In Their Words

Scott Jacoby is a Grammy Award-winning Writer, Producer, Engineer, Mixer, Musician and Recording Artist. His work – spanning all media and virtually every genre of music – has garnered awards, graced platinum-selling albums and topped charts throughout the world. John Legend, Coldplay, Vampire Weekend, Sia, Jason Mraz, Janelle Monae, Pink, Aloe Blacc, Natasha Bedingfield, Moses Sumney, Laura Izibor, Stormzy, Ty Dolla Sign, Rachel Platten, Jose James, Rozzi, Vanessa Hudgens, Fabolous, Jackie Evancho, SZA, Allen Stone, Chimene Badi, Naturally 7, Son Little, Ronnie Spector and Cory Henry are a few of his diverse and notable collaborations.

An acclaimed Composer, Scott has scored and engineered award-winning feature-length films (New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization, The Immigrant, My Last Day Without You), documentaries (Frontline’s Policing The Police, CNBC’s Escape From Havana, Doped – The Dirty Side of Sports), television shows (Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Shield, Book Of Pooh), and national television commercials (Old Navy, Oscar De La Renta, Jansport) for the world’s leading studios, film-makers and brands.

Scott is the Founder/President of EUSONIA – a family of progressive music industry enterprises which includes a state-of-the-art recording studio in Manhattan (Eusonia Records), an independent record label featuring Grammy-winning and nominated artists (Eusonia Studios), and a world-class recording equipment company (Eusonia Audio). Scott is also the CEO of his production company, SCOJAC Music Productions.

In collaboration with the Grammy Museum Foundation, Scott and partner James McKinney are the Co-Founders, Co-Chief Operating Officers and Executive Advisors to The AMA Center – a multi-million dollar, 11,000 square-foot philanthropic innovation, music production and technology facility/initiative on the island of Anguilla in the central Caribbean. AMA Recording Studios was nominated for a NAMM Tec Award in 2021 for studio design.

Scott speaks frequently at industry events and universities. He has been a guest lecturer at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, NYU’s Steinhardt Program, Yale University, Drexel University, The New School, Skidmore College and City College of New York. He has also been a featured speaker at ASCAP Expo, AES Platinum Producers panel, PureMix, Mixcon Brooklyn, and IMSTA-Festa (Keynote Speaker). In 2016, Scott presented the Technical Grammy Award in Los Angeles. Scott is a LinkedIn Learning author and holds endorsements from several prestigious audio software and hardware companies. In 2023, Scott was the recipient of the Skidmore College Distinguished Achievement Award given to an outstanding alumni of the school.

Since 2009, Scott has held various elected and appointed positions at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The Recording Academy) including: National Board of Trustees (2011-2015), New York Chapter Board Governor (2009-2017), National Co-Chair of the Producer & Engineer’s (P&E) Wing (2015-16), National Steering Committee of the P&E Wing (2013-16), National Advisory Council member (2011-2018) and Co-Chair of New York Chapter P&E Wing (2011-2018). Scott sits on the Board of Advisors of The Third Street Music School Settlement, The AMA Center, and Better World Records.

Scott resides in the greater NYC area with his wife and three daughters.

In My Words

I quit medical school to become a recording artist at the age of 27. For whatever reason, perhaps because it inspires the deviant adventurousness in each of us, that is the thing that most people relate to in my tale. You could say that the jump from a secure and respected career was without a net – I had no formal training in music, I didn’t really know what a producer was or how to produce music, and I sure as hell didn’t have any significant contacts in the industry. But what I did have was a profound lack of humility in that I knew that I’d somehow be able to create a livelihood in this new world.

At the time, I thought that I would simply leave med school, get a record deal and then become the white D’angelo. Instead, I was swindled by a hack manager and told by all the major labels that my music was great but not commercially-viable (gotta love this statement). The bright side of this was the realization that whatever minimal talent I possessed was more in the realm of producing and writing, rather than singing and looking sexy. This was actually a tremendous relief: no $300 jeans or haircuts necessary, and I rested comfortably knowing that people would no longer be subjected to a mediocre voice and a reluctant performer. The idea of being the David Fincher or the Spike Lee of an album was much more appealing to me than being one of their leading actors. As hypocrisy would script it, I did end up getting a record deal a few years after abandoning the pursuit, but we’ll get to that later.

Several things paved the way for my actually being able to eek out a career in this treacherous sea of bottom-feeders known as the music business. I credit my parents for charging me rent to live at home after I left med school. I told them, “Fuck you, I love you, I’m moving to Greenwich Village.” I must credit Bluemaze Entertainment, who gave me my first record contract, and with the cash from this deal, I started a studio on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Lastly, I credit a friend who brought me into his music lawyer’s corner office on the 23rd floor of 1775 Broadway overlooking Central Park. Upon hearing my music, the lawyer leaped out of his chair, cigarette in hand, and danced wildly before bringing in his staff in to meet their new client.

