Dave Kelly

Music Business

Dave Kelly began his music career as a recording artist for Apple Records, a label owned by the Beatles. Even though this was a number of years ago, he has recently been interviewed by the author of a new book about the Beatles . After the Beatles broke up Dave was signed to Warner Brothers Records. He toured as opening act for Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELO, The Who, and many others. He came to America in the mid 70’s and immediately began working with Stevie Wonder, while Stevie was working on his multi-Grammy winning album “Songs in the Key of Life”.

After Dave’s wife and newborn son died tragically from Spinal Meningitis on Christmas Day 1980, he decided to concentrate on working behind the scenes of the music business, and was quickly introduced to and hired by Bob Dylan. Dave is quoted extensively in two different well know Bob Dylan biographies, “Behind the Shades Revisited” and "The Political World of Bob Dylan."

Over the years, Dave eventually managed every type of music related business, including record companies, music publishing companies, video production companies, management companies, booking agencies, recording studios as well as an International music, book and DVD distribution company.

All of the major record companies, such as Warner Brothers, CBS/Sony, Polygram, Virgin and EMI have hired Dave as a consultant at various times to help with entertainment marketing.

Movie Business

Dave Kelly first ventured into the movie business when a friend asked him to be a business consultant on a new independent film that was just beginning production entitled “Chameleon Street”. This film eventually went on to win the ‘Grand Jury Prize’ at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. As a result of receiving the number one spot, Paramount Pictures signed a three-picture deal with Dave’s client, Wendell Harris Jr. Dave went on to provide coaching services to numerous other up-and-coming actors, directors and screenwriters. One such actor was the Asian star John Cho who plays the part of Sulu in the latest Star Trek movies.

Dave has produced numerous music videos, as well as two one-hour TV specials, one for the BBC in England called “Hitmakers”, later picked up by MTV and turned into “Behind the Music”, and the other produced for both ABC TV in America and Nippon TV in Japan.

A European Hedge Fund chose Dave to represent them with their Hollywood investments, due to his many contacts and broad experience in the business. In this capacity he met and negotiated with some of today’s most successful movie producers, such as:

Alan Ladd Jr. (produced Star Wars / Blade Runner / Braveheart)
Doug Wick (produced Gladiator / Memoirs of a Geisha/ The Great Gatsby)
Paula Weinstein (produced Analyze This/ Rumour Has It/ The Perfect Storm)
Al Ruddy (produced The Godfather / Million Dollar Baby)
Lauren Shuler Donner (produced You’ve Got Mail / X-Men/ The Wolverine)

Dave has also supervised contract negotiations with countless Hollywood companies, from the William Morris Agency and CAA Talent Agency to Sony Pictures and WB TV Network.

Currently, Dave is the CEO of twenty different businesses, with offices in 350 cities, in 45 countries around the world, and from this platform is preparing a personal crusade, to mobilize and monetize artistic communities across the globe, launching in early 2020.

If you are interested in joining the team, let me know what city you live in, or are close to, and I'll let you know if we still have any openings there.