Memoir · Music · Business of Reinvention Confidential Proposal

The producer behind
34 million records sold

Goldfinger frontman. Grammy-nominated hitmaker for Blink-182, 5 Seconds of Summer, Avril Lavigne, The Used, and Panic! at the Disco. The most prolific rock producer of his generation is ready to tell the story behind the songs.

34M+Records sold worldwide
2,300+Production & writing credits
385Shows in one year, a world record

The Book in One Sentence

A punk kid who was told he’d never amount to anything became the quiet architect of modern rock’s biggest records. The story of how he did it is a master class in talent, sobriety, reinvention, and the alchemy of the studio.

Part memoir, part backstage history of two decades of rock and pop, part field guide to creativity itself. A book only John Feldmann can write, because he was in the room for all of it.

Who Is John Feldmann

The hitmaker you’ve heard a thousand times, and never heard from.

John “Feldy” Feldmann started playing music at sixteen, the day he first heard Social Distortion. By 1996 his band Goldfinger had played 385 shows in a single year, a Guinness World Record, and their songs were soundtracking a generation of skaters and punks.

Then he walked behind the glass. As a producer, songwriter, and A&R executive, Feldmann became the secret engine of modern rock: he signed and developed The Used, Story of the Year, and Beartooth; produced Blink-182’s Grammy-nominated California; helped launch 5 Seconds of Summer to No. 1 in 37 countries; and has shaped records for Panic! at the Disco, Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, Korn, 311, Ashley Tisdale, and hundreds more.

He is a vegan and lifelong animal-rights activist, a man in long-term recovery, a mentor to younger artists, and the co-founder of the Back to the Beach Festival. The albums he has touched have grossed more than 34 million sales worldwide. Yet to the public, he has always been the name in the small print. This book brings him out front.

John Feldmann at the console in his studio
Feldmann at Foxy Studios, where the records get made.

Why This Book, Why Now

The cultural moment is built for it.

01

Pop-punk is having its renaissance.

Blink-182’s reunion, Avril Lavigne’s comeback, and a new generation rediscovering 2000s rock have put Feldmann’s entire catalog back at the center of the conversation, and his name is on a remarkable amount of it.

02

The music memoir is a proven category.

Readers are devouring insider accounts of how the music actually gets made, from producers and engineers, not just frontmen. Feldmann offers both: the rock-star life and the master craftsman’s perspective.

03

It’s a recovery and reinvention story.

Beneath the platinum plaques is a deeply human arc: addiction and sobriety, fatherhood, failure, and the discipline of staying creative for forty years. It transcends the music shelf.

04

He has the access, and the stories.

Feldmann has firsthand relationships with the artists readers care about most. The anecdotes, the breakthroughs, the disasters: he lived them, and he can deliver the names.

The Credentials

A platform measured in platinum.

34M+Records sold across his catalog
2,300+Career production & songwriting credits
2×Grammy-nominated (Blink-182, Fever 333)
#1Records in the US, UK, Australia, Japan & more

Defining productions

  • Blink-182, California (Grammy-nominated, #1 US & UK)
  • 5 Seconds of Summer, debut #1 in 37 countries
  • Panic! at the Disco, Vices & Virtues
  • The Used, platinum debut & beyond
  • Good Charlotte, The Young and the Hopeless (3× platinum)
  • Avril Lavigne, ongoing 2026 album sessions
  • Korn, 311, Black Veil Brides, All Time Low

Beyond the studio

  • Lead singer & guitarist of Goldfinger
  • VP of A&R at BMG; A&R for Warner Bros. & Maverick
  • Co-founder, Big Noise label & collective
  • Co-founder, Back to the Beach Festival
  • APMA “Influencer” Award honoree
  • Vegan & vocal animal-rights activist (PETA)
  • Managed by Milk & Honey

The Rolodex

The artists in his story, and his corner.

A small sample of the names whose careers Feldmann helped shape. These are the relationships behind the book’s anecdotes, and a built-in network for blurbs, press, and promotion.

John Feldmann in his studio with his dog
The man behind the records, at home in the studio.

Audience & Positioning

A book three audiences are waiting for.

  • The fans. Millions who grew up on the records he made, now adults with disposable income and deep nostalgia for the era.
  • The makers. Musicians, producers, songwriters, and creators hungry for an honest look at how hits are really built.
  • The reinventors. General readers drawn to stories of resilience, recovery, and staying creative across a lifetime.

Comparable titles

In the tradition of Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act, Questlove’s Mo’ Meta Blues, and Geoff Emerick’s Here, There and Everywhere: the producer’s-eye memoir that turns the craft of making records into a story anyone can read.

The Opportunity

Available now for the right house.

FormatNarrative memoir with craft & business throughline
Length~80,000 to 90,000 words (negotiable)
CollaborationOpen to co-writer; full author access & archive
PromotionActive artist, touring & social platforms; built-in blurb network

We are seeking a publishing partner to bring John Feldmann’s story to the page. Full proposal, sample chapters, and author availability on request.