Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lifton got his creative start early on with an apprenticeship to the Master Organist for the Detroit Symphony. He attended the Toronto Conservatory at and was one of the youngest attendees at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Lifton worked at some of the most influential recording studios, including Motown's infamous Groovesville Recording Studio. Lifton continued his involvement in the recording end of the business by forming Orphan Records, one of the pioneering "House Music" labels in the US. He signed eight acts, oversaw the manufacture and international distribution of their product and negotiated their artist and publishing contracts. Lifton's own work was nominated by Billboard Magazine, "Best Independent Production Of The Year". He was signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist himself, after successfully promoting his own record to #22 on the charts and having a self-directed/produced music video that was #2 in the nation. Lifton went on to produce numerous entertainment productions. As of 2014, Lifton has produced sixteen feature films, overseeing all aspects of the production, distribution and marketing for each product. He has negotiated feature film and record licensing contracts, both foreign and domestic, has overseen the collection of revenue and has held the offices of president and CEO of two production/distribution feature film 'mini-studios'. In 1996, Lifton co-founded a THX post-production facility, Oracle Post. This facility began in Santa Monica, CA with one post sound stage and has grown to an award winning operation with nine stages and multiple locations. Oracle Post provides picture and sound needs for feature films and television and has a client base which consists of such industry giants as Fox, HBO, NBC, Universal, Disney, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers and MTV. The Lifton Institute was formed in 2009/2010 to train out-of-work skilled labor and transform those skills to work within the Movie and TV industry. Jimmy Lifton self financed this venture, acquiring all production and training equipment as well as overseeing the construction of the facility and stages. The Michigan State licensed trade school trained over 200 students and had a job placement rate approaching 70%. The Lifton Institute for Media Arts and Sciences opens its flagship California operation in 2015 in the Valencia area. The studio lot is located on 4 acres including six film sound stages and a post production building. Jimmy Lifton has been nominated for 15 Golden Reel Awards and has won 5. He has been nominated for 5 Emmys and has won 2 for Outstanding Sound Editing - Live Action and Animation for _"The Penguins of Madagascar" .
