Steven Victor
Steven William Victor (born September 6, 1980) is an American record executive, talent manager, music publisher, and A&R representative. He is chief executive officer (CEO) of Victor Victor Worldwide, a record label and management agency he founded in 2016. The year prior, he was appointed as the chief creative officer (CCO) of Kanye West's GOOD Music, and also in 2016, the senior vice president of A&R at Universal Music Group—through which he reports directly to chairman Sir Lucian Grainge.[1] The following year, he was named Head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, although he departed in 2019 to return to Universal.[2][3]
Steven Victor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Steven William Victor September 6, 1980 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Morehouse College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Employer | Universal Music Group |
| Title | Founder & CEO - Victor Victor Worldwide |
Victor began his career in the music industry while attending Morehouse College. In the early 2000s, he was hired as an unpaid publicist for Interscope Records and was assigned to work directly with hip hop duo Clipse, for whom he first managed.[4] Through cultivating partnerships with numerous music industry artists, Victor has since managed high-profile acts including Pop Smoke, Pusha T, Tyga, Ski Mask the Slump God, The-Dream, and Desiigner, as well as producers CashMoneyAP, YoungKio, Rico Beats, and 16yrold.[5][6][7][8]
Early life and education edit
Victor was born on September 6, 1980, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, where he was also raised.[3] He grew up in a multi-family home with his parents and older sister, along with his father's brother and sister's families.[9] He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1998 to 2002, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English and Psychology.[1][10]
Career edit
Victor began his career in 2003 with an unpaid internship as a publicist at Interscope Records, to which he was later promoted to publicity assistant in 2004, working in public relations for six years.[1][3][9] During his tenure at Interscope, he met American rapper and record executive Pusha T, which at the time was one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse. He formed a mutual relationship with Pusha, becoming the publicist and manager for Clipse, and later solely for him.[11]
In late 2015, Pusha T became president of GOOD Music, and appointed Victor as Chief operating officer of the label as his first course of action.[12] In late 2016, he was appointed SVP of A&R at Universal Music Group, while simultaneously holding his position at GOOD.[13] He also began managing Tyga, The-Dream, and Desiigner during this time, the latter of whom was signed by Victor to GOOD and Def Jam Recordings.[1] In November of that year, he founded his own record label and music publishing company, Victor Victor Worldwide as a joint venture with Universal.[14][15]
In October 2017, he was named EVP & Head of A&R at Def Jam, reporting to then-CEO Paul Rosenberg and replacing his position as SVP of A&R at Universal.[7][16][17] In August 2019, he left Def Jam and transitioned back to his previous position at Universal, focusing on his label's joint venture with them.[5]
Victor Victor Worldwide edit
| Victor Victor Worldwide Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | November 3, 2016[18] |
| Founder | Steven Victor |
| Distributor(s) |
|
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City, New York |
| Official website | victorvictor |
Victor Victor Worldwide Inc.[18] (formerly d/b/a as Victor Victor Records[19] or simply Victor[20]) is an American record label and music publishing company founded by Victor in New York City on November 3, 2016.[21] It is a joint venture with Universal Music Group, enabling artists of whom signed with the label to enter recording contracts with any label under the Universal umbrella, although Victor Victor's releases have predominantly been through Republic Records. The label also has a similar joint venture structure with Universal Music Publishing Group for its publishing entity.[5][22]
