Jeff Rabhan is an American music industry executive and the Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Throughout his 20+ years of experience, Rabhan has worked practically in all regions of the music industry and has helped guide the careers of international superstars across all genres of well-known music, from Kelly Clarkson to Lil’ Kim, Michelle Branch to DMX and Jermaine Dupri. His customers have garnered more than a dozen Grammy Honours, sold several hundred million information, and produced over one billion dollars in global receipts.
Rabhan was born in Savannah, Georgia and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He studied journalism at New York University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. Shortly after graduation, Rabhan earned a post at Rolling Stone.
After leaving Rolling Stone and moving to SPIN magazine on the West Coast, Rabhan was offered a position at Atlantic Records, ultimately serving as Senior Director of A&R and Soundtracks. Subsequently, Elektra Records named him Executive in Charge of Soundtracks during which period he oversaw the soundtrack releases of such films as Beautiful Girls, and Four Rooms.
Next Rabhan worked as an independent music supervisor and A&R consultant, discovering and shopping superstar pop trio Hanson and supervising the Scream soundtrack. He was then offered a position at Los Angeles- based entertainment company The Firm, Inc., as partner working alongside founder Jeff Kwatinetz. While At The Firm, he worked closely with artists such as DMX, Jermaine Dupri, Kelly Clarkson, & Michelle Branch.
In 2006 Rabhan left The Firm to launch his own management company, Three Ring Projects. The company has publishing and label imprints through Universal Music Group. The entity embraced multiple forms of media, fashion and lifestyle products brokering deals for clients with brands such as Boost Mobile, Heineken, and Ford Motor Company. At Three Ring, he helped parlay Elliott Yamin’s (American Idol) appearance into the highest chart debut by a new artist on an independent label in Soundscan history. He took the career reins of Grammy-nominated and Grammy-award winning artists Kelis and Everlast, as well as Jermaine Dupri.
Rabhan took over as Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU in 2010 while continuing to advise companies and artists. He recently wrote Cool Jobs in the Music Business, a book that explains music business career options to high school and college-aged students. It was released by inTune/Hal Leonard in February 2013.
