{"id":226326,"date":"2025-09-14T14:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T14:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/226326\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T14:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T14:16:13","slug":"when-jon-bon-jovi-needed-a-record-deal-he-targeted-the-loneliest-man-in-the-music-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/226326\/","title":{"rendered":"When Jon Bon Jovi Needed a Record Deal, He Targeted the \u201cLoneliest Man in the Music Business\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is truly no rhyme, reason, or solidified career path in the pursuit of becoming a professional musician. Now, there are certainly more traditional ways, but most of the time, it seems aspiring professional musicians are just grasping at any opportunity that might lead to something fruitful. It\u2019s a story that is both romantic and utterly discouraging, and Jon Bon Jovi<\/a> would seemingly attest to that. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve seen movies or read memoirs, then you know that acquiring a record deal and or a musical vocation in a professional capacity takes persistence, a lack of pride, and no fear of shame. If pursuing this career, you will likely be turned down 100 times. However, you only need one person to say \u201cyes\u201d, and that is exactly how Jon Bon Jovi scored his first record deal. <\/p>\n

Behind Jon Bon Jovi\u2019s Shot in The Dark <\/p>\n

The romanticized version of securing a record deal is not often the way it actually happens. However, in Jon Bon Jovi\u2019s case, it kind of is. In 1982, Jon Bon Jovi wrote the hit song \u201cRunaway\u201d, but he had no takers. So, he crafted a plan to target the \u201cloneliest man in the music business\u201d\u2014the DJ.<\/p>\n

Recalling his plan, Bon Jovi told Virgin Radio UK<\/a>, \u201c[It\u2019s] 1982. I write \u2018Runaway.\u2019 I can\u2019t get a record deal. I can\u2019t even get a band because, you know, original bands aren\u2019t making any money. So, I think to myself, \u2018Who is the loneliest man in the music business?\u2019 The DJ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we had a brand-new radio station in New York. It was so new they didn\u2019t have a receptionist. I banged on the glass\u2026I said, \u2018I\u2019ve got a song you should hear.\u2019\u2026So, he listened to it after his show. He said, \u2018That\u2019s a hit song,\u2019 and I said, \u2018I know. Nobody else thinks so. So, they put it on the radio in New York, and that\u2019s how I got a record deal back in 1983,\u201d concluded Jon Bon Jovi. <\/p>\n

While a tactic of this nature might not work in the 21st century, there is only one way to find out. To do it. So, if this Jon Bon Jovi story tells you anything, it should tell you to never view any action of growth as too absurd, because at the end of the day, you never know what will and what won\u2019t work until you give it a try. <\/p>\n

Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is truly no rhyme, reason, or solidified career path in the pursuit of becoming a professional musician.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":226327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[171,95679,975,4185,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-226326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-jon-bon-jovi","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-rock-music","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115203079110296052","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}