Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon shares the story of how he became a DJ
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is a DJ on the side. His stage name is DJ D-Sol.
- Solomon said DJ-ing started out as a hobby until it became apparent that he "was actually developing some skills," he said on the JJ Redick Podcast.
- Now, he sees DJ-ing as an outlet and a way to connect with younger coworkers.
Warren Buffett plays the ukulele. Larry Ellison sails. Oprah Winfrey reads books.
And David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs since fall 2018, is a DJ, stage name DJ D-Sol.
On an episode of the JJ Redick Podcast, Solomon said it all started when he was introduced to record producer Paul Oakenfold, who in turn introduced him to other people who taught him how to DJ. For years, Solomon said, it was relegated to a Sunday-afternoon hobby.
Then Oakenfold heard that Solomon "was actually developing some skills." He called Solomon and invited him to DJ for the first hour at a club in New York.
"I said to him, 'I've never done this,'" Solomon told Redick. "He said, 'Look, it's an hour. Pick 10 tracks you want to mix together, practice a little.'" Oakenfold added that "there won't be a lot of people there," since it would be right when the club opened, "so you won't have to worry about whether or not it's any good."
Solomon's daughters showed up with a few friends. But by midnight, he told Redick, the club had started to fill up "and I was hooked. The ability to see the music influence people and see people respond to it, it was cool. And so I started working at it."
When word got out about his hobby, Solomon knew he had to put more into it or stop entirely
In July 2017, The New York Times published an article about Solomon's foray into DJ-ing and electronic dance music. Solomon remembered thinking, "I have to work at it a little more and put more into it, or I have to stop." He decided to go for it.
By summer 2018, Solomon had released his first single, "Don't Stop," a dance remix of a Fleetwood Mac song. It quickly became a popular song on Spotify.
Solomon told Redick, "I know it's different from what someone in my position would do, but why shouldn't I?" He added, "It's a great outlet."
He still DJs mostly on Sunday afternoons and, when he's traveling on planes, he creates music.
"As a business professional, it's also connected me to a lot of the younger people that I work with," Solomon told Redick. "I think it makes me more accessible to them."
Indeed, Business Insider's Olivia Oran reported that Solomon has said people used to "cower in a corner" when he got in the elevator. "When people started seeing I had this hobby and was into music, a 24-year-old analyst would say 'Hey David, I saw your post on this and I heard your track,'" Solomon said.
Solomon has also said that pursuing a passion on the side has helped him handle the rigor of a career in finance, Business Insider's Alex Morrell reported.
As Solomon has said, "If you can't find a way to have passions and pursue those passions and mix them into your professional life and your personal life in some way, shape or form, it's just harder to have the energy to keep on doing this, and to keep moving forward professionally."