Early career and Atlantic Records
Weaver began his career at Atlantic Records in Los Angeles in 1994, joining the label’s Lava imprint in 1995 to oversee soundtrack projects. [5] From 1998 to 2000, he worked at Tommy Boy Music in A&R before returning to Lava. In 2006, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records. [11]
He became Executive Vice President of Atlantic Records Group in 2009, President of Film & Television in 2014, [2] and President of Atlantic Records West Coast in 2017. [1]
Beginning in 2009 Weaver operated a publishing joint venture with Atlantic Records and Warner/Chappell Music. [2]
He has also produced television and film specials, including NBC’s Ed Sheeran – Live at Wembley Stadium (2015), [12] Coldplay’s Ghost Stories special (2014), Brandi Carlile’s In The Canyon Haze for IMAX and HBO, [13] and the feature-length Lizzo documentary Love, Lizzo (HBO, 2022). [14]
Soundtracks
Weaver produced the Girls: Volume 1 and True Blood Volumes 1 & 2 soundtracks, which subsequently earned him two Grammy Award nominations. Further executive producer and/or A&R Executive soundtrack credits and contributions include Avatar(Music from the Motion Picture), Paper Towns, The Hangover 1 & 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Rio 2, Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Step Up 2 & 3, Happy Feet, Bright, and more.
His other projects include the soundtrack for Boardwalk Empire, Vol. 1 (Music From The HBO Original Series) which he produced and won a Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, [15] along with the soundtrack for The Fault In Our Stars [16] which featured the RIAA Certified multi-platinum single “Boom Clap” from Charli XCX. [17]
He was also an executive producer for Ed Sheeran's one-hour NBC television special in 2015, "Ed Sheeran - Live at Wembley Stadium,” and spearheaded the deal for Coldplay's 2014 NBC concert special "Ghost Stories". [18] In 2013, he produced CeeLo Green's “Magic Moment” Broadcast Christmas Special at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino, and was an A&R Executive on the Cee Lo's Magic Moment album. [19]
In 2015, Weaver produced the Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album, which peaked at #1 on the US Billboard 200 Chart and also hit #1 on iTunes in over 65 territories. The Furious 7 soundtrack included the single “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa (featuring Charlie Puth), which Weaver provided A&R services for. [20] The single has since garnered over 4.5 Billion streams and sold over 5 million singles worldwide.[5][6]
In 2016, Weaver also produced Suicide Squad: The Album , the soundtrack companion to Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated summer blockbuster, Suicide Squad. [21] The album boasts the highest debut for a soundtrack in 2016 and the largest streaming week for a soundtrack in history with over 32 million streams. Alongside debuting at No. 1 atop the Soundscan/Billboard 200, [22] the album hit No. 1 on the iTunes Top Overall Albums chart in 66 countries around the world, including the United States. [23] The album includes the chart-topping single “Heathens” from rock band Twenty One Pilots, [24] as well as hit singles from artists such as Skrillex, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, Lil Wayne, and many more. [25]
The Greatest Showman– Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
In 2017, Weaver released The Greatest Showman – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack which received an RIAA Gold Certification, marking the first soundtrack to score four weeks of 100,000-plus units on the Billboard 200 chart since its transition in December 2014. After spending three consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Albums chart (the first soundtrack to top the chart for three consecutive weeks since Disney's Frozen in 2014), the album broke Suicide Squad: The Album’s record (33 million) twice-over for all-time top streaming weeks for a soundtrack with 39.6 million streams (up from 37.4 million the week prior). The album has reached #1 on iTunes in 75 countries, in addition to charting at #1 in Ireland, #1 for five consecutive weeks in Australia, and #1 for 4 consecutive weeks in the UK.
The song This Is Me” from the 20th Century Fox musical film The Greatest Showman (2017) achieved critical and commercial acclaim. It received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards and won the award for Best Original Song – Motion Picture at the 75th Golden Globe Awards. The song surpassed 115 million streams globally and was remixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Audé for a dance-oriented version.
"This Is Me" gained further exposure in 2018 when it was featured in NBCUniversal's promotional campaign leading up to and during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The song served as the soundtrack for the network's promotional materials and was included in their primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony on February 9, 2018.
