Adam Leber is an
American talent manager
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...
,
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, and
investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some specie ...
. The CEO of management company Rebel, and formerly a founding
partner at
Maverick Management
Maverick is an American music management group formed in 2014 by Guy Oseary. A revival of the Maverick company (1992–2009), the management group also adopts the company's logo.
History
In 2014, Oseary announced that he was forming a joint ve ...
, Leber currently manages
Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popul ...
,
Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record lab ...
, and
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
among others, and formerly managed artists including
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
,
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...
, and
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
.
In 2017, Leber made his first appearance on
Billboard’s Power 100 list, the publication’s annual ranking of executives driving the
music industry
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, trai ...
, at #65.
He has also been included on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players lists in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Leber was born and raised in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and currently resides in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
with his wife Sarah Boyer and daughter Micki Mae.
Career
Early career
Leber’s music industry career began with an internship at
Loud Records
Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991.
Loud is a hip hop label that released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Pun, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pe ...
, working with their street teams. The internship at the
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...
led to a role in the label’s
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
department, where he worked with quintessential New York hip-hop artists such as
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sci ...
,
Big Pun
Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...
, and
the Wu-Tang Clan.
Leber joined the pop world in 2001, managing tour sponsorships, arranging
endorsement deals and
road managing for a roster of stars that included
*NSYNC,
Dixie Chicks
The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and ...
,
Sean "Diddy" Combs, and
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
.
Artist management
In 2005, Leber partnered with
Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph (born July 24, 1963) is an American talent manager and former entertainment lawyer. He is best known as the former manager of Britney Spears from 1998 until 2021.
Career
Rudolph was born in The Bronx, New York. He graduated from H ...
and founded ReignDeer Entertainment, a full-service entertainment company involved in
artist management
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-day ...
,
television and film production. Together they signed Miley Cyrus, and managed Britney Spears,
Aerosmith,
Will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
, Avril Lavigne, Fifth Harmony and more.
As one of Spears' managers, Leber helped launch her
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
residency ''
Britney: Piece of Me'' at
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Ent ...
in 2013,
which grossed over $137 million in its 248 show run.
In 2014 Leber teamed up with
Guy Oseary
Guy Harley Oseary ( he, גיא עוזרי; born October 3, 1972) is an Israeli-American talent manager and writer. His clients include Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Biography
Guy Oseary was born on October 3, 1972, in Jerusa ...
as well as 8 other established music managers and founded Maverick Management, which represents artists from a wide range of
music genre
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...
s including pop, hip-hop,
rock, and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
.
Leber added hip hop artist Lil Nas X to his roster in May 2019, co-managing alongside Maverick's
Gee Roberson. Nas X's single "
Old Town Road
"Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...
" went on to break the record for longest tenure at #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
in July and earn two wins at the
62nd Annual Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...
.
On April 5, 2021, Leber announced that he was leaving Maverick to launch a management and media company Rebel (his last name in reverse) in conjunction with
Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertain ...
. At his new Los Angeles based company, Leber continues to manage Lil Nas X, Labrinth and LSD among others.
In August 2021, Leber and Cyrus parted ways after almost a decade.
The following month, Leber signed the Kid Laroi to his Rebel roster.
Television
Leber began serving as a
music supervisor
A music supervisor is a person who combines music and visual media. According to The Guild of Music Supervisors, a music supervisor is “a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games ...
on
HBO's ''
Euphoria
Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and dan ...
'' in 2019.
His work on the show earned him an
Emmy nomination alongside Jen Malone for
Outstanding Music Supervision, and a win at the
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards recognize music supervisors in 14 categories, representing movies, television, games and trailers. '' Compton'', '' Carol'' and '' Furious 7'' were among the winners of the 2016 ceremony, while '' La La Land'' ...
for Best Music Supervision in a Television Drama.
His client Labrinth was also chosen to score the show after Leber played some of his music for the creator
Sam Levinson
Samuel Levinson (born January 8, 1985) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the son of Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson. In 2010, he received his first writing credit as a co-writer for the action comedy film '' Operation: Endg ...
, and in turn earned two Emmy nominations in 2020 for
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series and
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his song "All for Us".
Technology & investments
Leber was an early investor in
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pack ...
, and has since expanded his investments to
Everlane
Everlane is an American clothing retailer that sells primarily online. The organization is headquartered in San Francisco, California and also has stores in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Palo Alto. The company was founded with ...
,
Stance
Stance may refer to: Sports
*Stance (American football), the position an American football player adopts when a play begins
* Stance (martial arts), the distribution, foot orientation and body positions adopted when attacking, defending, advancin ...
,
Acorns
Acorns may refer to:
* Plural of acorn, the nut of the oak tree
* Acorns (company), a micro-investing and robo-advisor financial company
* Acorns (suit), one of the four suits in German pattern playing cards
* Acorns Children's Hospice
Acorns ...
,
Airbnb
Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 by ...
, Hyperloop, and Reface.
Leber also has a stake in
Shervin Pishevar's Sherpa Ventures.
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leber, Adam
Living people
American investors
Talent managers
1977 births