Justin Seltzer has been promoted to the newly-created position of General Manager of Blue Note Records.
The news was announced today (August 11) by Blue Note President Don Was, to whom Seltzer reports.
Seltzer is charged with managing the day-to-day operations of Blue Note, under the auspices of Was, executing the label’s business strategy and playing an instrumental role in artist signings, creating and executing marketing campaigns for label artists and projects, and directing commercial aspects of Blue Note releases in the US and around the world.
Seltzer is based in Hollywood within the iconic Capitol Tower.
Prior to being promoted to General Manager, Seltzer served as Vice President of Blue Note, having joined the company in 2014 as a Director to work in A&R, marketing and general label operations.
He has played an integral role in campaigns for Blue Note artists such as Wayne Shorter, Robert Glasper, Trombone Shorty, Gregory Porter, Kandace Springs and others, as well as the development and launch of Blue Note Review, a limited-edition subscription box set.
He is also leading the development of and strategy behind Blue Note’s eCommerce store.
Seltzer was instrumental in Blue Note’s 80th Anniversary Campaign that began in 2019 and included the launch of the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, the 25-city 80th Anniversary Tour that featured Blue Note artists Kandace Springs, James Carter and James Francies, and the Limited Edition Watch collaboration with G-Shock.
He is key to the success of the annual Blue Note at Sea cruise that has sold out in each of its four years, as well as the curation of the annual Blue Note at Sea tent at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
Seltzer joined Capitol Music Group (CMG) in 2013 to build an A&R research team and worked with the portfolio of CMG labels to support their A&R teams to help identify important trends and potential artist signings.
He also supported CMG executives in various marketing, promotion and operational capacities.
Before joining CMG, Seltzer consulted for four years on the concept, development and execution of Rothbury Festival, now Electric Forest, a festival in Rothbury, Michigan that featured Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan and The Dead, among others.
He was a Business Development executive for digital marketing firm ePrize (now HelloWorld) from 2007 through 2012, working with clients such as Live Nation, Nike and Microsoft.
“Justin is a passionate advocate for jazz and is innovative in his approach to expanding the jazz audience in our ever-evolving industry.”
Don Was
Don Was said: “Justin is a passionate advocate for jazz and is innovative in his approach to expanding the jazz audience in our ever-evolving industry.
“He has done a tremendous job over the past six years, and this Is a well-deserved promotion.”
“It’s one of the greatest honors of my life to help carry the torch at such an iconic label like Blue Note Records. I look forward to continuing to build on Blue Note’s 80-year legacy with my mentor and our leader, Don Was.”
Justin Seltzer
Justin Seltzer added: “It’s one of the greatest honors of my life to help carry the torch at such an iconic label like Blue Note Records. I look forward to continuing to build on Blue Note’s 80-year legacy with my mentor and our leader, Don Was.
“I want to thank Don for his incredible vision, creativity and inclusiveness, as well as the whole Blue Note family; I’m constantly inspired by them and love being a part of this team.
“I would also like to thank Steve Barnett, Michelle Jubelirer and Geoff Harris for their incredible support and confidence in me.”Music Business Worldwide