Tim Devine is an American music executive and entrepreneur. The founder of Webcastr, Devine is best known for his work as an a&r executive.
Early life and education
Devine spent his childhood in Chicago, Kansas City, New York and New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles when he was 12. At 8, he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, and decided to pursue a career in the music business. In junior and senior high, he wrote about music for his school papers and worked at Licorice Pizza, a retail music chain. He continued as a music journalist through college, and freelanced for Phonograph Record, Rolling Stone, and the LA Free Press, among others.
After a year at UCLA and a year at California State University, Northridge, Devine left Los Angeles to attend the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he was involved with the school's concert committee and served as the music director at KALX, the university's radio station, and as a fan, he attended historic concerts which included the final shows by the Sex Pistols and The Band's The Last Waltz. As a sophomore, he was hired by A&M Records as a college promotion representative, a position he held until 1978, when he graduated from Berkeley with a BA in Mass Communications/Political Science.
Career
Just prior to his graduation, Devine—who by then had a diverse background in the music business—was hired by Warner Communications for a management training program, and began working at Warner Bros. Records in Burbank, California. As part of the program, he spent a month in each of 12 departments within the company, including the A&R, promotion, marketing departments, and worked with music industry veterans Mo Ostin, Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman, Jerry Wexler, Bob Krasnow, Ed Rosenblatt, and Russ Thyret. Following the management trainee program, Devine was hired as a product manager for the label. In that capacity he was responsible for releases by Prince, Devo, Gang of Four, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, Steve Winwood, and Little Feat, among others, and served as the product manager for U2's first two American releases, Boy and October. After six years at the company, Devine left Warner Bros. to briefly become a manager. His artist roster included Dream Syndicate, Gang of Four, Thin Lizzy and Ultravox.
In 1984, Devine was appointed head of artist development for MCA Records, where he was involved with records by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Who, Oingo Boingo, Charlie Sexton, the Pogues, among others.
In 1987, Devine moved into an A&R position at Capitol Records. In a 2010 interview, he said: "I didn't want to jump into A&R until I really knew the full spectrum of marketing. My fundamental belief is that you can sign a great band and make a great record, but if nobody hears it, what's the point? I was ready to make the move because I wanted to get closer to the source of the artistic nucleus."
Devine had significant success during his 8-year tenure at Capitol, where he signed Mazzy Star, Concrete Blonde, John Hiatt, and Lloyd Cole, among others, and a&r'd records by Paul McCartney, Beastie Boys, The Beach Boys, and Heart. He was widely recognized for his work with Bonnie Raitt, whom he signed in 1988. Made over the course of a year, her Capitol debut, Nick of Time, sold in excess of five million albums and won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Devine was also acknowledged for signing Blind Melon and a&r'ing their self-titled debut. Released in September 1992, the single "No Rain" was an international hit, and Blind Melon sold more than four million albums. Additionally, Devine produced numerous film and television soundtrack recordings for the label, including the soundtracks for Rainman, Clueless, Bull Durham, Moonstruck, and Imagine: John Lennon.