Executive Turntable: Discogs Hires Lloyd Starr as COO; iHeartMedia Names Business Affairs EVP
Written by djfrosty on April 14, 2023
Lloyd Starr has been appointed COO at Discogs, the recorded music database, marketplace and community, effective May 1. He joins the company from vinyl subscription service Vinyl Me, Please; prior to that, he served as president/COO at digital electronic music marketplace Beatport.
In his new role, Starr will oversee Discogs’ day-to-day operations, with a focus on driving growth and innovation. He will work closely with CEO Kevin Lewandowski and the rest of the executive team to develop and implement Discogs’ strategic direction.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Lloyd Starr to the Discogs team as our new COO,” said Lewandowski. “Lloyd’s extensive experience in the music industry and his track record of success in building and scaling companies make him an ideal addition to our leadership team. We’re confident that his expertise will help us continue to grow and innovate as we serve our community of music fans, record collectors, and sellers around the world.”
Starr added, “I’ve long admired the Discogs mission and its passionate community. I am thrilled to join such a talented and creative team to help realize our vision and continue to add value for vinyl and music lovers worldwide.”
Jon Kurland was named executive vp of business affairs and chief entertainment counsel at iHeartMedia. In his new role, Kurland will lead the company’s business affairs team and focus on deals and relationships with iHeart’s podcast, music, entertainment and new media partners. He will additionally oversee the company’s entertainment legal functions across podcasts, live events and new media initiatives as well as its music licensing strategy. Based in New York City, he will report to executive vp and general counsel Jordan Fasbender. Kurland joins iHeartMedia from Amazon, where he was senior corporate counsel in the global media and entertainment group.
Jen Ashworth was promoted to senior vp of commercial marketing & streaming at Capitol Music Group (CMG), up from her previous role as vp of global commercial marketing. In her new role, Ashworth will oversee the company’s streaming strategies across its portfolio of labels, with a focus on editorial and partner activations with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube and Pandora. She will continue managing CMG’s relationship with Spotify as the company’s account lead. Based in Hollywood, she reports to CMG executive vp of global commercial marketing strategy Mike Sherwood.
Manager Jared Rosenberg joined Red Light Management, bringing clients Aly & AJ and Disney star Kylie Cantrall to the firm. Rosenberg has been in management for over 20 years, working with artists including Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Mateo Dorado joined Atlantic Records as senior director of A&R. The New York-based executive will work closely with emerging artists including Luh Tyler and Alicia Creti while reporting to Atlantic co-president of Black music Lanre Gaba. He arrives at Atlantic from Alamo Records, where he signed Rod Wave.
Jonathan McHugh joined independent music publishing, rights management and catalog marketing company AMR Songs as senior advisor of creative and synch. McHugh will also sit on the company’s board. Over a decades-long career, the industry veteran has served in roles at New Line Cinema (as vp of soundtrack music), Jive/BMG and Island Def Jam/Def Jam Films; he has produced 40 music-focused films and TV series and music-supervised 85 feature films and TV shows. In addition to his new role at AMR Songs, he will continue working as an independent producer/director and music supervisor while teaching a music industry studies class at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Amanda Tumulty was named vp of global marketing at Cinq Music Group. She joins the company from Universal Music Group, where she spent over five years on the global consumer marketing team, specializing in marketing strategy and operations. At Cinq, she will oversee all marketing strategies for the label/distributor’s roster and the Cinq Music brand. Tumulty can be reached at atumulty@cinqmusic.com.
Nashville-based record label Melody Place restructured and rebranded while elevating Sanborn McGraw to president/general manager and Tony Gottlieb to COO. Under the new leadership, the company will refocus its efforts on artist development, original material and international promotion. The first signing following the restructure is Nashville singer-songwriter Makena Hartlin, who signed a recording and publishing deal with Melody Place and its affiliate, Melody Place Publications. She will release her single, “LA,” on the label April 21. Melody Place is also working on a new project from singer Jackie Evancho. McGraw can be reached at sandy@melodyplace.com and Gottlieb can be reached at tony@melodyplace.com.
Global creative audio network Squeak E. Clean Studios hired music producer Jennie Armon as executive creative producer out of New York. She joins the company following seven years at Brooklyn-based music and sound company Found Objects, where she served as executive producer and music supervisor. Armon can be reached at jennie@squeakeclean.com.