Accomplished Execs Have Signed & Championed a String of Hit Artists
Two of Atlantic Records’ most accomplished A&R execs, Brandon Davis and Jeff Levin, have been promoted to Executive Vice Presidents and Co-Heads of Pop A&R for the company. Based in Los Angeles, both report to Atlantic President of A&R Pete Ganbarg. Davis and Levin were most recently Senior Vice Presidents of A&R.
“At Atlantic, we pride ourselves as much in executive development as we do in artist development,” said Pete Ganbarg. “Both Brandon and Jeff have worked at Atlantic their entire professional lives, rising from entry level intern and assistant positions to become an integral part of the leadership of our A&R team. The new artists they’ve signed and championed, including Lizzo, Melanie Martinez, Oliver Tree, Charlie Puth, Ava Max, and Jaymes Young, are now cornerstones of the roster. I couldn’t be happier for them and am thrilled to recognize their contributions with these well-deserved promotions.”
“Our mission has always been to attract, sign, and nurture the greatest talent across every genre,” said Atlantic Records Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman. “Brandon and Jeff are our pop A&R stars, bringing us a string of game-changing artists. They’ve got spot-on musical instincts, combined with the insight and ability to nurture artists at every stage of their careers. As Pete said, they’ve literally grown up at this company, and I join him in congratulating them on their new leadership posts.”
“My goal has always been to help give a platform to the generational talent and creators with whom I’m privileged to work,” said Brandon Davis. “I couldn’t be more honored to help lead our A&R team and continue Atlantic’s tradition of signing and developing the most important and culturally significant artists of our time. I want to thank Pete, Craig, and Julie for their incredible support and this wonderful new opportunity.”
“Since joining the A&R department over ten years ago, my priority has always been artist development,” said Jeff Levin. “I’m honored and humbled to continue working and growing with artists in my new role. As we continue to navigate an ever-evolving and disruptive marketplace, I’m confident in upholding our artists’ visions and our creative mission. I can’t thank Pete, Craig, and Julie enough for this incredible opportunity. I look forward to the future now more than ever.”
Brandon Davis joined Atlantic 11 years ago as an assistant in the A&R department. In 2015, he partnered with producer Ricky Reed to sign nascent superstar Lizzo, whom Davis has developed and A&R’d ever since. Among his other projects, Davis helped A&R the smash original soundtrack album for The Greatest Showman, as well as serving as Associate Producer on The Greatest Showman: Reimagined and a producer on the AMA award-winning soundtrack, Birds of Prey: The Album. Most recently, Davis co-A&R’d Charli XCX’s chart-topping album, Crash, and Ava Max’s forthcoming sophomore album. Davis was featured on Billboard’s 2019 40 Under 40 list and named one of Variety’s 2019 Hitmakers. He was named Atlantic Senior Vice President of A&R in 2020.
Jeff Levin started at Atlantic in 2010 and has since A&R’d a wide range of artists across the Warner Music Group. Among his signings is Melanie Martinez, whose RIAA platinum-certified album Cry Baby yielded 17 platinum or gold singles. Levin A&R’d Ben Platt’s debut album, Sing to Me Instead, and signed Oliver Tree, who scored RIAA platinum singles with “Alien Boy” and “Hurt.” In addition, Levin has worked with Warner Chappell Music, A&R’ing the multi-platinum single, “Me, Myself & I” by G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha, as well as signing Logic to a worldwide publishing deal. Levin also A&R’d Rexha’s debut album, Expectations, which included the platinum single, “I’m A Mess.” Most recently, Levin A&R’d Charlie Puth’s third album, Charlie, which includes the platinum single, “Light Switch,” and gold-certified single, “Left and Right” featuring Jungkook of BTS. His first-ever signing to Atlantic, Jaymes Young, has also recently seen massive streaming success, producing over six billion streams to date for the songs “Infinity” and “Happiest Year.”
