1. Wendy Goldstein is from Brooklyn NY, growing up she had always had an attachment that was
considered unique to the music world. She stated, “As a little a kid, I always knew every song on
the radio, who the artist was and which label they were on, I just had the spirit” ("Artist &
repertoire: Music vet Wendy Goldstein" by the beast 2008).With this passion to music it helped
her get her first job as a music A&R administrative assistant at just the age of 19 at Epic records
in 1982.
During 1993-1997 she worked A&R at Geffen Records and she was responsible for signing “the
Roots, Common, GZA, Mos Def, and the Bloodhound Gang” (WENDY GOLDSTEIN 2022).
She Later became the Head of Urban A&R at Priority Records and created a label deal with
Disturbing the Peace. She has overseen projects for Snoop Dog, Latoya Luckett, and numerous
others as well. She later left the company in 2007. In 2009 Wendy joined Republic Records as
the A&R consultant. “In 2011 she later became the Senior Vice President for the label. In 2014
the label named her the Executive Vice and Head of Urban A&R” (WENDY GOLDSTEIN
2022). Since 2014 Wendy Goldstein had contributed to the success of Ariana Grande, the
Weekend, and Hailee Steinfeld, and numerous of other artists.
Goldstein placed Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj together for their song Side to side which
became a Triple Platinum song. Wendy also put Zed with Hailee Steinfeld for the song Starving
that ended up becoming double platinum. She also helped Julia Michaels, who came out with her
popular song Issues that became the “best-selling song by a new artist and the year’s highest on-
demand audio streaming song by a new artist, according to Nielsen” (Republic Records EVP of
2. A&R Wendy Goldstein to Keynote 'Music's leading ladies speak out' program powered by
Nielsen Music at Music Biz 2018 2017).
Some interesting facts about Wendy Goldstein is that she actually dropped out of NYU to take
the job at Epic. She stated that “ My mother said the greatest thing to me when I finally admitted
I’d stopped going to NYU and took the job at Epic” (Aswad, 2021).
She was taught by former record executives such as David Geffen, Eddie Rosenblatt, Bruce
Harris, and Greg Geller at Epic Goldstein stated “They’re amazing A&R guys who made a point
to bring me to mixing and mastering sessions and show me how to listen. They made me do the
work to understand the job from the ground up, every aspect of it: technical, creative, and
cultural” (Aswad, 2021).
Some earlier mistakes Goldstein did involve Ariana Grandes career “Goldstein says,
remembering that she convinced Grande not to release anything until she was 18 so that the
world of available songs was more open to her, and have her material or image be restricted
because she was an underaged” (Smith, 2019). But Ariana Grande began to get a huge fan base
at her young age and Goldstein decided to not compare her with other people but to let her
decide on what would make her happy and it ended up being a great decision.
3. References:
"Artist & repertoire: Music vet Wendy Goldstein" by the beast. My Weblog. (2008, February 7).
Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://hiphopruckus1.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/artist-
repertoire-music-vet-wendy-goldstein-by-the-beast/
Aswad, J. (2021, December 3). Republic Records Co-President Wendy Goldstein talks Ariana Grande,
the weekend, and the Art of A&R. Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2022,
from https://variety.com/2021/music/news/republic-records-wendy-goldstein-ariana-grande-the-
weeknd-1235124568/amp/
Republic Records EVP of A&R Wendy Goldstein to Keynote 'Music's leading ladies speak out' program
powered by Nielsen Music at Music Biz 2018. Music Business Association. (2017, December 6).
Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://musicbiz.org/news/republic-records-evp-ar-wendy-
goldstein-keynote-musics-leading-ladies-speak-program-powered-nielsen-music-music-biz-
2018/
Smith, C. E. (2019). The woman behind the Jonas Brothers & Ariana Grande shares their secrets to
topping the charts. Refinery29. Retrieved August 7, 2022,
from https://www.refinery29.com/amp/en-us/2019/08/240087/wendy-goldstein-republic-records-
ariana-grande-jonas-brothers
WENDY GOLDSTEIN. Speakers Bureau. (2022). Retrieved August 7, 2022,
from https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Wendy+Goldstein/399649
