Lee Abrams

Lee Abrams
Born	1952 Chicago
Occupation	Media executive

Lee Abrams (born 1952) is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the Album Oriented Rock format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country, as well as co-founding XM Satellite Radio.

Born in Chicago, Abrams became a radio DJ. He pioneered systematic audience research and psychographics, connecting people's lifestyles to their listening habits. He invented the album-oriented rock music format, or AOR, which in the 1970s shifted the music industry's focus from singles to albums. Some of his other work at this time included numerous voice-overs, notably the introduction commentary in Let's Talk About Me from the 1984 Alan Parsons Project album, Vulture Culture. Abrams co-founded of XM Satellite Radio and served as Chief Programming Officer at that company until his departure in 2008. More recently Abrams was the chief innovation officer for the Tribune Company (2008–2010) but prior to that, founded and ran notable radio consulting company Burkhart/Abrams, served as an internal consultant for ABC Radio, and helped develop nationwide radio formats such as Z-Rock and Radio Disney.

Additionally, he has been involved on the recording side of the music industry, producing Ah Via Musicom for guitarist Eric Johnson and appearing on several Alan Parsons Project CDs. He has also consulted and managed acts such as Yes, The Moody Blues, Steve Winwood, Iron Maiden and Bob Seger.

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