Clarence Avant - Music Publisher
Interior

Clarence Avant is a music publisher, label executive, and longtime music-industry veteran who, aside from his personal accomplishments, has served as a mentor for people, among them producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. An industry legend, Avant had his first success running the Sussex Records label (to which he signed artists such as Bill Withers) and later Tabu Records. Later, in the 1990s, he became chairman of Motown, where he revived the label, overhauled its roster, and signed hitmakers like Boys II Men and 98 Degrees. Today, he runs a publishing company (Interior Publishing) which still owns the rights to several Bill Withers songs, including “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t no Sunshine.”