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has included authors, musicians and 
record labels such as Elmore Leonard, 
Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, 
Insane Clown Posse, The Bass Brothers, 
Thornetta Davis, Marcus Belgrave, 
Atlantic Records, The Romantics and 
Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers). 
Hertz has been a board member of The 
Marshall Mathers Foundation for the 
past 20 years. The signed 8 Mile movie 
poster from Eminem in Hertz’s office 
reads “Thanks for keeping me out of 
jail.”
In the arts world, Hertz is a staple 
for advocating artists’ rights and has 
been recognized accordingly. In 2018, 
he received the Arts Advocacy Award 
presented by Wayne State University’s 
College of Fine, Performing and 
Communication Arts. On Oct. 6, Hertz 
met with a member of the United States 
Congress to advocate for new music 
legislation.
“This is my fifth year of leading the 
dialogue as the Team Captain for District 
Advocate Day,” says Hertz, who is an 
advocacy committee member of the 
National Association of Recording Arts 
and Sciences. “It is very rewarding to 
help people in the music community, 
whether it is nationally or being a 
liaison between Detroit artists in need 
and connecting them to MusiCares for 
help. And for the past 10 years, I’ve been 
on the Grammy Advocacy committee 
where we advocate to Washington new 
legislation that is beneficial to artists and 
songwriters.”
A Grammy Awards attendee more 
than 20 times, Hertz is a Grammy 
Award winner himself for being a music 
publisher on three songs from Hamilton 
for “Best Musical Theater Album.”
As president of the Detroit Music 
Awards Foundation — which produces 
the Detroit Music Awards — for more 
than 20 years, there is probably no local 
musician that Hertz hasn’t worked with, 
mentored or even jammed with onstage.
“Howard has a genuine and 
unconditional dedication to the arts 
in the metro area, and to those who 
make it. There’s no question that our 
arts community is all the better for 

ARTS&LIFE
AWARD

PHOTO BY RYAN HERTZ

Howard Hertz, Ethan Davidson 
and Billy Brandt perform for 
the Jewish Historical Society of 
Michigan on 2/19/19. 

Howard Hertz and Thornetta 
Davis in 2019. 

PHOTO BY RICHARD BLONDY