s catalog encompassing over 150,000 songs, featuring iconic tracks like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Jim Steinman. The company's collection also includes works by artists such as The Goo Goo Dolls, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, and Bruno Mars.

May 2020 saw Gruss launch Black Hill Records, a label focused on rock music that signed bands including Black Pistol Fire and The Cult. Later that year, Round Hill successfully raised $291 million for its third music royalty fund—the largest fund raised by the company to date.

Gruss earned placement on Billboard's Change Agents list in January 2021 after orchestrating acquisitions totaling nearly $600 million, notably including a $328 million public offering on the London Stock Exchange. In May 2021, he expanded Round Hill’s portfolio by acquiring Swedish label Telegram Studios with master recordings from artists such as Estelle, Serj Tankian, and Ziggy Marley. He also founded a $1 million endowed scholarship at Berklee College of Music aimed at supporting students pursuing degrees in Music Business. In January 2022, Gruss was featured on the Billboard Power List.

Music career

Since 2015, Gruss has contributed as guitarist and songwriter for Rubikon, performing extensively on tour and opening for prominent rock bands. Their track "Blood on My Hands," co-written by Gruss, achieved the #37 spot on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart in 2019.

Gruss took on the role of executive producer for reissues of four albums by British rock group Bush and produced Blues Traveler’s Grammy-nominated album Travelers Blues, which was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2022.