Wikipedia

Barry Weiss

Not to be confused withBari Weiss.
This article is about the music executive. For the TV personality, seeStorage Wars § Barry Weiss.

Barry Weiss(born February 11, 1959) is an Americanmusic executive.He co-founded the record label RECORDS in 2015, an imprint ofSony Music Entertainmentwhich specializes in young recording artists.[1]

Barry Weiss
Weiss in August 2016
Born(1959-02-11)February 11, 1959(age 65)
New York City,U.S.
Alma materCornell University(BS)
New York University(MBA)
Occupations
  • Record executive
  • media proprietor
Years active1981–present
Labels

Weiss got his start atClive Calder'sJive Recordsbefore working his way up to the head of theRCA/Jive Label Group.While at Jive, Weiss fostered artists likeBritney Spears,Justin Timberlake,NSYNC,Chris Brown,Backstreet Boys,A Tribe Called Quest,among others. He left the company in 2011 to joinUniversal Music Group,prior to co-founding RECORDS in 2015. The label has since signed artists includingNelly,24kGoldn,Noah Cyrus,B-Lovee,Lennon Stella,LSD,Matt Stell,andDax.In 2023, the labels other co-founders (Matt Pincusand Ron Perry) were ousted in a stake buyout, leaving Weiss as the company's sole proprietor. Weiss has also co-founded thepublishing firmSONGS.[2]

Early life and education

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Weiss was born to aJewishfamily inNew York City,on February 11, 1959, to parentsHyand Rosalyn Weiss.[3][4][5]His father, Hy, was also a music executive having founded Old Town Records in the late 1950s.[6]Barry Weiss graduated fromCornell Universityin 1981. While in school, he worked as a promoter to radio stations from his dorm room.[7][8]Weiss received hisMaster of Business AdministrationfromNew York Universityin 1986.[9]

Career

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1981–2008: Early years, Jive, and Zomba

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Early on in his career, Weiss worked atAriola AmericaandInfinity Records.[10]He earned his first major job in 1982 at Clive Calder's new label, Jive Records. For his job interview, Weiss took Calder to various black,hip hop,and gay clubs where he knew bouncers and doormen throughout New York City.[7][8]He initially started in the position of Manager of Artist Development.[10]At the time of his arrival, the label consisted mostly ofpopacts likeBilly Ocean,A Flock of Seagulls,andSamantha Fox.[11][12]Weiss helped establish the label as a home forrappersand hip hop artists likeDJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince,A Tribe Called Quest,Whodini,Kool Moe Dee,Too Short,Boogie Down Productions,UGK,and others.[8][13]

In January 1995, Weiss was promoted to President of Jive Records along withVerityandSilvertone.[4][14]From 1995 to 2000, Weiss was involved with acts such as Britney Spears, NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and others.[15][16][17]He also oversaw the release of NSYNC's 2000 album,No Strings Attachedwhich broke the album sales record (a record that stood until 2015).[17]In 2002, Jive Records' parent company, Zomba Music Group, was purchased byBMGfor $2.7 billion.[18]Under BMG, Weiss was named the President and CEO of the newly formed Zomba Label Group.[6][19]While in that position, he oversaw the careers of artists like Chris Brown,T-Pain,R. Kelly,and others.[20]

2008–2014: RCA/Jive to Universal

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In 2008, Weiss was named Chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group (later renamed RCA/Jive Label Group), replacingClive Davis.As the head of the label group, Weiss oversaw Jive, Verity,GospoCentric,Volcano,RCA,Arista,Fo Yo Soul,LaFace,andJ.He also inherited the management of acts such asPink,Whitney Houston,Alicia Keys,Daughtry,theFoo Fighters,Kelly Clarkson,Leona Lewis,and numerous others.[7][21]In 2010, Weiss announced that he would be leaving the RCA/Jive Label Group for a position at the Universal Music Group.[22]His official appointment to the position of Chairman and CEO of a group of labels colloquially referred to as Universal's "East Coast" labels (i.e.Republic Records,Island Def Jam,Motown Records,etc.) came in March 2011.[23][24][25]

Artists under Weiss's purview includedKanye West,Justin Bieber,Rihanna,2 Chainz,Fall Out Boy,The Weeknd,Avicii,and numerous others. He left his position in 2014 after Universal decided to reorganize the music group into standalone labels.[24]

2015–present: Founder of RECORDS

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In a partnership withSONGS Music Publishing,Weiss co-founded a new independent label, RECORDS, in early 2015. The SONGS roster includedThe Weeknd,Diplo,Lorde,andDJ Mustard(among others) at the time of RECORDS' founding. Early RECORDS' signees includedNellyandiLoveMemphis.[26][27]Both artists had 2015 singles ( "The Fix"and"Hit the Quan,"respectively) that were certified platinum.[28][29]Other RECORDS artists includeNoah Cyrus,[30]LSD(composed ofLabrinth,SiaandDiplo),[31]Lennon Stella,[32]Lauren Jauregui,[33]Dylan Brady,[34]St. Paul and The Broken Bones,andJames Barker Band,[35]among others.[36]

SONGS Music Publishing was sold to theKobalt Music Groupin December 2017.[37][38]The following month, RECORDS became a joint venture with theSony Music Entertainment.[32][39]

