Dean Earls Shifts Focus Toward Playback LA and Austin Sexton

Playback LA owner Dean Earls is placing a major bet on independent artist development.

After working in A&R and presenting producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Austin Sexton to Atlantic Records, Earls began shifting his attention toward Sexton's independent development while simultaneously building Playback LA.

Earls was originally introduced to Sexton by Daniel "OT" Marquez in 2017.

After hearing Sexton's work, Earls presented him to Atlantic, where Sexton began being brought into writing and production environments connected with the label.

What began as an introduction quickly became a considerably larger commitment.

Earls helped Sexton transition away from an unstable living situation in Santa Barbara, helped him establish housing in Los Angeles and began creating opportunities that could give the young producer a genuine foundation from which to develop his career.

Earls also helped Marquez establish housing in Los Angeles as the group's activities shifted south.

Playback LA would become an important part of that plan.

A recording studio.

A creative headquarters.

And an artist-development environment where talented people could work and grow.

Supporting press

VoyageLA later documented Dean's relationship with Austin Sexton and the formation of Playback LA.