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 Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, 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 the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

. The CEO of management company Rebel, and formerly a founding partner at Maverick Management, Leber currently manages

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, ini ...

, and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

among others, and formerly managed artists including

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

, and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

. 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 are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

, at #65. He has also been included on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players lists in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Leber is Jewish and was born and raised in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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. (a backronym for Listeners of Urban Dialect) is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label. The label si ...

, working with their street teams. The internship at the

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

led to a role in the label's

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

department, where he worked with quintessential New York hip-hop artists such as

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

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, he came to prominence upon discover ...

, and

the Wu-Tang Clan ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. Leber joined the pop world in 2001, managing tour sponsorships, arranging

endorsement deals In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, wher ...

and road managing for a roster of stars that included *NSYNC,

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

Sean "Diddy" Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

, and

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 ...

and founded ReignDeer Entertainment, a full-service entertainment company involved in artist management, television and film production. Together they signed Miley Cyrus, and managed Britney Spears,

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

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, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

, Avril Lavigne, Fifth Harmony and more. As one of Spears' managers, Leber helped launch her

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

'' 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 E ...

in 2013, which grossed over $137 million in its 248 show run. In 2014 Leber teamed up with

Guy Oseary Guy Harley Oseary (; born October 3, 1972) is an Israeli-American talent manager and writer. His clients include Madonna, Amy Schumer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whom he has managed since 2021. Biography Guy Oseary was born on October 3, 1 ...

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. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...

s including pop, hip-hop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Leber added hip hop artist Lil Nas X to his roster in May 2019, co-managing alongside Maverick's

Gee Roberson Hip Hop Since 1978 (HHS78) is a management and production company based in New York City. It was started by Gee Roberson and Kyambo "Hip-Hop" Joshua. HHS78 has been involved in the daily operations of Roc-A-Fella Records since the label's inceptio ...

. Nas X's single "

Old Town Road "Old Town Road" is the debut mainstream single by the American rapper and singer Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. He also recorded ...

" went on to break the record for longest tenure at #1 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), ...

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. Ali ...

. 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 multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

. 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 game ...

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 da ...

'' in 2019. His work on the show earned him an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

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 filmmaker and actor. He is the son of director Barry Levinson. In 2010, he received his first writing credit as a co-writer for the action comedy film '' Operation: Endgame''. The following y ...

, 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. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...

, and has since expanded his investments to

Everlane Everlane is an American clothing retailer that sells primarily online. Headquartered in San Francisco, California with stores in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Palo Alto, the company was founded in 2011 by Mic ...

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, advancing ...

, Acorns,

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

, 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