Adam Leber has long held on to what he calls an "old-school mentality" -- that "representation is about the talent, not about yourself." But when the company you work for, Maverick Management, collectively handles 40 of the biggest stars in music (Madonna, U2, Paul McCartney and Shania Twain among them) and is named manager of the year for 2016 at the Billboard Touring Awards (founder Guy Oseary accepted), a little celebration is certainly in order.
Leber, a Queens native who shares a roster with partner Larry Rudolph that includes Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Steven Tyler and, as of January, Fifth Harmony, got his start running the street teams at hip-hop bastion Loud Records ("I was like an animal," he boasts). That led him to manager Johnny Wright and *NSYNC, who hired Leber to handle *sponsors for the boy band's tour. Some nine years of touring followed in various *capacities, for Dixie Chicks, Ozzfest and Spears, through whom he met Rudolph, a lawyer and her longtime manager.
Leber has been at Spears' side for her career highs and personal lows ("You can kind of tell when Larry and I are out of her life," he says), after which she emerged victorious, launching a Las Vegas *residency at Planet Hollywood that has grossed $95 million since 2013, according to Billboard Boxscore. Cyrus' career also has thrived -- 2013 release Bangerz has moved 1.1 million copies, according to Nielsen Music --
and Fifth Harmony is at 1.6 *million equivalent album units of its 2016 album 7/27. The 39-year-old sat down with Billboard at his West Hollywood office.
In the two years since Maverick launched, how is the collective *working out?
The managers at Maverick all have *amazing success stories, but we all do *different things. When Britney wanted to do a more urban-leaning record, *having Gee Roberson [Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj] by my side was invaluable.
Miley has gone from Disney star to chart-topper and now is a coach on The Voice. What was your *involvement in her reinvention?
I wish I could take credit for some of the brilliant decisions she made along the way. I think she just needed a solid partner. She's a visionary, she knows exactly what she wants to do, who her audience is and she's a master at connecting with that audience. The dynamic is so good because she sets them up and I knock them down. With respect to The Voice, she loves giving back and *helping people, and the show plays into that perfectly. She just wants those kids to get their shot. The producers will tell you, she's the most hands-on coach they've ever seen. She's there on off-camera days, on the phone and emailing with these kids 27 times a day. She's boots on the ground.
Fifth Harmony, which came *together on the short-lived X Factor in the *United States, has beaten the odds as far as prefab girl groups are *concerned. What has it done right?
It's the music; they have hit after hit. And I think they're likable and relatable. But look, managing five girls is not easy. It's brutal, and I give major props to Dan Dymtrow in our office who deals with them. Every group is going to have *problems. The lifestyle isn't really *conducive to friendship. Touring is grueling and takes its toll. You hope to keep people working together as long as you possibly can without the whole thing imploding.
Who or what do you credit for *Britney Spears' comeback following her 2008 breakdown?
When her parents got involved, that changed everything. We spent so many years trying to get her back on track -- from a health perspective, not just a business perspective. It was a tumultuous time. When her father got back into her life, I personally think it saved her life. With that structure in place, we were able to rehabilitate her health and her career.
Her Piece of Me residency in Las Vegas will soon pass the $100 million mark. Was the widsom behind it related to the exorbitant costs of taking a pop show on the road?
It was more of a lifestyle decision than a financial one. Larry, Britney and I were in Australia when she told us she was getting a bit tired of touring for as long as she had, and coupled with the fact that she's a mother, she was getting wary but she still wanted to perform. So I started to think about all the territories where you could do a standalone show: New York, London, China maybe, but Vegas is so transient. The challenge was that there were no contemporary acts in Vegas -- it was where artists went to die, to a certain degree, or you were a heritage act at the height and she wasn't there yet.
You are not a fan of exclusive deals -- why?
Because I don't believe you should *punish your audience for choosing a platform they like. Artists are cutting off a *significant percentage of their audience. It's like you just smacked that kid for making a *decision on technology. That's not fair. You want consumption, and by closing off part of your *audience, you're only hurting yourself. With Britney's *[latest] record, a *nonexclusive was the way to go.
