10 Times a CEO or Company Started Their Own Band

A CEO wants to break out of the corporate mold for a bit and start a rock band. A company wants to represent its brand with a bespoke metal song. Sound familiar? Such instances have spurred the creation of rock and metal acts not by inveterate musicians, but by chief executives and even businesses themselves.

And though it might not seem to crop up often, CEOs who have formed bands or musical projects (and companies that have done the same) do exist out there in decent numbers. Can you think of any?

See 10 examples down toward the bottom of this post.

For listeners, the term "corporate rock" often applies to a style of arena rock, which sometimes comically falls under the "dad rock" canon. But dad rock or not, the following CEOs and companies aren't bound by any one sound or style, only the fact that they started a musical vanity project as a corporate entity.

But before we go any further, let's unpack what a vanity project is in the first place. The signifier's usually applied to bands or projects started by performers outside the music industry. But does just forming a band as a professional from another area always imply vanity?

We'll leave that up to you. For now, keep on scrolling to see those 10 CEOs and companies that decided their day job simply wasn't enough anymore — they wanted to get out there and make some music.