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Adam Curry

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Adam Curry
Born (1964-09-03) September 3, 1964 (age 60)
Washington, D.C.
CitizenshipAmerican Dutch
Known forMTV VJ
Daily Source Code
Spouse
​
(m. 1989)​
Children1 (Christina, 1990)
Websitecurry.com

Adam Clark Curry (born September 3, 1964 in Washington, D.C.) is a broadcasting and Internet personality well known for his stint from 1987 to 1994 as a video jockey on the music video channel MTV. In the mid-1990s, Curry was a World Wide Web entrepreneur and one of the first celebrities to personally create and administer a Web site. In the 2000s, he helped pioneer podcasting, and is often called the 'Podfather' because of his efforts.[1] He is a licensed pilot and owns a Cessna 182 RG. He in the process of getting a divorce from his wife, the Dutch singer Patricia Paay; they have one daughter, Cristina.

Early radio and TV career

Curry was born in Arlington, Virginia, but lived in Amstelveen, a city next to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 1972 to 1987. After a time working in Dutch pirate radio under the pseudonym "John Holdon", he got his big break in broadcasting as the host of the Dutch weekly pop-music television program Countdown, and the English version of the same show, which was broadcast on pan-European music channel Music Box. He also hosted several other radio and television programs for the Dutch broadcast station Veronica.

In 1987, Curry became a VJ for MTV. Besides making spot appearances between music videos, he was also host of the programs Headbangers Ball and Top 20 Countdown in which he interviewed stars like Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. While working for MTV, he also did radio work, including: drive-time host for the New York City radio station WHTZ, and host of the national program HitLine USA.

The Web and MTV.com

In the late 1980s, before the World Wide Web, in the days of Gopher, Curry began experimenting on the Net. He registered the then-unclaimed domain name "mtv.com" in 1993 with the idea of being MTV's unofficial new voice on the Internet. Although this move was sanctioned by his superiors at MTV Networks at the time, when Adam left to start his own web-portal design and hosting company, OnRamp Inc, MTV subsequently sued him for the domain name, which led to an out-of-court settlement.[2]

OnRamp eventually grew to forty employees and was sold to THINK New Ideas Inc, another company that he co-founded, becoming Chief Technology Officer of THINK. In 1996, as the Internet was undergoing its legendary "bubble", the company made an initial public offering on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol THNK. It subsequently grew to employ over 400 people and with offices in seven countries, and was absorbed into Answerthink Inc, in a later merger.

In 2005, Curry founded a video sharing site called Mevio (formerly PodShow) with Ron Bloom. In May 2008, Mevio claimed to have reached 9 million unique visitors. It offers advertisers "brand safe" content on a large scale. It raised a $15 million third round in July 2008, bringing the total amount it has raised since its launch to over $38 million.[3] Curry has also gone back to his hosting roots and can be seen daily on the site in the show called "Mevio Today."

Back to Europe

After selling his business in the US, Curry and his family returned to work in the Netherlands in 1999. He pursued his radio and television career by presenting a morning talk/music show for his former employer, Veronica Radio. It was discontinued in September 2004. He carried out several loose television assignments and his family briefly starred in the reality soap Adam's Family.[4]

Curry and two business partners founded the multimedia company United Resources of Jamby in 1999. It was to act as an incubator and cultivator for new internet-related businesses. The business was unsuccessful. The participation in Kennisnet, a venture to introduce internet to Dutch schools, ended in a bitter argument and lawsuits over incorrect European invitation to tender.[5] Sportus.nl, an online webshop in cooperation with Dutch athletes like Marcel Wouda, Jacco Eltingh, Ron Zwerver and Daniëlle Overgaag, started in 1999, went bankrupt in 2001.[6] And a prestigious content exchange project called Freedom Controller[7] was cancelled in 2002.[8]

In 2000 he and his business partner Simon Cavendish, a participant in his earlier ventures, founded the RotorJet company which was to offer helicopter services. The company went bankrupt in 2005. In the subsequent dispute, Cavendish seized the assets of the company. In April 2005, Adam Curry was ordered by the Dutch Court to restitute approximately two million American dollars which he had withdrawn from RotorJet.[9]

In 2004, the Curry family, who had resided in Belgium since 1999, moved their home to the United Kingdom. They currently reside in London, in what some and Adam himself refer to on his podcast, The Daily Source Code as "Curry Terrace". Curry also owns a condominium in San Francisco, California, ("Curry Condo") which he uses for his frequent business trips to the city. In summer 2006, he and his wife began looking to purchase their own home in the UK.

On July 2, 2006, Adam's mother, Valerie Gail Clark (Breezy), died after a 2-year battle with cancer.[10] During the same month, a younger cousin of Adam Curry, Timothy Curry, was arrested in Amsterdam for the possession of several illegal drugs. This caused some minor controversies in the Dutch media, especially local news in Amsterdam.

