#874: Guy Oseary — The Legendary Hollywood Power Broker on 5-Minute Decisions, 36 Years of Managing Madonna, 26 IPOs, and Spotting Magic First

Guy Oseary (@guyoseary) has been spotting talent before anyone else could see it for nearly four decades. Under his leadership at Maverick Records, Maverick sold more than 100 million albums. Guy has managed some of the biggest names in music, including Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and U2, and was named Variety's Music Mogul of the Year in 2022. He executive produced Twilight, which became one of the most successful franchises in movie history, generating more than $3.5B. Guy was also an early investor in Vita Coco and co-founded A-Grade Investments and then Sound Ventures, now with nearly $2 billion under management. At A-Grade, his hits included Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify. Sound Ventures launched with less than $100M and has since had 86 exits and 26 IPOs.

This episode is brought to you by:

Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim
AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Start.
[00:02:01] How a West Hollywood balcony became a backstage pass.
[00:03:51] A knife on Pico Boulevard and the snap decision to switch schools.
[00:05:54] Faking a Beverly Hills address to get inside another world.
[00:08:10] Wise Guy Records: a 15-year-old builds a portfolio out of nothing.
[00:10:09] Guy's alternative terms when Bernie Brillstein offered $25,000.
[00:11:34] The one moment that confirmed Guy was on the right path.
[00:12:29] Freddy DeMann enters the picture and Guy proves himself with Ice-T's crew.
[00:15:07] A desk at Maverick Records in exchange for no salary.
[00:17:08] Chasing Hole and Rage Against the Machine — and losing both.
[00:23:34] Candlebox in five minutes: seeing thousands in a room of 30.
[00:24:11] Why "magic" beats everything else.
[00:26:37] Signing Alanis off a single song, and stopping Muse mid-audition.
[00:31:59] The real Alanis story: "Perfect," Joni Mitchell, and a 30-million-selling debut.
[00:35:24] What Madonna taught Guy about thinking without walls.
[00:38:50] From bands to Twilight: the power of a blank canvas.
[00:45:30] How Guy got into investing, and the IdeaLab bet that wiped him out before the crash.
[00:54:31] Why Guy is known as a great curator of people.
[00:58:32] The three-month window that caught OpenAI and Anthropic.
[01:06:07] AI music and the battle to ensure human musicians get paid.
[01:09:30] How Spotify solved the problems Napster couldn't overcome.
[01:14:50] SpaceX and Bitcoin: the ones that got away.
[01:17:32] The rewards, rigors, and responsibilities of back-to-back touring.
[01:21:44] Why Guy never stops to celebrate.
[01:24:45] Splitting with Ashton Kutcher after 20 years.
[01:27:30] Final thoughts on Guy's first podcast.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(884)

#880: Relationship Tools That Work — Esther Perel, Brené Brown, Dr. Sue Johnson, Terry Real, and More on Conflict, Repair, and Lasting Love

This episode is devoted to one deceptively simple question: How do you stay close to your partner over time through the inevitable exhaustion, misunderstanding, conflict, disappointment, and change?Th...

19 Elo 57min

#879: How to Reinvent Yourself and Make Bold Moves — Decisive Stories from Matthew McConaughey, Steve Young, Samin Nosrat, and More

This is a special compilation devoted to reinvention: how to shed an identity that no longer fits, decide on a new chapter, navigate uncertainty, and commit to what’s next.This episode is brought to y...

12 Elo 1h 1min

#878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and More

This is a special compilation devoted to a subject very close to my heart and currently consuming a large percentage of my waking hours: writing. Over the years, I’ve asked some of the writers I admir...

5 Elo 58min

#877: Q&A with Tim — The Art of Male Friendship, Mini-Retirements, Higher-Resolution Living, Reinvention in The Age of AI, and More

In this wide-ranging Q&A, Tim explores reinvention, enduring skills for the age of AI, friendship, mental health, fitness, language learning, privacy, cognitive longevity, and more.This episode is bro...

29 Heinä 1h 15min

#876: Dr. Andrew Huberman — Peptides, Performance, and Protocols

Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he runs the Huberman Lab. He is ...

22 Heinä 2h 14min

#875: The Random Show — Tim and Kevin Talk Retreats, Mortality, AI Predictions, Supplements, Rock Climbing at (Almost) 50, and Not Waiting for “Someday”

In this edition of The Random Show, Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose reunite over tequila to talk Zen retreats, learning to rock climb at (almost) 50, mortality and grief, why you should stop saying "one da...

16 Heinä 1h 58min

#873: David Allen — The Art of Getting Things Done (GTD) (Repost)

For more than 40 years, David Allen has worked with individuals and organizations around the world to help them stay clear, focused, and productive—without burning out. He is the author of the mega-be...

2 Heinä 1h 31min