REVEALED: Head of Goldman Sachs and part-time DJ David Solomon won coveted permission to remix Whitney Houston track from a business client and propelled himself up Spotify rankings – and ‘used bank employees to manage his music schedule’
- David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, was paid $25 million last year, but has a ‘side hustle’ as a DJ at festivals and parties
- On Sunday The New York Times reported that Solomon won the coveted right to remix Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’
- Solomon insists there is no conflict of interest, but the paper questioned whether the separation between business and hobby was always clear cut
The music-loving CEO of Goldman Sachs found his DJing hobby raising eyebrows once again on Sunday, as The New York Times called into question whether his private passion can be reconciled with his professional role.
David Solomon, 61, started DJing in 2015 and founded his own record label in 2018 – the same year Goldman named him chief executive.
He and the bank insist there is no conflict of interest, but on Sunday the paper analyzed his winning the coveted prize of remixing Whitney Houston‘s hit ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, with the track released this summer.
Unlike cover versions, remixes can only be legally done with permission from the publisher.
Solomon was granted permission by Larry Mestel, whose music company Primary Wave is a client of the bank.
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, took up DJing in 2015 as a hobby, which he says relaxes him
Solomon was granted permission to remix Whitney Houston’s 1987 smash hit ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’
Mestel then convinced Pat Houston, sister-in-law of the late singer and executor of her estate, to agree.
Sony Music Entertainment, which owns the original recording of the 1987 smash hit, also approved it.
‘There’s a kind of prima facie appearance of: ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours,’ said Yaron Nili, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who specializes in corporate and securities law.
Mestel defended the agreement.
‘Our business is in part to get artists to cover, sample, and or remix our legendary song catalog,’ he told The New York Times in an emailed statement.
Larry Mestel, whose music company Primary Wave is a client of the bank, helped Solomon secure the deal
Tony Fratto, a spokesman for the bank, said that Solomon’s lawyer dealt with Sony.
Fratto insisted there was no conflict of interest.
‘The reporting is trying to assert that there is overlap or intermingling of David’s music activities and his role as C.E.O. of Goldman Sachs,’ he said.
‘It’s clear that both David and Goldman Sachs have been scrupulous in keeping the relationship separate.’
Solomon, who has not commented on the Houston deal, has previously emphasized that all his DJing proceeds are given to charity.
Guillermo Page, the assistant director of the music business and entertainment industries program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, told the paper Solomon’s securing of the sought-after Houston song caused shock waves.
‘When you’re dealing with someone of the stature of Whitney Houston, it’s very likely that they have some restrictions as to who can use the sound recording,’ said Page.
‘Just because you want to do your own remix or you want to make your own creation doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to be approved.’
Serona Elton, the director of music industry program at the Frost School of Music, noted that Solomon’s remix had likely helped him gain his current 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
‘It’s a very high number for a relatively unknown artist,’ she said.
She said ‘a really crazy hot track,’ like the Whitney Houston remix, ‘can cut through clutter and get attention.’
Solomon is seen DJing. He founded his own label in 2018
The financier earned $25 million in 2022 – a pay cut from 2021, when he earned $35 million
Mestel is seen with Pat Houston, sister-in-law of Whitney Houston and executor of her estate
The paper further reported that a member of Solomon’s staff was asked to liaise with the record label he founded, to ensure there was no interference with his work schedule and DJing.
Brandon Launerts, a former Goldman employee who worked in the bank’s marketing department as a social media manager, spoke to people working for Payback Records.
Two people said the calls were arranged to discuss strategies for promoting new music releases and appearances by Solomon, and making sure his D.J.ing activities did not interfere with his Goldman commitments.
Fratto called the communications ‘normal’ because they involved coordinating on scheduling matters, and to consider ‘any potential risks’ for Goldman.
He added that the calls are infrequent given Solomon’s limited DJ engagements.
Solomon’s DJing has previously caused headaches for the bank.
In the summer of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Solomon played at a concert in the Hamptons headlined by The Chainsmokers which violated numerous social distancing rules.
The organizers were fined $20,000.
Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers perform during the ‘Safe & Sound’ Drive-In Concert Fundraiser
The concert included opening acts by Southampton’s Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman’s (right) band and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon as DJ D-Sol (left in February)
Andrew Cuomo, the then-governor of New York, announced the promoters were fined $20,000
Solomon posted this flyer prompting the music festival on his Instagram page. His name, circled in red, is listed among 140 other acts
Solomon in July last year hit the headlines for playing a set at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, appearing alongside Dua Lipa and Doja Cat.
In a podcast interview in 2021, he said making music helped him relax – and despite some telling him it posed a risk for his banking career, he didn’t see a need to stop performing.
‘I thought about it and I said, ‘I enjoy this, I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m not breaking any laws, I’m having fun,” he said.
‘Why should I stop doing something I’m really enjoying?’