| Net Worth: | $12 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Music executive and producer |
| Date of Birth: | February 11, 1959 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5′ 9″ |
About Barry Weiss
Weiss began his career by holding positions at the record labels Ariola America and Infinity Records. In 1982, he landed his first major position with the fledgling Jive Records label that was owned by Clive Calder. Weiss took Calder on a tour of different black, hip hop, and homosexual clubs in New York City for the purpose of the job interview. Weiss knew the bouncers and doormen at these establishments. When he first began working there, he was given the role of Manager of Artist Development.
The majority of the artists signed to the label were pop groups like Billy Ocean, A Flock of Seagulls, and Samantha Fox. Weiss was instrumental in establishing the record label as a home for hip hop musicians and rappers such as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, A Tribe Called Quest, Whodini, Kool Moe Dee, Too Short, Boogie Down Productions, and UGK, amongst others.
On February 11, 1959, Weiss joined a Jewish family in New York, New York. His parents, Hy and Rosalyn Weiss, were the parents that welcomed him into the world. His father, Hy, was also involved in the music industry, serving as an executive at Old Town Records, which he established in the late 1950s.
Barry Weiss received his bachelor’s degree in 1981 from Cornell University. From his dormitory room, he worked as a publicist for various radio stations while he was a student. Weiss attended New York University and earned a master’s degree in business administration there in the year 1986.
Weiss was one of three individuals who were elevated to the position of President of Jive Records in January 1995. The other two individuals were Verity and Silvertone. Weiss collaborated with a variety of artists between the years 1995 and 2000, including Britney Spears, NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and others. He was also in charge of the release of NSYNC’s No Strings Attached album in 2000, which broke the record for the most copies sold of an album (a record that stood until 2015).
BMG paid a total of $2.7 billion to acquire the parent firm of Jive Records, which was known at the time as Zomba Music Group. Weiss was given the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the recently established Zomba Label Group while working for BMG. While he was in that role, he was responsible for managing the careers of other musicians, including Chris Brown, T-Pain, and R. Kelly, among others.
Weiss succeeded Clive Davis as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the BMG Label Group (which would later be rebranded as the RCA/Jive Label Group) in 2008. Weiss handled the following record labels while serving as the head of the label group: Jive, Verity, GospoCentric, Volcano, RCA, Arista, Fo Yo Soul, and LaFace. In addition to this, he inherited the management of a number of well-known musical performers, including Pink, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Daughtry, the Foo Fighters, Kelly Clarkson, and Leona Lewis, amongst many others.
Weiss made the announcement that he will be moving on from the RCA/Jive Label Group and taking a job with the Universal Music Group in the year 2010. In March of 2011, he was officially appointed to the positions of Chairman and CEO of a group of record labels that are collectively known as Universal’s “East Coast” labels. This group of labels includes Republic Records, Island Def Jam, and Motown Records, among others.
In the beginning of 2015, Weiss established a new independent record label under the name RECORDS. This was done in collaboration with SONGS Music Publishing. At the time that RECORDS was first established, the SONGS roster featured artists like as The Weeknd, Diplo, Lorde, and DJ Mustard, amongst others. Nelly and iLoveMemphis were two of the first artists to sign with RECORDS.
Both musicians released singles in 2015 (respectively titled “The Fix” and “Hit the Quan,”) that were later awarded the platinum certification. Other musicians signed to RECORDS include, among others, Noah Cyrus, LSD (which consists of Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo), Lennon Stella, Lauren Jauregui, Dylan Brady, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
Summing-Up
He currently holds an executive position at RECORDS, a record company that he was instrumental in founding. He began his career at Clive Calder’s Jive Records and eventually became the head of the RCA/Jive Label Group after working his way up through the ranks. During his tenure at Jive, Weiss was responsible for the development of a wide variety of musicians, including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, NSYNC, Chris Brown, Backstreet Boys, and A Tribe Called Quest, to name just a few. He resigned from the company in 2011 and went on to work for Universal Music Group before becoming a co-founder of RECORDS in 2015.
