Paradigm's Chip Hooper, Agent for Dave Matthews Band, Phish & More, Dies at 53

Chip Hooper, the worldwide head of music at Paradigm Talent Agency, died Saturday (March 5) after a long battle with cancer. He was 53.

Hooper, who repeatedly appeared on Billboard’s annual Power 100 list, was the personal agent for Dave Matthews Band and Phish, among others, and oversaw Paradigm’s 115-agent team working a roster of 2,200 clients.

No. 32: Marty Diamond, Chip Hooper, Paul Morris & Tom Windish | Power 100

Hooper, a fixture in the concert business, joined Paradigm when the firm acquired Monterey Peninsula Artists in 2005. MPA was built to last back in the '70s by Fred Bohlander and Dan Weiner, who took their game up the California coast to Monterey. When Bohlander and Weiner sold to Paradigm, Hooper, already a big player, went from star agent to star recruiter as key alignments were forged with philosophically simpatico agents and agencies, including Little Big Man, Third Coast, Ellis Industries, AM Only and most recently The Windish Agency.

Hooper’s death was announced by Oakland University basketball coach Greg Kampe through Twitter late Saturday. A week prior to his passing, Hooper kept a promise to his son, Max, to attend one of his Oakland University basketball games this season.