I was born in New York City – specifically the upper east side of Manhattan – on Halloween night in 1971. Not sure if it is coincidence, but so many of my favorite albums are from that year: Donny Hathaway’s “Live”, Stevie Wonder’s “Where I’m Coming From”, Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”, John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Aretha’s “Live at the Fillmore West”, Elton’s “Madman Across Water”, Bill Wither’s “Just As I Am”, Miles’ “Live-Evil”, Sly’s “There’s A Riot Goin On”, and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin On.” I could goin’ on. But I assure you, that to whatever extent these seminal records have been permanently etched into my consciousness, it was not because my dear parents were playing them in our home during my first year of life. The music I heard as a child was the roar of ConEd workers fixing stuff on East 80th street and the sound of Jewish people talking at high decibel levels. Mom, Dad and I made the suburban exile when my parents realized that the application process for nursery school in Manhattan was more rigorous than getting into most colleges. In Rye, I was bred; and I learned from both the comforts and limitations of the new surroundings.

Some standard bio stuff: I’ve played drums and piano since I was 10. I went on to play other instruments, least notably the guitar, where I excel at playing only one string at a time. I’ve been writing songs since I was 11. I Thoreau’d myself through high school, then went to Skidmore College, studied Psychology and for 8 days wore self-constructed glasses which turned my vision upside-down. I went to Kenya and Tanzania at age 20, then spent significant time in Central America after graduating college. It was these experiences that inspired the path of medicine – I was interested in being a doctor without borders. I worked as a construction worker, I worked in a mental hospital, I worked for an international development non-profit. Albert Einstein College of Medicine was kind to admit a wild-haired dreamer, and equally gracious to permit me to leave – Dr. Einstein himself probably would have supported a similar pursuit of passion. Through trials, errors and tribulations I taught myself how to write, to produce, to mix, to engineer – how to make records. Years after the quest for the coveted record deal ended, I got one as a solo artist. For no good reason, I became famous in Japan with a number 1 hit called “I Like You” which beat out Britney Spears, Outkast and The Dave Matthews Band at the top of the charts. I became interested in being a musician without borders, and went on to write, produce and mix thousands of songs and albums.

In 2006, we began to witness the monolithic music industry crumble, and I personally saw 4 major label recording artists I was working with get dropped from their deals. So, in 2007, as the financial crisis took its lethal grasp of the world’s economy, I did the only thing which made sense: start a record label. Yes, a dumb move by any standard, but I’ve always been prone to run toward the disaster. Eusonia Records is built upon a frustration and a philosophy. Somehow, good people seem to be the most undervalued and under-appreciated asset in our society. And, with tremendous regret, good music often seems to suffer the same fate in our industry. So Eusonia exists to make Good Music and put it out into the world. It places art above commerce, and music above everything. Something must be working: our first release, Maiysha’s debut album “This Much Is True” got nominated for Grammy – Best Urban Alternative Performance – in 2009. Since then we’ve developed several genre-busting artists (Ben l’Oncle Soul, Silya, Cory Henry, Zach Deputy), and in 2021 we signed indie-folk phenom, Lila Dupont. Not too shabby.

There have been several outgrowths of the Eusonia philosophy: My musical home is a very unique recording and creation environment called Eusonia Studios – a space which embodies how I see the process of making music. Another is Eusonia Audio – a company dedicated to making hi-end, analog recording equipment that embodies the pursuit of tone and musicality above all else. And this philosophy extends further, as I’ve been fortunate to parlay a love of and expertise in music into several other meaningful ventures: I helped to create a philanthropic music academy and world-class recording studio in the Caribbean, I started an internship program with my alma-mater which has trained and helped launch the careers of over 50 students, and I’ve made videos and designed curricula that teach music production, songwriting and engineering to aspiring creators. These, coupled with running a record label, a recording studio, and an audio company, have offered a doctorate-level course in the dangers of hubris as they’ve been a tremendous way to spend time I don’t have and (occasionally) lose money I used to have. But they have also been some of the most meaningful things I’ve done in my life. Sometimes, it really is just about the purity of the endeavor.

In a career that somehow now encompasses a quarter century I’ve had the privilege to write, produce, and mix for a wildly diverse array of amazing artists including John Legend, Coldplay, Ronnie Spector, Vampire Weekend, Sia, Janelle Monae, Jason Mraz, Cory Henry, Stormzy, Pink, Laura Izibor, SZA, Jose James, Fabolous, Kane, Matisyahu, Steve Turre, Jackie Evancho, Vanessa Hudgens, Moses Sumney, Naturally 7, Chimene Badi, Christian McBride and countless others. Along the way, I’ve won a Grammy Award, won a Black Reel Award, worked on several Grammy-Winning and Nominated albums, made lots of Platinum and Gold records, scored award-winning films, collaborated with my heroes, been twice elected to the NARAS Boards of Trustees, been profiled in Billboard magazine, was honored with a lifetime achievement award, served on advisory boards, lectured at prestigious conferences and in ivory towers across the country, and I’ve had chart-topping songs and albums all over the world, blah, blah, blah. But to a certain extent, I’m only proud of one accomplishment: that I am a Musician, Writer, Producer, Engineer and Mixer in ALL genres of music who still has a modicum of integrity; and I’ve been able to occasionally channel this expertise into areas that have benefitted other people. For me, it starts and ends there.

Eusonia is a word that I made up from Latin and Greek roots which loosely means: Home of Good Music. That’s the point of all of this. What a strange and beautiful trip it’s been so far – I’m grateful for the opportunity to find meaning doing something I love. Thanks so much for reading.