He continued as a music journalist through college, and freelanced for Phonograph Record, Rolling Stone, and the LA Free Press, among others.
As a sophomore, he was hired by A&M Records as a college promotion representative, a position he held until 1978, when he graduated from Berkeley with a BA in Mass Communications/Political Science.
[13] Devine was named senior vice president of A&R for Columbia Records in 1996; in 2002, as his role expanded, he was appointed General Manager of the label's West Coast division.
He served in an A&R capacity on records by Aerosmith, The Offspring, Leonard Cohen, Ric Ocasek, Soul Asylum and Pete Yorn, and signed artists including OneRepublic (via Velvet Hammer), Switchfoot, Sinéad O'Connor, Brandi Carlile, Cake and the Afghan Whigs.
Additionally, Devine signed Train, who sold more than two million albums and won two Grammy Awards with their first Columbia release, Drops of Jupiter.
Subsequently, Chairman Don Ienner and COO Michelle Anthony resigned from Sony Music, and Perry was among several artists who were dropped.
The only Columbia track released from Perry was "Simple," which Devine had pitched for the soundtrack for the film The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.
[16][17][18][19] In 2006, as Devine became increasingly interested in technology and digital media, he founded Webcastr.com, a 24-hour online digital multi-channel network that featured daily content from more than 200 channel providers including CBS News, the BBC, MTV News, Fox Sports, the Wall Street Journal, CBC, AFP (France), the New York Times, Newsweek, Warner Music Group, Sony/BMG Music, an others.
[23] Devine has been a featured speaker at Digital Hollywood, SXSW, and the New Music Seminar, and is a founding member of Organizing for America.