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The obituaries and news stories this weekend about the sudden and unexplained death of Dave Goldberg, 47, all mention that he was the CEO of Survey Monkey and the husband of Facebook COO and "Lean In" author Sheryl Sandberg. Some also note that he worked at Capitol Records, the Hollywood institution. But in a piece titled The World is Going to Miss Dave Goldberg, Yahoo Music executive editor Dave DiMartino says there is much more to know about Goldberg's formative role in the digital music business in LA and beyond.
"The former GM of Yahoo Music was a brilliant boss man, a great friend to all in his employ, a true friend to both individual musicians and the record industry itself (almost an unfathomable contradiction at this late date), and one of the very few true pioneers to be had in the music biz in the last two decades," DiMartino writes. "And he was right about almost everything. Maybe just a little bit too soon."
An excerpt from the piece:
I first met Goldberg and his longtime friend and partner Bob Roback in 1994, when they were putting together an “interactive music experience” that would initially live on a CD-ROM — because modem speeds at the time were in the 14.4k-28.8k range, and what then was the internet was largely a batch of bulletin boards, ASCII files, and things you couldn’t even listen to, let alone watch.
Both Goldberg and Roback were music fans – Goldberg in fact had spent some time at Capitol Records and had a hand in getting CDs stocked at Starbucks, no small innovation — and both saw new opportunities to promote music and artists via interactive means. Which in 1994 meant not the Internet, not DVDs, but actual, and now very quaint, CD-ROMs. Which one might obtain and stick in their computer, if one had one. A computer, that is.
As anyone who was there then knows: Dave Goldberg was truly a pioneer. Music video on the Internet? He made an investment, brought in a company, led the pack. Internet radio? LAUNCHcast was staggeringly good, in its prime massively better than today’s also-ran Pandora, and likely the best personalized radio service anyone has yet to experience. Music on demand? Well before Spotify was making headlines, when iTunes was just getting started, Goldberg introduced Yahoo Music Unlimited — and, as pioneers do, suffered the wrath of those gatekeepers at record labels and publishing companies who saw their business models threatened. That those same gatekeepers now methodically aspire to own a chunk of every business Goldberg inspired is charming and, of course, wholly predictable.
Music industry hand Cary Baker says on Facebook: "My few interactions with Dave were punctuated by his uncommon intelligence, kindness and humor, not to mention his love of music. He was a visionary—proven many times over—and equally a mensch."
Goldberg's death was announced by his brother on Facebook Saturday morning, and then by Mark Zuckerberg and by Survey Monkey. The circumstances, including which country Goldberg was in when he died, have not been disclosed or reliably reported. Goldberg and Sandberg reportedly were outside the U.S. at the time, and she was reported back in the country on Saturday. Zuckerman said in his message to Facebook employees that Goldberg died Friday evening while the couple was out of the country on vacation. So as far as the public knows, it could have been anywhere and due to any cause. That's an information vacuum that becomes harder to maintain the longer it exists, for official reasons alone.
Robert Goldberg's post:
It’s with incredible shock and sadness that I’m letting our friends and family know that my amazing brother, Dave Goldberg, beloved husband of Sheryl Sandberg, father of two wonderful children, and son of Paula Goldberg, passed away suddenly last night. In this time of sorrow, we mourn his passing and remember what an amazing husband, father, brother, son and friend he was. No words can express the depth of loss we feel, but we want his children to learn how much he meant to all of you. In lieu of donations, we want to celebrate his life in a manner that respects the family’s privacy as they cope with this tragic, life changing event: Sheryl, their children, and our family would be grateful if people would post their memories and pictures of Dave to his Facebook profile.
Zuckerberg's Saturday morning post:
Dave Goldberg was an amazing person and I am glad I got to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with Sheryl and her family. I hope friends will join me in celebrating his life by sharing your memories of Dave on his proflle, as his brother Rob suggests.
