Music agent Jeremy Geffen who worked with the likes of Britney Spears, D12 and P Diddy has died, it has been reported.
Medics were called to his Beverly Hills home around 5am on Thursday after a friend found him in the bathroom, according to The Blast.
Geffen was pronounced dead at 5.41am of a suspected overdose, the site adds. He was 40 years old.
Jeremy Geffen, a music agent who worked with the likes Britney Spears, Christina Milian, Sisqo has died at the age of 40 of a suspected overdose
Geffen was also a close personal friend of Scott Disick (pictured together center) and even helped organize a trip to rehab for him following his split from Kourtney Kardashian
Born into the music industry, Geffen’s mother was Jo-Ann Geffen – manager to the likes of Lionel Richie and the Commodores – though he is not related to mega-producer David Geffen.
Despite growing up around A-list talent, Jeremy initially wanted to work as an investment banker before taking a summer job in the mail room at William Morris.
‘That was it for me. I was hooked,’ he told Radar Online.
His first job was at the Wright Entertainment group which managed the likes of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.
His understanding of an artist’s needs and expectations allowed him to rise quickly through the ranks before moving to Lindsay Scott Management.
While there he worked with the likes of Christina Milian, Sisqo, and P Diddy, and even helped out with Janet Jackson’s Velvet Rope tour.
He then founded his own agency, Jeremy Geffen Entertainment, which built up a client list that included Eminem’s rap group D12, Bone Thugs n Harmony and even his mother’s old client, Smokey Robinson.
Geffen grew up in the music industry thanks to his mother who managed the likes of Lionel Ritchie, though he is not related to David Geffen. His own clients included P Diddy (pictured)
Eminem’s rap group D12 were also among the acts that Geffen worked with before switching his attentions to helping artists buy back the rights to their music
Before the age of 30 he had sold his company to Sanctuary Management, which manages the likes of ZZ Top and Elton John, while taking a job there himself.
After a time at Sanctuary, he founded another of his own companies – Geffen Management Group – where he nurtured talent such as Jacob Latimore.
After that Geffen branched out, establishing the Creative Rights Group which aims to help artists repurchase the rights to old songs, and update old contract to take account of how the music business changed with the advent of streaming.
Speaking to National Enquirer, he said: ‘I realized how many songwriters and artists were not getting what they deserved and wanted to right this wrong.
‘Legislation was passed in 1976 that allows songwriters to recapture their U.S copyrights from certain time frames.
‘This is essentially a second bite at the apple for writers and/or heirs to renegotiate or get back and possibly sell their copyrights.
‘In addition, older deals didn’t have proper language to account for streaming or technology. We facilitate the terminations of copyrights and renegotiate deals.’
Paying tribute to Geffen on Thursday, a friend said he would want to be remembered as a man who helped artists get what they deserved.
Geffen was a close friend of Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian’s ex-husband, and even helped organize a trip to rehab for him in 2015 after the couple split.