John Mayer — singer-songwriter, virtuoso guitarist, solo artist, member of Dead & Co and definitely the funniest speaker at Variety’s Hitmakers event last December — has signed with CAA in all areas globally.
It’s not the first major change Mayer has made on the business side this year. In early March, he publicly announced he was leaving his longtime label home, Columbia Records.
“After 21 years, eight studio albums, and some wonderful personal and creative relationships, I have decided not to renew my recording agreement with Columbia Records,” he wrote in a social media post at the time. “Hard as it is to say goodbye, I’m excited to pursue new avenues of making music, both of my own and with other artists… I love music more than ever, and I believe some of my best work still lies ahead. With gratitude and enthusiasm, John.”
That move was particularly surprising because Mayer had just been singing the praises of Columbia at a Variety event less than three months earlier.
Mayer has won seven Grammy Awards out of 19 nominations and since his 2001 debut album “Room for Squares” has earned three No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, with the triple-platinum “Heavier Things” (2003), double-platinum “Battle Studies” (2009), and gold-certified “Born and Raised” (2012). He has sold an estimated 20 million-plus albums worldwide. He was previously with WME.
His most recent album, “Sob Rock,” was produced by John and Don Was, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, and was also the No. 1 Rock Album, Vinyl Album, and Digital Album in the U.S. the week of release. Mayer is managed by Irving Azoff and Steve Moir; his attorney is Reid Hunter.
Popular on Variety
At Variety’s Hitmakers event, Mayer had the audience in stitches with his nearly four-minute speech. Taking the podium after decade award winner Lana Del Rey, who said in her speech “lovemaking is my legacy,” Mayer started his remarks by joking, “I just want to say before I begin: Lovemaking is my legacy as well.”
While Mayer listed out Columbia’s achievements this year — mentioning Lil Nas X’s “Montero,” the Kid Laroi’s “Stay” and Adele’s “Easy on Me” — he gave a special shoutout to BTS fans, saying: “BTS ARMY, what’s up? I’m just trying to trend. Checking it in the car home.”
However, he turned more serious when presenting the Hitmakers label of the year award to Columbia Records’ Ron Perry and Jenifer Mallory.
“We artists are unreasonable, that is our job. We catch ideas we can’t let go of,” Mayer said. “Ron, Jen and the rest of the team have adopted a working relationship that I think is the most open-minded and fun it’s ever been in my 20-year career as a Columbia recording artist.”
