John Ehmann is the Vice President of A&R (Artists and Repertoire) at Interscope Records in Los Angeles. Along with former Interscope A&R exec Larry Jackson he signed Lana Del Rey to Interscope. He has overseen A&R for albums Born to Die and Ultraviolence and singles “Summertime Sadness”, “Video Games”, “West Coast” and “Young and Beautiful”.[1]
Career[]
Originally from Albany, New York, Ehmann attended Hofstra University in Long Island. He worked full-time at J Records, which is owned by Sony Music, in 2005. In 2009, he became an A&R manager and worked directly with Clive Davis. In early 2011, the (then) CEO at Interscope Jimmy Iovine offered top A&R positions to John Ehmann and Larry Jackson in Los Angeles.[1]
Signing of Lana Del Rey[]
While at Interscope, Ehmann searched for new artists on YouTube, where he saw a video for the song "Diet Mountain Dew" and was impressed by it:[1]
- "I saw a video of her song “Diet Mountain Dew,” and I was blown away by this song. The video was very artistically done, and it was a great song. She had this haunting vocal which really drew me in. It was clear she had her own style and sound, which was different and unique."[1]
They pursued a deal with Del Rey in March 2011, and Ehmann introduced Emile Haynie to her while she was looking for a producer. After meeting, Haynie and Del Rey wrote their first song, "Blue Jeans". After Del Rey posted the video for "Video Games" in May 2011, she received many offers but decided to sign with Interscope and Polydor in the UK in July 2011. Ehmann then took over A&R for her album Born to Die with Larry Jackson and with Ferdy Unger-Hamilton of Polydor.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Kawashima, Dale (March 9, 2015). "Interview with John Ehmann, Vice President of A&R at Interscope Records". Songwriter Universe. https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/john-ehmann-123.htm. Retrieved June 10, 2022.