# David Katznelson

> David Katznelson is a Grammy-nominated music producer turned cultural entrepreneur who runs Reboot, the nonprofit network of 650-plus Jewish and Jew-ish creatives that reimagines Jewish life through arts and culture. A former Warner Bros. Records A&R vice president who signed and worked with The Flaming Lips, Mudhoney and Nick Cave, he founded the independent label Birdman Records, co-founded the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation and San Francisco's all-night DAWN Shavuot festival, and in 2022 launched Reboot Studios to give early-stage funding to new Jewish stories across film, theater, music and television. He still writes The Signal, a Substack about the records the world loved and lost.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Reboot
- **Organizations:** Reboot, Reboot Studios, Birdman Recording Group, Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation, Warner Bros. Records (former), Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco (former)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., English Language and Literature, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Grammy-nominated music producer, Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros. Records (1996-2000), Founder of Birdman Records and the Birdman Recording Group

## Career timeline

- **1980s** — Begins in music while in high school, working for Bill Graham Presents; college radio DJ at UC Berkeley
- **1991** — Joins Warner Bros. Records as an A&R executive
- **1996** — Promoted to Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros. Records, working with The Flaming Lips, Mudhoney, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Texas Tornados, Shane MacGowan and The Boredoms
- **2000** — Founds Birdman Records, flagship of the Birdman Recording Group
- **2000s** — Co-founds the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation with Roger Bennett, Courtney Holt and Josh Kun
- **2000s** — Co-founds DAWN, an all-night Shavuot celebration in San Francisco
- **2012** — Becomes chair of Reboot's board
- **2016** — Leaves the S.F. Jewish Community Federation, where he was Director of Strategic Change, to become Executive Director of Reboot
- **2022** — Launches Reboot Studios to fund early-stage Jewish storytelling across media
- **2026** — Reboot Studios announces a strategic partnership with streaming platform ChaiFlicks to expand Jewish storytelling globally

## Achievements

- Grammy-nominated music producer
- Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros. Records (1996-2000)
- Founder of Birdman Records and the Birdman Recording Group
- Co-founder of the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation
- Co-founder of the DAWN all-night Shavuot festival in San Francisco
- Produced the Skip Spence tribute compilation MORE OAR (Robert Plant, Beck, Greg Dulli and others)
- Grew Reboot into a network of 650+ Jewish and 'Jew-ish' creatives
- Launched Reboot Studios; backed projects including 'Saturday Night Seder' and HBO's 'The Survivor'

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Reboot Studios announced an exclusive strategic partnership with streaming service ChaiFlicks to expand Jewish storytelling globally.
- **2025-12** — Continued publishing The Signal on Substack, including a 'favorite things of 2025' edition.

## Links

- Website: https://rebooting.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/david-katznelson-3a1601
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/oakiedog
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rebooters

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-katznelson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24