Jay Rifkin is an American record and film producer.
Rifkin co-founded the company Media Ventures with Hans Zimmer, a childhood friend. As CEO of the company from 1988, Rifkin partnered with Zimmer to produce and to compose. Media Ventures is a diverse entertainment group that includes music, new media, film and television. The partnership earned them numerous awards and nominations, including Academy Award nominations, for the film scores of Driving Miss Daisy, Rain Man and The Lion King. After the success of The Lion King, Rifkin conceived and produced the platinum-selling follow-up album Rhythm of the Pride Lands.
Rifkin was also chairman of Media Revolution, an award-winning new media company, which he founded in 1996. Media Revolution was part of Cyberia Holdings, which Rifkin was also CEO of, and Hans Zimmer the vice-president. He was also a founder of the film production company Media Ventures Pictures and a producer of the comedy Waiting....
Rifkin was the managing partner of Media Ventures through his company Mojo Music, which he founded in 1995. In 1995, he started Mojo Records, which became a joint venture with Universal Records in 1996, and after producing multiple gold and platinum records, Mojo Records was subsequently sold to Zomba/BMG in 2001.
From 2005, Rifkin was chairman and CEO of China Youth Media Inc., a youth marketing and media company focused on China. He resigned the position on June 21, 2011, when the company merged with Midwest Energy Emissions Corp, for which Rifkin served as a Director, until November 9, 2015.