Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon secured the coveted rights to a DJ remix of a classic Whitney Houston track with the help of one of the bank’s well-connected clients—he even had Goldman employees work his DJing schedule. Recruited to help organize Reports
Solomon — who moonlights as an amateur DJ despite being the head of one of Wall Street’s most prominent banks — recently remixed Whitney Houston’s 1980s-era hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” have obtained the rights to allow
The CEO’s relationship with a Goldman client, music executive Larry Mestel of Primary Wave, a publishing and talent management agency, helped him land the deal, According to the New York Times.
Solomon – who began his amateur DJ career as “DJ D Sol” in 2015 – founded a small record label, Payback Records, the same year he was named CEO at Goldman in 2018.
The Times reported that Goldman Boss reportedly enlisted the bank’s social media manager, Brandon Launerts, to manage Solomon’s social media presence and strategize with Payback employees to promote Solomon’s new releases and DJ. were looking for creative ways to promote exposure.
Goldman has denied any wrongdoing and Solomon says he donates all proceeds from his DJ side gig to charity.
“As we told The New York Times, there is no conflict of interest,” a Goldman spokeswoman told The Post.
“As we told The New York Times, Goldman Sachs employees did not manage David’s music activities and staff resources were not used for the platform,” the spokesperson added.
According to the Times, Mestel allegedly convinced Pat Houston, the late singer’s brother-in-law and executor of her estate, to agree to the deal, which was approved by Sony Music Entertainment.
The Whitney Houston remix has been released on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Solomon’s Spotify page has so far amassed more than 600,000 listeners — which industry experts told The Times was an unusually large number for an amateur DJ.
Solomon’s remix of the Houston song has so far been streamed over 2 million times on Spotify.
A highly anticipated Hollywood biopic about the late pop star, who accidentally drowned in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub in February 2012, was released on streaming services on Tuesday.
Solomon’s remix deal has angered observers who say his position as chief executive of a major Wall Street investment firm gives him access to movers and shakers in the music industry, including other professionals. Cannot be used by DJs.
Guillermo Page, professor of music and entertainment at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, told the Times: “When you’re dealing with someone of Whitney Houston’s stature, it’s very likely that they have something on them. There are restrictions on who can use sound recordings.”
“Just because you want to do your own remix or you want to create your own doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to be approved,” Page said.
It has also raised questions about whether Solomon, whose pay has been cut due to the bank’s declining performance of late, is dedicated enough to his duties at Goldman, which recently laid off about 3,200 workers. and reported a loss of $3 billion.
A spokesman for the bank told The Times: “The reporting seeks to emphasize that David’s music activities and his role as CEO of Goldman Sachs overlap or overlap.”
“It is clear that both David and Goldman Sachs have been careful to keep the relationship separate,” the spokesperson said.
Mestel told the Times in an email: “Our business is in part to get artists to cover, sample or remake our legendary song list.”
As the Times notes, Mestel’s company, Primary Wave, became a Goldman client in 2018 — the same year Solomon Lloyd Blankfein succeeded Blankfein as the bank’s CEO.
In 2019, Goldman published its “100 Most Interesting Entrepreneurs” list. One of the entrepreneurs who made the list, considered a “pet project” of Solomon’s, was Mestel.
The bank denied that Sulaiman personally selected Mestel for the listing and insisted there was “no economic component” to their relationship.
In August last year, Solomon apologized to the bank’s board of directors for DJing a Hamptons party during the height of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
In the summer of 2020, Solomon opened for the band The Chainsmokers at a charity benefit in the Hamptons.
Those attending the bash violated social distancing rules that require people to stay at least six feet apart in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The party in Southampton sparked outrage and then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Announce an investigation.
In 2021, Goldman employees were angered by Solomon’s DJ appearance while the bank announced a major COVID safety clampdown.
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