Biography:

Dave Shapiro (1983 – May 22, 2025) was an American music agent, entrepreneur, and pilot. He was the co-founder of Sound Talent Group and was known for representing major rock and alternative artists including Sum 41, Parkway Drive, Pierce the Veil, and Vanessa Carlton.[1] Shapiro also founded Velocity Records and Velocity Aviation.[2][3]

Before working as a music agent and executive, he began his career in music as a perfomer. As a teenager, he was the drummer and a founding member the pop-punk band Count the Stars, and signed to the Chicago based Victory Records and went on tour with emerging rock acts, such as Taking Back Sunday, The Early November, Copeland, and Fall Out Boy.[4][5]

After the band broke up, Shapiro moved into the business side of the industry, launching his professional career at The Agency Group and subsequently joining United Talent Agency.[4]

Life and career

Early life and background

Dave Shapiro was born in Albany, New York, and later moved to San Diego, California, when he started his music journey as a drummer.[6] Following high school, he worked at the Glenmont Price Chopper and as a delivery driver for My Place & Co. to support his band financially. He promoted the group by distributing flyers and selling tickets directly to friends. Demonstrating entrepreneurial initiative, he purchased a van and independently organized a self-booked tour along the East Coast.[5]

Career

In 1995, during his teenage years, Shapiro co-founded the band Count the Stars, with his friends Chris Kasarjian, and Clarke Foley, and Adam Manning.[7] The band signed with Victory Records and performed alongside acts such as Fall Out Boy.[8] Following the group’s disbandment, Shapiro continued his career in the music industry, beginning at The Agency Group before later joining United Talent Agency.[4] In 2018, he co-founded Sound Talent Group (STG) alongside Tim Borror and Matt Andersen.[9][10]

In 2012, he was named one of Billboard‘s “30 Under 30” most influential people in the music business.[11]

He also founded Velocity Records, which released albums from bands like Thursday and Craig Owens. In 2020, Shapiro helped create the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) to support music professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Artists management

Shapiro has managed in Agency Group and United Talent Agency, such as Pierce the Veil, Sum 41, Taking Back Sunday, The Early November, Copeland, Fall Out Boy, I Prevail, Set it Off, Story of the Year, Silverstein, Parkway Drive, Hanson,[12] Eve 6, Jefferson Starship,[13] and Vanessa Carlton.[14] He also operated the Velocity Records music label, whose roster has included Thursday, Concrete Castles and Craig Owens.[15]

Personal life and death

Shapiro married Julia Pawlik in 2016 in Talkeetna, Alaska. The couple flew to a glacier inside Denali National Park for their wedding ceremony.[16] In 2019, he posted on Instagram that he had obtained his airline transport pilot rating, the highest level of certification issued by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States.[11]

On May 22, 2025, Shapiro was piloting a Cessna Citation II jet owned through his company Daviation LLC when it crashed into the Murphy Canyon neighborhood of San Diego around 3:45 a.m.[17][18] The crash occurred under foggy conditions as the plane approached Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. All six people aboard died, including Shapiro, drummer Daniel Williams (formerly of The Devil Wears Prada), and two employees of Sound Talent Group.[19][20]

Credits:

Wikipedia