Adam Kluger is a music manager, and the founder and CEO of the
Kluger Agency, an agency that arranges product placements in music videos and on musical recordings.
Early career
Kluger grew up in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
.
Between 2004 and 2006 Kluger attended
Santa Fe College
Santa Fe College is a public college based in Gainesville, Florida, with satellite campuses in Alachua and Bradford counties. It is part of the Florida College System. It was established in 1965 as Santa Fe Junior College by the Florida Legi ...
in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in ...
and attended a certificate program in music business and production in Los Angeles,
taking classes on topics including royalties and audio engineering.
In 2008 he formed his own boutique advertising firm, focusing on product placement in music videos and song recordings called the Kluger Agency.
Brand and talent management
Kluger's first client was Interscope Records, who hired Kluger to find placement for the artist
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 ...
for one of her first music videos, before her album ''The Fame'' launched the artist's career. Kluger placed the brand Vixen's Visions at the tail end of the video "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich". His next placement was for the brand Drank in a series of hip hop videos.
The success of his business plan caused some controversy among music industry observers. A ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
'' magazine blog, for example, criticized the concept of having artists paid for using brand names in their songs, writing that if an artist chooses to use product names in their songs they should not be compensated.
Kluger works out of his offices in Los Angeles. In addition to serving as CEO of his own company, he manages musical artists individually.
While not all of Kluger's clients are known, it was reported that his clients have included
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 ...
,
Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on Americ ...
,
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 ...
, and
Jennifer Lopez, in addition to artists like
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice o ...
,
Beyoncé and
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 ...
.
Kluger is also responsible for discovering and managing controversial social media star
Bhad Bhabie
Danielle Bregoli (born March 26, 2003), known professionally as Bhad Bhabie (, "bad baby"), is an American rapper and internet personality. She first became known from an appearance on ''Dr. Phil'' in September 2016, in which she uttered the phr ...
, who signed a multimillion-dollar recording contract with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
in 2017. She currently holds the record as the youngest female rapper of all time to chart on the ''
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 advertis ...
'' Hot 100, and has subsequently reached multi-platinum sales status. His work has been used as a case study in several books and articles on music marketing.
In 2012 ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' named Kluger one of their 30 most influential people in the music industry under the age of 30, citing that he brought in more than five million dollars a year in net revenues. The magazine has also interviewed Kluger in response to current events pertaining to the music and entertainment industries, as has ''
Us Weekly
''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...
''. He had previously been nominated for the ''
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 advertis ...
'' 30 under 30 in the music industry in 2011.
In 2019 Kluger launched Nontra Records, an independent record label and management company that manages several musical acts such as
Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles " One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...
and
Bhad Bhabie
Danielle Bregoli (born March 26, 2003), known professionally as Bhad Bhabie (, "bad baby"), is an American rapper and internet personality. She first became known from an appearance on ''Dr. Phil'' in September 2016, in which she uttered the phr ...
. In 2021 Kluger launched Scoop Investments which together with his celebrity clients made its first investment of US$1 Million into Jewish dating app
Lox Club
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...
.
In 2021
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), ...
listed Kluger as one of the new leaders of Hollywood in its annual Hollywood New Leaders List
References
External links
Kluger Agency homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kluger, Adam
American company founders
American marketing businesspeople
Businesspeople from Tampa, Florida
American music people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)