Tom Coyne (music engineer)

Thomas J. Coyne (December 10, 1954 – April 12, 2017)[1] was an American mastering engineer.[2]

Tom Coyne
Coyne at Sterling Sound in 2014
Coyne at Sterling Sound in 2014
Background information
Birth nameThomas J. Coyne
Born(1954-12-10)December 10, 1954
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedApril 12, 2017(2017-04-12) (aged 62)
U.S.
Occupation(s)Mastering engineer
Websitetomcoyne.sterlingsound.com

Early life and career edit

Coyne was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Union, where he graduated from Roselle Catholic High School in 1972.[3] He attended Kean College where he received a degree in Commercial Design. Following college, Coyne's first job was at Dick Charles Recording where Lee Hulko, former owner of Sterling Sound, got his first job in the states after arriving from Thunder Bay, Ontario.[4] In the six months Coyne worked at Dick Charles,[5] he watched Dick master records on the lathe and soon began cutting his own after hours. Coyne then was hired at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs,[6] assisting under Dominic Romeo,[7] known for cutting 45s for The Rolling Stones, The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli and Dionne Warwick among others. For the next ten years, Coyne primarily cut records for dance bands with his first big record being "Ladies Night" by Kool & the Gang. In 1989, Coyne was hired by The Hit Factory where he spent another five years mastering mostly Hip-Hop and R&B records by artists such as Billy Ocean, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. In 1994, Coyne was offered a job by Lee Hulko who now operated Sterling Sound.[8] In 1998, Coyne, Ted Jensen, Greg Calbi, Murat Aktar (Absolute Audio co-founder) and the UK based Metropolis bought Sterling Sound from Lee Hulko.[9][10]

Death edit

Coyne died on April 12, 2017, from multiple myeloma at the age of 62.[11][12][13]

Awards and recognition edit

During his career, Coyne won ten Grammy Awards and one Latin Grammy Award and had over 35 category nominations.[14][15]

Grammy Awards edit

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2010 I Am... Sasha Fierce Album of the Year Nominated
2012 21 Won
2013 "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" Record of the Year Nominated
2014 The Heist Album of the Year Nominated
Red Nominated
2015 Beyoncé Nominated
In the Lonely Hour Nominated
"Stay with Me (Darkchild Version)" Record of the Year Won
"Shake It Off" Nominated
2016 "Uptown Funk" Won
"Blank Space" Nominated
"Can't Feel My Face" Nominated
1989 Album of the Year Won
Beauty Behind the Madness Nominated
2017 25 Won
Purpose Nominated
"Hello" Record of the Year Won
"7 Years" Nominated
2018 "24K Magic" Won
24K Magic Album of the Year Won
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Won
2019 Colors Won

Latin Grammy Awards edit

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009 Ciclos Album of the Year Nominated
2012 Independiente Nominated
Déjenme Llorar Nominated
2013 Corazón Profundo Nominated
"Vivir Mi Vida" Record of the Year Won
2014 3.0 Album of the Year Nominated
Más Corazón Profundo Nominated
2015 Creo en Mí Nominated
Sirope Nominated
2016 Conexión Nominated
"Duele el Corazón" Record of the Year Nominated

Studio edit

Sterling Sound is located in New York City, occupying the top floor of the Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District. It was designed by Fran Manzella, FM Design.[16]

List of works mastered by Tom Coyne edit

1970s edit

1980s edit

1990s edit

 
A vinyl record mastered by Coyne

2000s edit

2010s edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Coyne's obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Coyne, Tom. "Tom Coyne". Sterling Sound. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Coughlin, Kevin. "Tom Coyne, Grammy-winning music engineer for Adele and Beyoncé, dies at 62", MorristownGreen.com, April 15, 2017. Accessed September 24, 2017. "Born in Elizabeth and raised in Union, Coyne graduated from Roselle Catholic High School and earned a B.A. from Kean University."
  4. ^ Verna, Paul (December 14, 2002). "Sterling's Reputation: Pushing The Sonic Envelope For 33 1/3 Years". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  5. ^ "Dick Charles Recording". www.discogs.com. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  6. ^ "Mix Magazine". mixonline.com. October 2001. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  7. ^ "Dominick Romeo". discogs.com. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  8. ^ "Sterling Sound Billboard Celebrating 33 1/3 years in the business – Special Supplement S-1 – S-15". books.google.com. December 14, 2002. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  9. ^ "Mastering Pros Plan NYC Studio". books.google.com. September 26, 1998. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  10. ^ "Phil Demetro Interviews Mastering Legend Tom Coyne". Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Miles Bowe (April 13, 2017). "Legendary mastering engineer Tom Coyne has died". Factmag. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  12. ^ "Grammy-winning mastering engineer Tom Coyne dies aged 62 – Music Business Worldwide". April 13, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  13. ^ "Tom Coyne, Grammy Award-Winning Mastering Engineer, Dies at 62". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "Tom Coyne". Grammy.com. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Tom Coyne-Biography". sterling-sound.com. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  16. ^ Manzella, Fran. "FM Design". www.fmdesign.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  17. ^ Deliu, Cătălin (September 12, 2010). "Lansare: Alexandra Stan – Mr. Saxobeat" [Release: Alexandra Stan – Mr. Saxobeat] (in Romanian). HeavyRotation.ro. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2022.