Peter Katsis, the veteran music manager who helped guide the careers of Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins, Morrissey, Backstreet Boys and Audioslave, among others, has died, his family confirmed. He was 69.
Katsis died Thursday morning at a hospital in Los Angeles due to complications from congestive heart failure, a representative for Katsis said.
Katsis spent over 35 years in management, getting his start in Chicago at age 23 managing the industrial rock group Ministry. He also worked as an A&R at Trax Precision Records, as well as a booking agent organizing shows for Marshal Jefferson and Adonis.
He moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in the early ’90s, where he took on the Cramps, General Public and Material Issue. By the late ’90s, he became a partner at management group The Firm, working alongside CEO Jeff Kwatinetz in representing a wide-ranging roster that included Korn, 30 Seconds to Mars, Snoop Dogg, One Republic,Limp Bizkit, Enrique Iglesias and Backstreet Boys.
Katsis founded the management firm Prospect Park with Kwatinetz and Rich Frank in 2008, taking on many of their earlier clients along with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, Morrissey and 5 Seconds of Summer.
Other acts Katsis represented included Liz Phair, Bush, 311, Pentatonix and Fever 333. Katsis was adept at managing major live acts, overseeing rollouts like Backstreet Boys’ Into the Millennium Tour and helping morph Korn and Limp Bizkit into perennial arena acts.
Katsis is survived by his sister, Anastasia Katsis, and by his son, Ian Katsis.