Kings of A&R

Congratulations on Breaking Benjamin. Certified gold and still going strong.

Jason: Thank you. It’s always exciting to watch a band have success after they have worked incredibly hard for years. We’re close to platinum now which, in this day and age, is incredible for any act, especially a rock band.

KOAR: What was your first job in the music industry and how did you get to your position at Hollywood Records.

I started my own record company when I was a child - only 13 years old. It was with my twin brother, Joel, and was called ‘Street Level’ — we put out a couple 7″ records and then merged our efforts with Redemption Records. The label was started by Ryan Kuper out of Omaha, Nebraska. I partnered with Ryan and signed some cool, seminal hardcore and punk bands to that label. After a couple years we went our seperate ways and my brother and I started a label called Watermark, which really put us on the map in the hardcore and punk world (and what would later be considered the ‘emo’ world, a term we used back then as a joke). We sold a lot of records and I was able to pay my way through college with some of the proceeds. During school I worked 2 jobs, ran my label, and was pre-med. It was crazy, but I was pretty motivated. One of the best records we put out was a homeless benefit compilation (featuring bands like Rancid, Avail, Lifetime, etc) which was also the start of Trustkill Records, as it was a split release with them and their first record ever. Some cool history. After ‘alternative’ music (punk rock and indie bands in the early 90’s) I had my fair share of label attention for my bands. In typical fashion, most of those bands imploded before they could ever get signed off to major. As a result, I was courted by a few different labels to come work for them as an A&R executive. I quit school to pursue the music business full-time. At 20 years old, I folded my label and accepted a job with Columbia Records in NY and moved my life from Philadelphia. I wasn’t even old enough to get into bars, but it didn’t hold me back — I learned a ton working there and it was an incredible experience. I had always planned to return to running my punk label, but ended up just sticking around. I left Sony Music in 1998 to be one of the first members of the “new” Hollywood Records’ A&R department (them allowing me to stay based in NY and travel to LA constantly). Since getting to Hollywood, I applied everything I learned from years of running my own label and my time at Sony to a totally new environment. I’ve made the best out of this great opportunity. It’s been 6 years with Hollywood now and it’s been awesome so far. (more…)