Bio : 360 Reality Audio
360 Reality Audio is a new immersive music experience that uses Sony’s object-based 360 Spatial Sound technologies. Individual sounds such as vocals, chorus, piano, guitar, bass and even sounds of the live audience can be placed in a 360 spherical sound field, giving artists and creators a new way to express their creativity. Listeners can be immersed in a field of sound exactly as intended by artists and creators. Music content created in this new format for 360 Reality Audio can be enjoyed through compatible music streaming services Amazon Music HD, Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL.
Jordy Freed Bio
Jordy Freed is the Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy, Brand & Business Development, Video & Sound Products in Sony Corporation of America. As the first U.S.-based employee in the Brand & Business Development team, he leads marketing and business development for cross-functional initiatives such as 360 Reality Audio – Sony’s immersive music experience – global branding activities for sound products such as headphones and other related projects in the sound category for consumers and professionals. “My job is to make our corporate priorities in this segment relevant and supportive to both creators and consumers as well as business partners,” says Freed, a one-time jazz musician who grew up in an audiophile household in a Philadelphia suburb. “It’s also about creating cultural connection from a brand perspective.”
A recognized expert in marketing, business development and communications, Freed has a remit to develop new business strategies in a variety of key music industry segments. To that end, Freed leads the Brand & Business Development team’s co-marketing partnership with Amazon Music. He has overseen 360 Reality Audio marketing and partnerships with artists such as Doja Cat, Kygo, Kane Brown, Pink, Pharrell Williams and Alicia Keys (the latter of whom won the Best Immersive Audio Album GRAMMY® for the 360 Reality Audio version of “Alicia” in 2022 as a result of a multi-year collaboration), while also striking deals to reimagine the David Bowie catalog in the format to commemorate Bowie’s 75th Birthday aligned with NYC and London immersive activations, as well as incorporating 360 Reality Audio into high-profile videos such as Lil Nas X’s “Call Me By Your Name.”
Of late, Freed has further developed Sony’s history of working with artists on product partnerships, including leading global branding campaigns with Khalid on the popular WH-1000XM5 noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones and Saucy Santana on the company’s new LinkBuds S truly wireless earbuds. “It’s an honor to contribute to such an iconic brand in technology and music/entertainment and influence our continued global brand development activity,” says Freed, who works directly with his colleagues in Sony’s Japan-based HQ offices, and previously worked with other global partners in Cuba, China, Brazil, Taiwan and Poland through his previous employer.
A talented saxophonist who considered a career as a professional musician, Freed got his start in the industry working full-time as a publicist for jazz-leaning firm DL Media while simultaneously managing his freshman year course load at Temple University in Philadelphia. After graduation, Freed held marketing and PR roles at Blue Note Entertainment Group, where he helped amplify the company’s storied venue and festival properties. He also made a foray into the advertising world at top firm Grey, where he oversaw the PR campaign behind the U.S. National Park Service’s 2016 centennial.
Upon returning to Blue Note as VP of strategic marketing, PR and business development in 2016, Freed developed partnerships for the brand with organizations such as Intel Corporation, Pernod Ricard, the European Union Delegation to the United Nations and NHK Corporation. Most notably, he partnered the company with Sony Group Corporation in 2018 for the creation of New York’s Sony Hall located in Times Square (the first venue in the world to feature 360 Reality Audio). “What I was doing at Blue Note was to align the brand with other partners completely outside of music, but in a way that brought our value proposition to them,” he says. “With media changing, what other channels can you tap into to reach audience? How do you tell more compelling stories? You need to find other lanes. Our activity achieved this but also brought on new revenue streams as well.”
This deal ultimately led Freed to move to Sony proper in February 2020, where he now leads a team of three and is responsible for multi-million dollar projects. Starting in January 2023, Freed will begin an MBA program through the University of Southern California. “I always come back to the intersection of tech, entertainment and marketing,” he says. “If there’s emerging technology and a need to solve how it impacts entertainment and is brought to the public in some way, shape or form, I want to be involved in it.”
Jordy Freed Short Bio
Jordy Freed is the Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy, Brand & Business Development, Video & Sound Products in Sony Corporation of America. As the first U.S.-based employee in the Brand & Business Development team, he leads marketing and business development for cross-functional initiatives such as 360 Reality Audio – Sony’s immersive music experience – global branding activities for sound products such as headphones and other related projects in the sound/electronics category for consumers and professionals. A recognized expert in marketing, business development and communications, Freed previously served as VP of strategic marketing, PR and business development at Blue Note Entertainment Group, where he partnered the company with Sony Group Corporation in 2018 for the creation of New York’s Sony Hall located in Times Square.