John Janick is an American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of
Interscope Geffen A&M Records
Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA), is an American umbrella label owned by Universal Music Group, consisting of record labels Interscope Records, Geffen Records, and A&M Records.
History
Interscope Geffen A&M Records was established in 1999, f ...
.
Janick has been named to
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
’s Power 100 list every year since
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and was named
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
's Hitmakers Executive of the year in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. He has worked with a number of artists including
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
Panic! At The Disco
Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...
and
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
, early in his career,
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
and
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
while head of
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
, and
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
,
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
,
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
and
Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...
at
Interscope
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...
.
Early life
As a young man growing up in
Port Charlotte, Florida
Port Charlotte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Port C ...
, Janick was interested in music, not as a musician, but as a promoter.
"When I was a teenager, in the ’90s, I was really into underground music. I’d buy wholesale orders of CDs I loved and then sell them to friends for $10 apiece. Eventually I started putting together compilations. It wasn’t about making a profit as much as it was about turning people on to new music that I loved," he told
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 th ...
magazine.
Record label founder: Fueled by Ramen 1996-2012
In 1996, while a freshman student at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, Janick founded the independent record company
Fueled By Ramen
Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City.
History
John Janick conceived of the lab ...
with
Less than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
drummer Vinnie Fiorello, and signed and developed bands. Janick convinced University of Florida to give him college credits for going on tour with Less than Jake on the Ska Against Racism Tour. Upon their return, they continued to sign bands, market them, cut royalty checks and everything else to promote their music. The label found early success with artist signings
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...
, and
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
.
Janick was met with resistance in promoting his acts, and as a result, opted for alternative methods for Fueled by Ramen such as online sales and social media promotion.
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
were the first to achieve sales success, and Panic! at the Disco went on to sell four million albums worldwide.
Warner Music Group: Elektra Records 2009-2012
The sales of the Panic! At the Disco albums prompted the
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
to buy Fueled by Ramen in 2008, and install Janick as co-president of their Elektra Records label.
Janick signed
Fun
Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment".
Etymology and usage
The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
,
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
and
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...
to Fueled by Ramen, which he continued to run while at Elektra. He executive produced their albums, which went on to sell over one million records each. While at Elektra, Janick oversaw the careers of platinum artists
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
,
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
, and
Cee Lo Green Cee or CEE may refer to:
* C, third letter of the Latin alphabet
* Cee, Spain, A Coruña, Galicia
* Center for Excellence in Education, US
* Central and Eastern Europe
* Centre for Environment Education
* Centre for the Economics of Education, Lon ...
.
Interscope Geffen A&M 2012-present
In 2012, Janick was recruited by Interscope head
Jimmy Iovine
James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...
to join the label group as President and COO. The first year at Interscope Geffen A&M, he helped lead the team that produced hits from
Robin Thicke
Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...
,
Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...
,
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
,
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
and
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
. Janick himself signed
Tame Impala
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...
and
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...
, both of whom sold well.
When Iovine departed the label group in 2014, Janick was named Chairman/CEO. He explained to ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' his philosophy for music business: "What’s most important to me is being able to spend the time with an artist, and not just trying to get (a song) on every radio station. (To do that), you have to keep the roster in check, and make sure that you’re not doing what a lot of labels have done in the past, where you sign a bunch of things and see what sticks. You sign who you believe in, and you stick with them, like an indie label would."
Under Janick's direction, Interscope has entered into various label alliances including
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
’s Dreamville, producer/songwriter
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
’s Mad Love, LVRN, and The Darkroom.
In 2019, he oversaw releases by Juice WRLD,
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
’s ''A Star is Born'' soundtrack album, DaBaby and the breakout stars Billie Eilish and Summer Walker.
Janick oversees 200 employees at Interscope Geffen A&M.
Personal life
In October 2012, Janick underwent surgery for cancer, with a recurrence in October 2017 for which he received chemotherapy. At that same time, he had brain surgery to remove a benign
pituitary adenoma
Pituitary adenomas are tumors that occur in the pituitary gland. Most pituitary tumors are benign, approximately 35% are invasive and just 0.1% to 0.2% are carcinomas.
Janick is married to Mia, has two sons, and an adopted daughter.
Recognition
See also
*
Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City.
History
John Janick conceived of the lab ...
*
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...