EDWARD BENNETT, OWNER
Edward Bennett owns Bennett Media Studio (BMS) and 723 Washington Studios in New York City. He also owns his own record label, Film/Television company, and Talent Management agency.
A published writer, song lyricist, music composer and recorded musician, Ed serves on the Board of The Songwriters Guild of America Foundation. Mr. Bennett’s experience ranges from his artistic pursuits to his entrepreneurial businesses, encompassing the Internet, Media and Technology, to Music, Film, Television Broadcasting, Talent Development and Publishing.
Ed was the first President and Chief Executive Officer of VH1, MTV Network’s 24-hour music and lifestyle network. Ed developed many of the “Signature “ TV shows for this popular global TV network.
He was also CEO of HA! The TV Comedy Network, a television network start-up for the MTV Networks group. It was then merged with HBO/Time Warner. The new joint venture, called Comedy Central, is now in over 500 million television households and is the most successful TV Comedy network in the world.
While in the television industry, he produced the first CEO Conference at MIT’s Media Lab. At VH1, he instituted and led over twenty campaigns for non-political social causes such as improving education and protecting the environment. Groups such as Grammy’s in the Schools and Habitat For Humanity were created to raise public awareness on how individuals can make a difference through local volunteerism or financial contributions.
Mr. Bennett has also been publicly recognized for his professional and personal work. He was given the American Civil Liberty Union’s Torch of Liberty Award, an honor he shares with Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Gregory Peck,and Harry Belafonte.
At BMS , Ed is producing and developing, or hosting new Shows for Television and the Internet. Recently the popular cooking Show “Brunch with Bobby Flay” was hosted and shot at BMS.
He recently launched a Story Teller series at his Studio, a live monthly event called “ The Manhattan Monologue Slam”.
These Story tellers perform monologues in front of a live audience and are judged by peers, and a winner is declared each month.
Ed is also developing new singers and performers in his recording/film/media studio. The studio offers a large Live Performance Space for established and emerging artists.
His recent focus is helping various artists, writers, performers and producers in bringing their creative work forward to higher profiles.
He also co-sponsored “On The Edge”, New Independent Cinema from China, a Film festival held at Lincoln Center. He also hosted Robert Adanto’s “The Rising Tide”, a film about the rise of Contemporary Chinese Artists.
His Asia Division has been producing, writing and recording K-Pop for various artists. Recently he has been featured in several TV Documentaries on K-pop’s influence in the world of Pop Culture. His last interview covered the “Psy” phenomena of the power of the internet for artistic expression and branding.
Mr. Bennett attended Boston University and MIT where he studied Architecture and Design. He also consulted at NYU’s Center for Advanced Digital Applications (CADA), helping to expand their Animation curriculum internationally. As a photographer, his photographs have appeared in magazines, journals and CD covers.
He is currently traveling in China and Korea to support his artists there and discover new talent to work with.
