The music industry's most celebrated talent scout, Clive Davis, is offering aspiring musicians an unprecedented opportunity for personal mentorship through an online auction benefiting cultural arts. The legendary executive, known throughout the industry as "The Man with the Golden Ears," will conduct private 30-minute virtual sessions where he will listen to and provide feedback on up to three music demos from the winning bidder. Bidding for this exclusive experience opened on October 7 and will close on October 21, with the session scheduled based on Davis' availability before the June 30, 2026 expiration date. The starting bid for this career-shaping opportunity is set at $16,000, with all proceeds supporting the Avon Theatre Film Center's cultural programming. More information about the auction is available at https://avontheatre.org.
Davis, who currently serves as Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, brings unparalleled industry experience to these sessions. His career spans decades of discovering and developing some of music's most iconic artists, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Santana, Patti Smith, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, and Barry Manilow. His influence extends across multiple generations of popular music, from his early work at Columbia Records where he signed legendary rock artists to co-founding Arista Records and later establishing J Records. The virtual meeting will be conducted via Zoom under strict guidelines that prohibit recording, screen captures, or distribution of the session without express permission. The experience is non-transferable and cannot be resold, with all participants expected to maintain professional conduct throughout the interaction. This represents one of the rare instances where an executive of Davis' stature offers direct, personalized feedback to emerging artists outside the traditional industry framework.
The auction benefits the Avon Theatre - Deborah & Chuck Royce Cinema Arts Center, a nonprofit independent cinema that has served as a cultural institution in downtown Stamford for nearly 85 years. The theater specializes in curated programming of independent, foreign, classic, and documentary films while supporting educational initiatives and community engagement. Davis' involvement continues his longstanding commitment to arts education and cultural institutions, having previously established the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University. This mentorship opportunity arrives as Davis continues to maintain an active role in the music industry, recently celebrating the 50th anniversary of his prestigious Pre-Grammy Gala in February 2025 and being honored with the Legacy Award at The Apollo Theater's Spring Benefit in June 2025. His career achievements were previously documented in the award-winning film "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives," which premiered on Netflix in 2019 after initial release on Apple platforms.
