Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Blue.
Hi Jeff, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was 19, yrs. old, attending UCLA while acting and interning for Harvey Levin at KCBS News (now at TMZ). Harvey was convinced I could have a career as a legal reporter for the TV News and convinced me to go to Loyola Law School. While in law school, I started a rock band and discovered what A&R was (Artists & Repertoire: discovering and developing new artists for record labels) and decided a career in music would be my focus.
I wanted to make an impact on the world by providing people a soundtrack to their lives and heal through music. After passing the California Bar at the age of 24, I worked a government legal job by day and played in and managed a band by night. I simultaneously started a music magazine focusing on unsigned talent, wrote for five other publications, and tried to find an entry-level job as an assistant anywhere in the music business.
After being rejected by every music company in the United States, based on myself taught journalism skills, I landed a creative job at independent publishing company, Zomba Music. I convinced my boss to give me a very small budget to develop new artists. My first signings included unknown rock bands Limp Bizkit, Korn, a woman who was rejected by every label named Macy Gray, and my UCLA intern’s band who had only played one show, named Xero (the future Linkin Park). All artists would go on to be platinum household names and win multiple Grammy awards.
I spent 3 years developing Xero, eventually replacing the lead singer with a young man named Chester Bennington who I discovered in Arizona and the band changed their name to Hybrid Theory. After 44 record label rejections, including 3 rejections from Warner Bros. Records, no label wanted to sign Hybrid Theory. I insisted I sign the band as part of my employment contract, and Warner Bros agreed. Despite my signing and Executive Producing the debut album, my new boss at Warner Bros. attempted to drop Linkin Park from their record contract several times during the recording process.
The album became the biggest selling debut album of the 21st Century garnering over 10 Grammy awards. At the same time, I Executive Produced and wrote music on Aaliyah’s Queen of the Damned Soundtrack and signed future Grammy winner Daniel Powter who penned “Had a Bad Day.”
I then moved to Interscope Records with Jimmy Iovine, producing Better Than Ezra, then to RCA with Clive Davis, and then Virgin Records where I wrote, performed, published, A&R’d and produced the platinum album and BMI award-winning song “Pictures of You”. I then wrote a hit single for Platinum band Hoobastank, eventually moving to Jive and then Atlantic Records writing dozens of songs placed in hit film and TV shows.
My feeling is that a broad reach of work in an overall industry leads to constant new opportunities that keep one’s career and life fresh and exciting. I make it a point to succeed in every endeavor and not spread myself thin.
I believe in giving back to the community and I lecture on mental health for MusiCares, the official charity of the Recording Academy.
I am currently working in many facets of the entertainment industry: On the music front, I am an A&R exec, discovering new artists for Lava Records through Universal Republic, I manage artists and write and produce music for labels, film & TV, and I offer consultations for new artists, helping them navigate their careers start to finish.
In 2020 I wrote the bestselling novel “One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park” (Simon & Schuster). The book led to me Executive Producing two docuseries with Mark Wahlberg’s production company, and I have a thriller screenplay that is in the process of being financed.
I also own a real estate company in which I develop homes in the Hollywood Hills and lease them for filming and events.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The journey is never smooth. Life is riddled with roadblocks. Behind and in front of every problem lies another struggle. It’s how we navigate the journey that leads to success. There are no shortcuts, so I prefer taking the long road because that allows us to gain essential experience along the way. I don’t hear the word “no.” I just hear, “try harder…think outside the box”!
The reality is that for every “yes,” you will hear 100 “nos’”! I was rejected over 5o times when I applied for entry-level assistant jobs in the music industry. I created my own lane. Instead of becoming an assistant, I taught myself how to be a journalist, and even with no experience, I branded myself as someone with knowledge who was indispensable. When I got my first job, I again took a different route, investing in my own authentic vision for artists who had no following and thereby was more attached to their success or failure. I simply followed my heart.
When my artists were rejected endlessly, I didn’t give up on them. Instead, I changed their names so people would re-listen to the music. When my boss tried to drop Linkin Park, I fought to make the album undeniable, putting my career on the line. When people told me I couldn’t produce or write music, I taught myself piano, produced and wrote, and played on a worldwide #1 hit single winning an array of awards. I taught myself how to develop and market Hollywood homes, how to write a bestselling book, how to write a screenplay, and executive produce and create a TV series.
Anything is possible as long as you are authentic, are focused, have patience and faith in the journey, and do the hard work. There are no impossibilities, just bumps and sometimes mountains in the road. There’s always a way around to success.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an A&R executive who discovers and develops talent. I also write and produce music for artists and acquire placements in film and television. I also am an attorney, bestselling author, and journalist, as well as a screenwriter and executive producer for film and TV.
I am most known for discovering, developing, signing, producing, and writing with iconic artists such as Linkin Park, Macy Gray, Daniel Powter, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Hoobastank, and many others.
Whether it’s been music, film, or literary, every single time, I’ve been told I didn’t have the requisite experience or the talent and that my dreams were just dreams, impossible to achieve. I am most proud of the fact that I had and still have the tenacity and wherewithal to follow my heart, and I’ve been able to help enhance and change the lives of millions through my hard work.
If you ask me what sets successful people apart from others, it is that they are authentic and listen to their hearts. They are able to navigate the roadblocks and create their own lane for success that is unique to each one of us individually.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you have a dream, make it a reality. Don’t just show up and do the basics. Follow through and become indispensable! You don’t need a magic contact in the business, so no excuses. Don’t put it off til tomorrow, start today! Anything worthwhile takes time, so if you really believe in yourself, think outside the box, and don’t give up. Most importantly, success isn’t based on money. It’s based on happiness, so choose something you love!
I knew I wanted to do A&R. I couldn’t get a job as assistant. So, I thought outside the box, taught myself how to be a journalist with my own unique, opinionated style. I became a solid writer, analyzing how I could craft my own voice to communicate my vision, spending time and energy finding new talent and writing about it. Then I scoured the industry for the one person who would ultimately give me the opportunity to prove myself. No one at all helped me. It was pure struggle but It worked. It worked because I had the tenacity, the drive, the belief in myself, and the understanding that I was following my dreams for the right reason: Passion, not money.
When you believe in yourself and give your all to your future, you’re being authentic, and that’s all life is about. Being your true self.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JeffBlueMusic.com
- Instagram: JeffBlueMusic
- Facebook: JeffBlueMusic
- Twitter: JeffBlueMusic
- Youtube: JeffBlueMusic
Image Credits
David Levine Photography