In December 2008, Curry moved from the 'Curry Manor' in Guildford to the 'Curry Terrace' in London where he now lives.

Podcasting

Adam Curry is involved in the development and promotion of podcasting. He produces and presents a podcast named Daily Source Code, and was one of the first to create a successful podcast show. He is a prominent figure in podcasting and he was a key figure at BloggerCon 2004, held at Stanford Law School. Media interviewers and others often refer to Curry as "the podfather".[11]

"Every new medium needs a celebrity, and Curry is happy to fill that role," noted Annalee Newitz when she interviewed Curry for Wired.[12]

Curry founded PodShow, Inc., now Mevio, along with business partner, Ron Bloom, in January 2005. Venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital have invested nearly $9 million into PodShow.[13] PodShow is a podcast promotions and advertising company that encompasses the Podshow Podcast Network, the Podcast Delivery Network (launched on July 4, 2006), and the Podsafe Music Network. Some of Podshow's top podcasts are Curry's own Daily Source Code, The Dawn and Drew Show, GeekBrief.TV.[13] As of the end of 2006 PodShow's total amount of venture capital investments have risen to approximately $23m.

From June 2005 until May 2007, Curry hosted a show on Sirius Satellite Radio, entitled Adam Curry's PodShow, running from 6 to 10 p.m. EST on weekdays.[14][15] The radio show featured what he called "The Best of Podcasting".

Since around the time of Daily Source Code episode 380 (aired May 4, 2006),[16] Curry promoted Daily Source Code in Second Life under the name Adam Neumann via Curry Castle.[16] He even introduced an island called Podshow Island which was managed by Britney Mason aka Dave Peck. Podshow Island was shut down in March 2008.

Curry used podcasting in support of Ron Paul, Congressman and 2008 Republican Presidential hopeful, after officially endorsing him.[1] He currently uses the show to discuss news topics and conspiracy theories such as Free energy suppression[17] and the 9/11 Truth Movement.

He also participates in the general discussion podcast No Agenda with John C. Dvorak[18] which has gathered over 300,000 regular listeners.[citation needed]

Creative Commons

In late February 2006, Adam sued the Dutch tabloid Weekend for reprinting photos from his Flickr page and publishing details about his daughter.[19] The photos were released under a version of the Creative Commons license that forbids commercial use and requires acknowledgement, but the tabloid printed a few of them without contacting Curry.[20]

The verdict of the lawsuit did not reward Curry any damages, but did forbid the tabloid from reprinting the photos in the future, and set a fine of 1,000€ for each subsequent violation by the tabloid. It was one of the first times the license was tested in a court.[20]

In May 2009, Curry posted on his blog information about a different Dutch tabloid publishing another Creative Commons licenced photo from Curry's Flickr account and Curry's attempt to apply Creative Commons license requirements.[21] The publisher settled without a trial on Curry's terms.[22]

References

  1. ^ "LAtimes". Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  2. ^ "MTV vs. Curry". Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  3. ^ "Mevio, Formerly PodShow, Raises $15 Million Third Round". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  4. ^ "Adam's Family". IMDB. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ Wilbert de Vries (2003-05-16). "Problems for Kennisnet" (in NL). Retrieved 2007-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  6. ^ "Nieuwe sportwinkel mikt op Europese markt" (in NL). Sportus.nl. December 16, 1999. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. ^ Ad Mulder (2001-01-23). "Interview with Adam Curry where he speaks about his Peer2Peer video sharing program Freedom Controller" (in NL). Retrieved 2007-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  8. ^ Maarten Reijnders (2002-12-19). ""Freedom Controller canceled, Jamby B.V. chapter elevened" (in NL). Retrieved 2007-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  9. ^ Curry, Adam (2006-07-03). "DSC-For Mom". Curry.com. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  10. ^ "Audience with the podfather". Wired News. 2005-05-14. Retrieved 2007-02-11. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  11. ^ "Adam Curry Wants to Make You an iPod Radio Star". Wired. March, 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. ^ a b Miller, Martin (2006-05-25). "'Podfather' plots a radio hit of his own : LA Times". PodShow, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ "SIRIUS Satellite radio partnering with Adam Curry" (Press release). SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  14. ^ "Sirius and Podshow end their contract". April 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  15. ^ a b Sekiya, Baron (2006-05-03). "Adam Curry discovers Second Life". MediaBaron.com. Retrieved 2006-11-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Daily Source Code Episode 781, "Confessions of a multimedia hitman"
  17. ^ Mevio | Show Guide
  18. ^ Garlick, Mia (2006-03-16). "Creative Commons Licenses Enforced in Dutch Court". Creative Commons. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ a b Marsen, Ingrid (March 21, 2006). "Creative Commons license upheld by court". cnet. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  20. ^ Curry, Adam (2009-05-29). "Defending Creative Commons, Again". Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  21. ^ http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/15380
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