David Silberstein ‘10
David Silberstein '10
President, Mega House Music
I live in Los Angeles, California with my wife, Leah Potok, ‘10, and two amazing kids, Noah and Laney. I am fortunate to have a wonderful group of friends, many of which have also moved out to Los Angeles from Virginia and who have worked together to lift each other up in life and in careers.
I am fortunate to have known going into Virginia Tech that I wanted to be in the music industry. I studied business and was able to work as the director of concerts for the Virginia Tech Union for three years while at Virginia Tech. I made some amazing connections through that opportunity and I am still in touch with many of the artists and managers I met during my time booking concerts at Virginia Tech.
After school, I started a music producer /songwriter management company called Mega House Music. My first client was my best friend and next door neighbor growing up, Ammar Malik. The first song he wrote for another artist was 'Moves Like Jagger' for Maroon 5. From there he's gone on to write over 10 #1 hits with everyone from Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and many more. Soon after that first No.1 hit, we began signing more songwriter and producer clients and started building the company, moving from Virginia to Los Angeles in 2013. While continuing to build Mega House, I took on a vice president of A&R roll at Atlantic Records.
During my time at Atlantic I worked with Chromeo and Jason Mraz on their respective albums. The Chromeo album yielded a Grammy nomination and the Mraz album yielded a platinum single. It was an amazing experience working with both artists and having the honor of working at such a storied label with many great executives. Today, Mega House is based in Los Angeles. Mega House's clients have written/produced songs that have sold over 300+ million singles and accumulated over 50+ billion streams worldwide by artists like Maroon 5, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Thomas Rhett, and more. Mega House's clients have won BMI songwriter of the year, BMI and ASCAP song of the year, been nominated for multiple Grammy awards; and have had over 50 songs that have reached platinum or multi-platinum status.
Looking forward to where I am going next. I am excited to continue to build new verticals within Mega House (music publishing, artist management), and help our clients expand their footprints inside and outside of music. We have a new office and studio compound with three recording studios that has been an exciting new addition and an amazing place to mark the next phase of building the brand and cultural footprint of Mega House. I am excited to continue to work with incredibly talented people that I love as humans and am excited everyday to wake up and go hard for.
The work project/initiative you're most excited about...
I am most excited about spending time and energy helping to develop the members of our team into great executives. It feels incredibly rewarding to watch members of our team have their first big moments (songs getting cut, singles they helped set up climbing the charts, ect). I am also excited by finding a brand new artist, songwriter, or producer who has the magic. Still gets me fired up every time I hear that magic!
Fondest Virginia Tech memory or tradition…
Spending time with my friends and roommates at the Banana Stand.
How Virginia Tech equipped me for the 'real world'...
I learned a wealth of great lessons in my marketing classes in Pamplin. I also gained so many real world connections through my role as director of concerts for the Virginia Tech Union. In fact, when Phil Vassar played in Burruss Hall I befriended the stage manager during the set up of the show. At the end of the show he gave me his number and told me to look him up if I was ever in Nashville. Three months later I got an internship at William Morris in Nashville and quickly needed a place to live. I called that friend and he hooked me up with a place to live across the street from him. The stage manager was T.J. Osborne (singer of The Brothers Osborne, Grammy winning country duo). That summer he taught me a lot about the music business and took me under his wing as a big brother. We are still friends to this day.
Best part of being a Virginia Tech alum...
Meeting my incredible wife and best friend, Leah Potok, ‘10. We met the first week of college and she was the director of hospitality for Virginia Tech Union, so we worked every single Virginia Tech concert together for three years. She now works running hospitality for one of the most esteemed music venues in Los Angeles, the Shrine Auditorium.
Words of encouragement to a current Virginia Tech student...
The classwork is almost as important as the friends, relationships, and connections you make while at school. It's all about the experiences.
Best advice I've gotten...
When a stressful issue or challenging decision hits your desk, take a downbeat and think about all the angles and the best next move. Don't react too quickly on emotion.
A person who has inspired me...
My dad.
My no-fail, go-for-it motivational song...
'MakeDamnSure' - Taking Back Sunday
This excites me the most about the future of my industry...
The barrier to entry as a new creative in music is so low that the playing field has been leveled such that anyone with a laptop, access to social media, and a lot of talent can break through. A label or major media network is no longer needed to make a big splash getting into music as an artist, songwriter, or producer. I think that with the boom of streaming and the amount of content needed to satiate the current market there are so many opportunities to win in the music business. It's now about finding a lane and creating amazing work.
A cause I'm most passionate about...
My grandpa was a Holocaust survivor. He shouldered an enormously heavy choice to recount his experience as a child surviving the Holocaust. His decision throughout life to share his experience both internally with family, and externally to the community, and document it for the general public has been and will continue to be a deep rooted and long lasting part of his legacy. I, along with my family now take on an even more meaningful purpose in ourselves of telling his story of survival, advocating for acceptance of others, and speaking up for the oppressed. I am passionate about speaking up for the oppressed and continuing to tell his story as a reminder of the dangers of what can happen if we don't speak up.
The most formative experience I've had...
One of the most formative experiences I've had related to my career was a time related to the creation of the song 'Stereo Hearts' by Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine. My first client, Ammar Malik, had written the chorus of the song and I had sent it to a childhood friend named Benny Blanco. We had been trying to figure out the production of the song for a few weeks and kept coming up short. Benny happened to be on a trip to Reston, Virginia (where I was living at the time) to visit his mom. Benny came over one night to my small townhouse and Ammar and I sat with Benny in my bedroom while he started to produce the beat for 'Stereo Hearts'. He was playing the music so loud that I was scared the neighbors were going to call the cops. When I vocalized that to Benny he turned around in the chair smiling and said 'You will be able to buy their house with this song'. Shortly after that we got Adam Levine on the song and six months later the song came out and proceeded to go No.1. I just remember sitting there in my bedroom that night watching this happen and feeling like 'This is it, it's really gonna happen'...
Last book I read...
Three Body Problem
Favorite way to end the day...
Putting my kids to sleep.