Shawn Amos Biography

Shawn Amos, founder and CEO of the digital content studio Freshwire, is an executive, producer of Grammy-nominated projects, and a recording artist.

Previously, Amos was an A&R executive at Rhino Entertainment, where he produced the Grammy-nominated historical box set Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From the Harlem Renaissance. During his time at Rhino, he produced broadcast, DVD and audio titles for legacy artists ranging from Heart to Quincy Jones.

In 2001, Amos was invited to produce Quincy Jones’ career overview Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones. While working on the box set, Jones asked him to run his Listen Up Foundation as executive director. Amos spent the next year working on housing and economic development in Africa, speaking at the World Economic Forum, and building homes in Durban, South Africa, as part of Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

Throughout Amos’ childhood and adulthood, his mother suffered from schizoaffective disorder and ultimately committed suicide in 2003.

The trauma of the event and his subsequent discovery of her early singing career were the inspiration behind his 2005 album release Thank You Shirl-ee May. He has since donated his time to the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, a mental health organization in Los Angeles. Amos has also dedicated much of his time to local non-profit organizations committed to working with at-risk youth.

Amos is the son of Wally Amos, founder of the Famous Amos brand and the first African-American talent agent for the William Morris Agency. Growing up in the colorful Hollywood landscape inspired Amos to pursue a career in film (he attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts), then music and digital media. Amos is currently writing a memoir titled Cookies & Milk: Scenes From a ’70s Hollywood Childhood.

Amos was included in Forbes magazine’s list of “Up and Comers,” and he is a regular contributor on Bloomberg West TV, where he discusses brand marketing. He also sits on the board of trustees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

At the 2014 Thread Summit in Colorado, Amos spoke about the need for “content mindfulness,” encouraging brands to focus on delivering strategic and thoughtful content that helps tell the brand’s story, and opt out of the 24/7 real-time race for relevancy. He believes the future of consumer engagement is about value, not volume.

Amos currently hosts The Content Brief, Freshwire’s weekly look at brand marketing in the digital era and the future of consumer engagement.

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