Victor Victor is best known for having signed late American rapper Pop Smoke, as well as rappers Ski Mask the Slump God and Pusha T; the former two were signed in conjunction with Republic Records. The label has also signed record producers 16yrold, CashMoneyAP, and YoungKio (with Cash Gang) with UMPG.[23] Former notable artists signed to the label include American rapper D Savage—who was signed to Victor Victor and Republic in 2017, and later jointly with Capitol Records and Virgin Music before his 2019 departure—as well as rappers Summrs and Autumn.[24][25][26]
Victor Victor also runs the management firm William Victor Management Group which has managed artists such as Pusha T, The-Dream, CashMoneyAP, and 16yrold, among others.[7] A majority of the artists signed to the label are managed by the firm itself.[6]
In June 2020, the label launched the Victor Victor Foundation, a philanthropic initiative which Victor himself has donated US$1 million towards in startup; Victor also donated $25,000 to the "Fund for Public Schools", a nonprofit organization in New York City.[27][28]
The label's logo, designed by Japanese fashion designer and label signee Nigo, features the Tosa, a rare Japanese dog breed that is mainly used for Japanese dog fighting.[29]
Roster edit
Current edit
| Artists | Year signed | Releases (under the label) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ski Mask the Slump God | 2017 | 4 | Jointly with Republic |
| Weiland[30] | 2020 | 2 | Jointly with UMe |
| Nigo[31] | 2021 | 1 | Jointly with Republic |
| Reyanna Maria[32] | 4 (singles) | ||
| Pusha T[29] | 2022 | 0 | Jointly with Def Jam |
| Yoza[33] | 1 | ||
| Highway[34] | 2 | Jointly with Geffen | |
| Different Hits[35] | 2023 | 22 (singles) | Jointly with UMe and SunPop; record label imprint; releases reworks of older songs with newer artists as covers. |
| Hardrock[36] | 1 (Virgin album), 3 (singles) | Jointly with Republic, formerly solely with Virgin[37] |
Former edit
| Artists | Years under the label | Releases under the label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Zio P[15] | 2017–2018 | 5 (singles) | Jointly with Republic |
| D. Savage | 2017–2019 | 2 | Jointly with Capitol and Virgin, formerly jointly with Republic |
| 12 Honcho (Honcho Da Savage) | 2017–2018 | 1 (album as Honcho Da Savage)[38] 1 (single as 12 Honcho)[39] | Jointly with Def Jam, formerly jointly with Republic |
| Pop Smoke | 2019 | 4 (2 posthumous) | Jointly with Republic; deceased, died from home invasion in February 2020; posthumous releases handled by both labels. |
| Senta The Artist[40] | 2020 | 1 | Jointly with UMe |
| Summrs[41] | 2021 | 0 | Jointly with Capitol |
| Young Devyn[42] | 2021–2022 | 1 | Jointly with 4th & B'way and Island; moved to Def Jam with 4th & B'way |
| Autumn[43] | 2 | Jointly with Casablanca, formerly jointly with Republic | |
| DJ Topgun[44] | 2023 | 1 | Jointly with UMe |
Publishing edit
In-house producers edit
| Act | Years under the label | Releases under the label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| As part of Victor Victor Worldwide (Recording) | |||
| 16yrold | 2017–present | 5 (singles) | Jointly with Capitol, formerly jointly with Republic; joint publishing with UMPG |
| Axl[45] | 2020–present | 1 (singles) | Jointly with Republic; joint publishing with UMPG |
| As part of Victor Victor Music (Publishing) | |||
| Rico Beats | 2017–present | N/A | Jointly with UMPG and StarLife; co-manager of Pop Smoke & 808Melo |
| CashMoneyAP | 2 (Atlantic singles) | Jointly with UMPG and Cash Gang; signed as recording artist to Atlantic Records | |
| YoungKio | 2019–present | N/A | Jointly with UMPG and Cash Gang |
| 808Melo | Jointly with UMPG | ||
| Swirv | 2020–present | ||
| SethInTheKitchen | 2020–present | ||
Notes edit
- ^ Victor Victor Worldwide is a joint venture between the label and Universal Music Group, giving Victor Victor the power to sign an artist to a joint venture recording contract with their label and any other label under the Universal umbrella. Victor Victor also has the same joint venture structure with Universal Music Publishing Group for their publishing entity.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Steven Victor Named SVP A&R at Universal Music". Billboard. November 9, 2016.
- ^ "'Come Watch the F*cking Sharks': Def Jam's Rap Camp Experiment". Complex.
- ^ a b c "40 Under 40: Music's Top Young Power Players Revealed (2018)". Billboard. October 18, 2018.
- ^ "RAINMAKERS' BACKSTORIES: STEVEN VICTOR". HITS Daily Double.