References

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  1. ^"About RECORDS".Recordsco.com.
  2. ^"Barry Weiss Strikes New RECORDS Deal with Sony, Restructuring Founders' Ownership".Billboard.
  3. ^"Hy Weiss, 84; Romanian native co-founded '50s R&B label Old Town".Los Angeles Times.April 2, 2007.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  4. ^ab"Good Works".Billboard.February 24, 1996.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  5. ^Patrick Goldstein(June 19, 1988)."A Rappin' Big Year for Little Jive Records".Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^abSisario, Ben (March 31, 2007)."Hy Weiss, 84, Music Executive From Rock 'n' Roll's Early Days, Dies".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  7. ^abcNewman, Melinda (April 25, 2008)."BMG's Weiss brings business savvy".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  8. ^abcKnopper, Steve (January 6, 2009).Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9781416594550.
  9. ^"THE ULTIMATE WEISS GUY: BARRY THROUGH THE YEARS".Hits Daily Double.December 7, 2010.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  10. ^ab"Executive Turntable".Billboard.May 29, 1982.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  11. ^Bell, Carrie (November 21, 1998)."Jive Imprint Slides Into Electronica".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  12. ^Leeds, Jeff (July 23, 2007)."Oops!...They Did It Again".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  13. ^Charnas, Dan (February 1, 2013)."The 25 Best A&Rs in Hip-Hop History".Complex.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  14. ^Lichtman, Irv (January 14, 1995)."The Billboard Bulletin".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  15. ^LeBlanc, Larry (July 17, 1999)."Bartlett Kick-Starts Zomba Canada".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  16. ^Christman, Ed (August 12, 2000)."BMG's Jones: 'Keep The Ball In Play'".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  17. ^abHalperin, Shirley (January 8, 2016)."RECORDS Founder Barry Weiss on Being a 'Major-Label Refugee,' Adele Surpassing 'N Sync and the 'Emotional' Closing of Jive".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  18. ^Oppelaar, Justin; Meza, Ed (November 26, 2002)."BMG finally jumping Jive".Variety.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  19. ^"Details Prove Devilish For Sony, BMG Merger".Billboard.November 22, 2003.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  20. ^Lee, Chris (April 18, 2008)."Iconic CEO has new role at BMG".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  21. ^Laurent, Lionel (April 18, 2008)."Clive Davis Out Of The Spotlight".Forbes.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  22. ^Sisario, Ben (December 7, 2010)."A Sony Executive Joins Universal Music".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  23. ^Halperin, Shirley (March 17, 2011)."Barry Weiss replaces L.A. Reid at record label".Reuters.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  24. ^abHalperin, Shirley (April 1, 2014)."Island Def Jam Motown Reorganizes, Barry Weiss Steps Down".Billboard.Archived fromthe originalon July 3, 2018.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  25. ^Christman, Ed (January 7, 2012)."The Billboard Power 100".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  26. ^Christman, Ed (February 17, 2015)."Barry Weiss To Join Forces With SONGS Publishing On New Label".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  27. ^Mitchell, Gail (October 14, 2015)."'Hit the Quan' Rapper iLoveMemphis Signs With RECORDS Label ".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  28. ^"Gold & Platinum: Nelly".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  29. ^"Gold & Platinum: iLoveMemphis".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  30. ^Reilly, Phoebe (May 18, 2017)."Noah Cyrus Talks Debut Album 'NC-17' and the Skill She'd Borrow From Miley".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  31. ^Shackleford, Tom (May 3, 2018)."Watch: Sia, Diplo and Labrinth team up for new LSD collaboration, share trippy animated video for 'Genius'".AXS.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  32. ^abHollabaugh, Lorie (January 17, 2018)."Lennon Stella Signs With RECORDS/Columbia Records".MusicRow.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  33. ^Karp, Hannah (April 12, 2019)."Why RECORDS CEO Barry Weiss Is Betting on Country - and Unproven Talent - in His Latest Act".Billboard.RetrievedApril 17,2019.
  34. ^"Why RECORDS CEO Barry Weiss Is Betting on Country - and Unproven Talent - in His Latest Act".Billboard.RetrievedAugust 23,2019.
  35. ^Farthing, Lydia (January 23, 2023)."James Barker Band Joins RECORDS Nashville's Growing Roster".Music Row Magazine.RetrievedJanuary 23,2023.
  36. ^McCall, Malorie (November 10, 2015)."St. Paul & The Broken Bones Signs With RECORDS".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  37. ^Ingham, Tim (December 7, 2017)."SONGS has agreed to sell for around $160m, say sources".Music Business Worldwide.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  38. ^Karp, Hannah (December 8, 2017)."SONGS Music Publishing Sells Catalog To Kobalt: Exclusive".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
  39. ^"Jenna Andrews Joins Barry Weiss' Records Label as Exclusive A&R Consultant".Billboard.February 26, 2018.RetrievedJune 29,2018.
Preceded by
L.A. Reid(Island Def Jam)
Mel Lewinter(Universal Motown Republic)
 Chief Executive Officer ofIsland Def Jam/Universal Republic
March 2011-April 2014 		Succeeded by
Position terminated
Preceded by
Clive Davis(RCA Music Group)
 Chief Executive Officer ofRCA/Jive Label Group
April 2008-March 2011 		Succeeded by
Peter Edge(RCA Music Group)
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