Entertainment <\/p>\n
\n\tThe entertainment business is filled with polymaths, but this week\u2019s \u201cStrictly Business<\/a>\u201d podcast guest, Evan Bogart<\/a>, is a rarity even by its standards: He\u2019s a songwriter of hits for Beyonce, Rihanna, Lizzo and others; owner of the large publishing company Seeker Music<\/a>; chair of the Recording Academy\u2019s new songwriters and composers wing<\/a>; and not least, son of the late, legendary Neil Bogart, founder of the 1970s powerhouse Casablanca Records, which brought the world Kiss, Donna Summer, Parliament-Funkadelic and the Village People. Neil is the subject of \u201cSpinning Gold,\u201d a biopic <\/a>directed and written by Evan\u2019s older brother Tim, for which Evan is executive music producer, and which comes out March 31.<\/p>\n \n\tNeedless to say, art and entrepreneurship run in the Bogart family genes, even though Neil passed away in 1982 when Evan was just four years old, and he and Tim share their father\u2019s zeal for both. They also have more than a little of his larger-than-life personality. \u201cI wrote a song with Donna Summer for her [final] album,\u201d Evan recalls, \u201cand she kept staring at me because she said she felt like she was in the room with my dad. And one time I went to Kiss\u2019 management offices to pick up concert tickets, and this guy was just looking at me. I was like, \u2018Yeah?,\u2019 and he said, \u2018I\u2019m sorry, I feel like I\u2019m having an acid trip \u2014\u00a0you look just like your dad.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOver the years he\u2019s worked in virtually every sector of the business \u2014 working at record labels, agencies and as both a manager and rapper in his early years before his songwriting took off with Rihanna\u2019s \u201cS.O.S.\u201d and Beyonce\u2019s \u201cHalo,\u201d along with hits for Lizzo, Madonna, Demi Lovato, Jason DeRulo and others. But like his brother, he has the ability to quickly shift gears from creative to business \u2014 \u201cI\u2019ve tried focusing only on creative or only on business,\u201d he says. \u201cBut when I do, I feel like part of me is missing. I love doing both.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe\u2019s continuing to do all of the above, with his current focus on \u201cSpinning Gold<\/a>,\u201d leading his creator-focused Seeker Music publishing company through acquisitions of catalogs by Christopher Cross, songwriters John Ryan (One Direction, Maroon 5, John Legend) and Jon Bellion (Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, Eminem) among others, and writing the music for his and Tim\u2019s next film, \u201cVerona,\u201d a musical based on the real Romeo and Juliet, for which filming recently wrapped.<\/p>\n \n\tBogart talks about all of the above, particularly his memories of his dad and the bittersweet experience of working on the film, in this week\u2019s \u201cStrictly Business.\u201d<\/p>\n