- ^ a b c d Aswad, Jem (August 14, 2019). "Steven Victor Shifts From Def Jam to Focus on Joint Venture at Universal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- ^ a b Ivey, Justin (10 November 2016). "Steven Victor Named Senior Vice President of A&R at Universal - XXL". XXL.
- ^ a b c "Steven Victor named EVP, Head of A&R at Def Jam". Music Business Worldwide. October 17, 2017.
- ^ Olsen, Patricia (July 14, 2017). "An Office Built Around Hip-Hop". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Steven Victor on managing Pusha T, mourning Pop Smoke and building VVW | IDEA GENERATION Ep.10" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-victor-4165306 [self-published source]
- ^ Jones, Biz (September 6, 2019). "Pusha-T Salutes The "Shot Caller + Play Maker Of" His Music Career: "It's Only Right You Drown In Success"". SOHH.
- ^ "Pusha T is the new president of G.O.O.D. Music". Fact. November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Steven Victor Named SVP A&R at Universal Music". Yahoo Finance. 9 November 2016.
- ^ "MC Don Zio P reveals new single "Hallelujah" featuring Déjà Vu • WithGuitars". www.withguitars.com.
- ^ a b "DON ZIO P RELEASES NEW SINGLE "SWITCH"". 360 Magazine | Art + Music + Design + Fashion + Auto + Travel + Food + Health + Tech. September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Steven Victor Joins Def Jam as EVP, Head of A&R". Billboard. October 17, 2017.
- ^ Ivey, Justin (October 18, 2017). "G.O.O.D. Music's Steven Victor Named Def Jam Executive VP & Head Of A&R". HipHopDX.
- ^ a b "VICTOR VICTOR WORLDWIDE INC. :: New York (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com.
- ^ "Victor Victor Records Archives". 360 MAGAZINE | ART + MUSIC + DESIGN + FASHION + AUTO + TRAVEL + FOOD + HEALTH + TECH. 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Victor - Republic Records - Download and listen to albums". Qobuz.
- ^ "REPUBLIC RECORDS NAMES JIM ROPPO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER". Universal Music Group. January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Steven Victor on Changing 'How the Modern Athlete Looks Tomorrow' With His Expansion Into Sports Management". Billboard.com. February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Steven Victor: Hip-Hop Power Players 2017". Billboard. September 14, 2017.
- ^ Ju, Shirley (October 8, 2018). "D Savage Prepares to Unleash D Phoenix at Union (Now Called Catch One)". LA Weekly.
- ^ Ju, Shirley (September 9, 2019). "Music Pick: D Savage". LA Weekly.
- ^ Baker, Jonas (August 14, 2019). "D Savage: The Young Megastar". Kazi Magazine.
- ^ "UMG Executive Steven Victor Pledges $1 Million For New Philanthropic Venture". Billboard.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (June 9, 2020). "Universal Music Executive Steven Victor Pledges $1 Million to Launch New Foundation (EXCLUSIVE)".
- ^ a b "About".
- ^ "Weiland by Weiland" – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Nigo Signs to Steven Victor's Victor Victor Worldwide, Plans Release for New Album". Complex.
- ^ "So Pretty - Single by Reyanna Maria" – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Fine By Me - Single by Yoza". June 17, 2022 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Highway by Highway". November 9, 2022 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "OTHER". SunPop.
- ^ "BREAKOUT ATLANTA RAPPER HARDROCK DROPS HYPNOTIC NEW SINGLE "kingtut" OUT TODAY – East Portland Blog".
- ^ "Hardrock, BNYX®, F1LTHY - WA\VE Song Stats & Data". chartex.com.
- ^ "Parallel Universe by Honcho Da Savage". March 9, 2018 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Depressed - Single by 12 Honcho". December 14, 2018 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Metamorphosis by Senta the Artist on Beatsource".
- ^ "Undiscovered Gems: Peep These 5 Amazing Artists". February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Baby Goat by Young Devyn" – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "One Way! - Single by Autumn!" – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "City Of The Freaks - EP by DJ Topgun on Apple Music". March 31, 2023 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Motorbike (feat. Jackboy) - Single by AxL". October 6, 2021 – via music.apple.com.