Staying in Power: Hollywood Producer Jonathan E. Coleman Reveals His Biggest Career Halt and How to Stay Inspired When You Feel Powerless

After spending more than a decade to establish himself as a distinguished Hollywood producer, Jonathan E. Coleman is opening up about the time his career almost came to a crushing stop.

Initially, Coleman’s name began circulating around the entertainment industry because of his cutting-edge productions and creative ideas. He has taken on various roles for the Grammys, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Oscars.

As CEO of JonCo Entertainment and co-founder of music licensing company Infiniti Music Group, Coleman sets himself apart as an executive. For him, power is about turning concepts into reality — it’s about manifesting something great from scratch.

“Power is the ability to get things done,” Coleman tells The Hype. “It’s having the ability to move and shake while knowing the right people to call and how to put a team together. It’s knowing how to transform an idea from a thought to manifestation.”

These days, Coleman is live event producer and choir manager for Kanye West’s renowned Sunday Service. “I’m working for an artist that gives me freedom to really produce the way and in the style that I like to produce,” the Los Angeles native says.

He also opened up to The Hype about his journey, maintaining his power for all these years and the devasting point when his career almost came to a complete stop. Coleman explains: “To be quite honest, I didn’t know if I was gonna make it through that halt. Like anybody else, I experienced depression. I had to really turn within and find out what was next for me. I think what brought me through was my determination to find what was next. That time of loneliness and depression brought about awareness and clarity for me. I was enlightened by the books I was reading and the people I was associating with to keep going until I was able to find the right direction. The most positive thing that came out of that time was really getting to know myself and what I’ll look like in the future. Now, I’m living that dream.”

That challenging phase in his life, plus facing the unknown, forced Coleman to take control of his thoughts and fully master his ability to stay in power. “Every day my prayer to myself is that I will be a better person today than I was yesterday,” he says. “I pray that I will learn something today that I didn’t know yesterday and that when my head hits the pillow, I would have experienced just a little bit of growth than the day before. I believe this is very important because if you learn to grow a little every day, weeks become months, months become years and years become you realizing maturity and looking back on how far you’ve grown.”

“Staying in power to me means you’re continuing to improve your craft while never getting stale, always being innovative and continuing to be cutting-edge,” Coleman says. “As long as I have the opportunity to move an audience, give information to an audience or change how a person thought before attending a production, concert or event that I’m putting on, I am in the seat of power because I’m able to move, motivate and encourage. There’s nothing more powerful than to be able to influence someone’s thoughts or even their life.”

Lately, Coleman remains inspired by continually growing and creating. “Tomorrow inspires me,” the exec tells The Hype. “Much like the boss that I work for currently, I don’t live in today. I live in tomorrow. My greatest inspiration is asking myself what’s next. How can I create? How can I touch people tomorrow? How can I pour goodness into the earth?”

Having amplified the visions of Hollywood’s most beloved talent and productions, Coleman uses his platform to inspire change in audiences worldwide. Known as The Entertainment Architect, he’s caught the attention of independent artists and music supervisors with the upcoming launch of Infiniti Music Group. IMG aims to give music a second chance through film and television. Coleman became part of this joint venture during the coronavirus pandemic when independent artists and music supervisors expressed a need to easily license and extend the life of their music.

Coleman further uses his platform to uplift global audiences by providing them with positive outlooks that will bring positive change into their lives and influence their choices. He has important advice to anyone who may be feeling fearful and powerless “Find your purpose and keep going,” he says. “Many things are going to come to distract you along the journey, but you’ve got to keep your eye on the prize and just keep going.”

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