David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, has decided to step back from his DJing career due to concerns raised by the bank’s board. Solomon had been actively involved in DJing, going under the alias DJ D-Sol.
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According to a story by The Guardian, the decision was made because there were concerns that Solomon’s DJing activities could potentially distract him from his primary role as the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
You could say the negative media attention from the DJ gigs was making investors ‘lose interest’ in the bank, as Solomon’s DJ side hustle was proving to be a “media distraction”, says Goldman spokesman Tony Fratto.
Solomon’s DJing had been a subject of scrutiny by Goldman’s board, with some expressing discomfort over his 2019 performance at Tomorrowland, apparently because the festival has been involved in drug-related issues in the past. He also apologised to the board in 2020 for DJing at an event in the Hamptons that faced criticism for ignoring COVID-19 social distancing rules.
Solomon’s last major DJ performance was at Lollapalooza in July 2022. Fratto also recently clarified that Solomon hasn’t publicly DJed for over a year, and the move was not due to music itself being a distraction from his work but rather the media attention surrounding it.
Solomon is not the only unexpected name to get behind the decks in recent times. Earlier this month, Step Brothers star Will Ferrell was spotted DJing at a frat party in California at his son’s university.
Comedian Chris Rock was also filmed talking about DJing as he escaped Burning Man in a pickup truck with Diplo in August. Apparently, he used to “follow Grandmaster Flash around” and play hip-hop in New York.
In the video, you can see Rock talk about his regrets towards retiring from the form: “[If there was a] time when DJs would have actually made money, I would have never told a joke,” he says, “I was like, This is fucking dead end. Turntables, backspinning, whatever…”
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