Michael Pollack (musician)

Pollack and his older sister were raised by their parents in Roslyn, New York.[2] He started playing piano, singing, and writing songs at a young age. In his youth, he performed with a Billy Joel cover band and with Richie Cannata, Billy Joel's longtime saxophonist.[3]

After graduating high school, Pollack moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Vanderbilt University. During his freshman year, Billy Joel hosted a Q&A session for college students at Vanderbilt University's Langford Auditorium. During the Q&A, Pollack asked if he could perform "New York State of Mind" with the singer to which Billy Joel agreed.[4] A video of the performance was posted online and quickly went viral. The viral video landed Pollack appearances on NBC's Today show,[5] Good Day New York,[6] the Morning Mashup on SIRIUS XM Radio,[7] and The Jeff Probst Show.[8]

Pollack's viral encounter with Billy Joel led to him signing a joint venture publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and President of A&R at Atlantic Records Pete Ganbarg's Songs With A Pure Tone during his sophomore year of college.[2][9] Soon after, he started collaborating with other songwriters such as Ingrid Andress in Nashville while he finished his degree.[10]

After graduating from college, Pollack moved to Los Angeles, California to live with fellow musicians Ari Leff and Michael Matosic.[2] The trio went on to write dozens of songs for both Leff and others.

Pollack is managed by Jamie Zeluck-Hindlin,[11] founder of Nonstop Management.

In 2020, Pollack formed a publishing company called Intervale Songs.

Nick Sarazen, a songwriter and producer from Kingstown, Rhode Island,[12] was the first signee to Intervale Songs, in 2020.