A TASTE OF RAINMAKERS II:
GUY OSEARY

In this excerpt from our profiles of industry ballers, we recount teenage Guy O's arrival at the company that would become Maverick.

While attending Beverly Hills High School in 1990, a 16-year-old Guy Oseary was cutting his A&R teeth by compiling demos of all the artists he could find. He met Madonna’s manager, Freddy DeMann, through his daughters, who went to BHHS as well, and played him some of those demos. Nothing came of it, but the two stayed in touch.

The summer after graduation, Jerusalem-born Oseary went on some of the first Lollapalooza tour dates; Ice-T was on that tour, and Guy was managing his DJ, Evil E. He also went to Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica and New Music Seminar in New York, looking to find his musical path before starting college. When he came back to L.A., Oseary entered Cal State Northridge. During his first semester, his artists Hen Gee and Evil E, who are brothers, signed to Pendulum Records, with the help of hip-hop entrepreneur Steve Rifkind.

Sensing he was getting warmer, he finished the semester and then left college for good. Oseary had been periodically checking in with DeMann, who told him that he and Madonna were going to start a record company; it had no name yet. He asked Freddy for an office and offered to become an unpaid scout. DeMann said yes, and the 18-year-old was in the door. A year later, the label had a name—Maverick—and Oseary was given a salary. He rose through the ranks all the way to Chairman, developing a roster of artists that included The Prodigy, Alanis Morissette, Deftones, Meshell Ndegeocello and Bad Brains.

Check out the entire profile here.