Executive Turntable: Atlantic’s New General Counsel; A Long Goodbye at A2IM; ‘Blippi’ Company Hires Music Head
Written by djfrosty on February 23, 2024
It’s time for another quick spindle around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Ever ponder, “who is music’s most influential lawyer?” Here’s your chance to vote for Billboard‘s Top Music Lawyers Power Players’ Choice Award, honoring the attorney whose industry peers believe had the most impact in the past year.
Erica Bellarosa is Atlantic Records‘ new head of business affairs and general counsel, effective Feb. 26. Based in New York City and reporting to Atlantic Music Group chairman & CEO Julie Greenwald and Atlantic Records chairman & CEO Craig Kallman, Bellarosa is a 19-year veteran of the storied label and most recently occupied the post of evp of business & legal affairs. In her elevated role, the Yeshiva University alum will head up the label’s business/legal affairs and contract administration departments. The promotion is right on the heels of former general counsel Michael Kushner moving up to parent Warner Music Group as its senior vp, deputy general counsel of business and legal affairs after 25 years with Atlantic. Greenwald and Kallman said: “At Atlantic, we nurture executive development as much as artist development, so it’s been great to watch Erica develop into a powerhouse leader over the past two decades. An invaluable asset to our team and a passionate advocate for our artists, she has a deep understanding of the music and legal landscape, along with second-to-none negotiating skills.
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Global talent agency Wasserman Music welcomed four new executives to its ranks. They are: Josh Dick, an NYC-based vice president who brings more than 20 years of experience and several clients, including Flatbush Zombies. In Nashville, Jonathan Insogna also joins as a vice president. The 17-year WME veteran has a client list that includes Morgan Wade, Yola, Cam Whitcomb and Drew Erwin. Londoner Rebecca Prochnik joins as a director and will represent artists including AJ Tracey, Black Lips, Calibre, Ghetts, Paranoid London and others. Finally, Gideon “Shay” Royale joins as a director based in New York. A former financial advisor, he’ll lead the agency’s growth in the Afro-music space, and mind a roster that includes Victony, Black Sherif, Gabzy, Blxckie, melvitto and WurlD. “Their unique backgrounds and experience will help to drive Wasserman Music’s accelerating growth across global territories, emerging genres, and innovative new ways to serve our valued clients around the world,” commented Lee Anderson, evp and managing executive.
A2IM president and CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess announced that the indie trade body’s longest-serving staff member, Sheryl Cohen, will be stepping down later this year. Cohen joined A2IM in 2010 as operations manager and worked her way up to head of strategic planning, her current role. Her boatload of responsibilities includes program curator of Indie Week, which has doubled its programming under her watch, plus she handles the organization’s mentorship program, co-writes grants and did we mention she’s the current acting CFO? In candid fashion, Cohen explained her reasoning behind taking her professional life into a different direction. “As I turn 55, I am looking at the next chapter of life with profound gratitude and excitement for what’s to come,” she said. “It’s not a mid-life crisis, but rather, in the words of Chip Conley, a mid-life chrysalis. I am creating an opportunity to transition to a new career where I can serve the other communities and passions in my life, and hopefully continue to make a positive impact.” Cohen’s last day will be Friday, Aug. 2.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum promoted five staff members. Grace Cavanaugh has been upped to director of event services and catering. Cavanaugh has more than 15 years of experience in the event industry and joined the museum in 2015. Kelsey Reiner has been named associate director of event sales; prior to joining the museum, Reiner worked as event sales manager at the Loveless Café/Loveless Events. Daniel Lonow has been promoted to Haley Gallery director; he has been with the museum for nine years. Elek Horvath, who joined the museum in 2000, has been promoted to associate director of collection access. Michael McCall, a 17-year museum veteran, has been promoted to associate director of editorial. In this role, he will assist in managing the development of written content for the museum’s exhibitions, books, public programs, website, social media and educational materials. He previously served as senior museum writer-editor and has curated more than 20 exhibitions, hosted numerous museum programs, as well as co-edited the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Country Music. –Jessica Nicholson
Create Music Group named Carl LeGrett to senior vp of A&R and music publishing at the company, effective immediately. Since joining CMG as an intern in 2018, LeGrett has quickly established himself as a trusted partner to up-and-coming songwriters and producers, with a client role that has collaborated on dozens of hits by Ice Spice, Lil Durk, Megan Thee Stallion and Bad Bunny, among many others. Founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss said LeGrett’s “deep entrepreneurial spirit led him to identify a need in the marketplace and his dogged determination helped him win the confidence of music’s most prolific producers and songwriters. His ability to think outside the box and discover untapped talent and trends has made him a true leader and we look forward to his continued success here at Create Music Group.”
BOARD SHORTS: The Mechanical Licensing Collective announced six appointments to the org’s advisory committees, including three additions to the Dispute Resolution Committee (songwriter David “DQ” Quiñones, Spirit Music Group’s Consuelo Sayago and Vydia’s Matthew Skiba), one to the Operations Advisory Committee (Concord Music Publishing’s Lidia Kim) and two new faces (songwriter “Bruce” Waynne Nugent and Sony Music Publishing’s Dale Esworthy) on the Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee. Committee terms last three years … Music community startup We Are Giant added William Morris Endeavor co-head of Nashville Becky Gardenhire to its board of directors. She’ll act as a strategic advisor to WAG founding CEO Andy Apple and his team on their efforts to expand the music platform’s footprint in the always-growing Nashville market. Gardenhire joins the recently added AEG Presents exec David Rappaport on the board.
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Moonbug Entertainment hired former Spotify executive Courtney Holt as the children’s content factory’s first-ever global head of music and strategic audio initiatives. A spoke in the Candle Media wheel, Moondug creates and distributes your favorite children’s YouTube channels, namely Cocomelon and Blippi. The Los Angeles-based Holt will focus forging strategic partnerships with artists and building out the company’s music label. Holt joins Moonbug after a five-year run as Spotify’s head of talk partnerships, editorial and global markets. Prior to that he exec’d at Maker Studios, where he worked with eventual Candle co-founder Kevin Mayer. Earlier in his career, Holt held positions at MySpace, MTV and UMG.
Thomas Jamois was appointed managing director of Wise Music France, where he’ll manage all office staff and the company’s regional publishing houses, including Première Music, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Campbell Connelly, Les Editions Transatlantiques, Bleu Blanc Rouge, Choudens, Le Chant du Monde and Musique des Anges. Jamois arrives at Wise Music Group from Velvetica Music, a publishing indie he founded in 2011. Prior to that, he was head of music publishing and synch at Naïve for seven years. “I’m delighted to have Thomas join the Wise Music family, and I look forward to working with him to lead our French and Francophone business forward with continued catalogue acquisitions and high-profile signings,” said Wise Music chief Marcus Wise.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Full-service marketing agency FlyteVu welcomed Brooks Parker as vp of business development and Purvi Patel as account director. Parker has more than a decade of artist management experience, and most recently worked in experiential marketing at Nashville-area agency Streamline. Patel was most recently president and head of partnerships of media agency Claima Stories, with prior stops at Alice’s Table and Reebok, where she worked on influencer-focused strategies … Kings Hill Music named two-time Dove Award-winning recording artist Billy Gaines as director of A&R for the label. “I have a deep-seated desire to help artists use their gifts to fulfill their calling from God,” said Gaines, who is also signed to KHM … Briana Galluccio joined One Country as director of promotion & partnerships … River House Artists promoted Kayla Adkins to creative director of publishing from creative manager.
The Core Entertainment, known for a roster that includes clients Bailey Zimmerman and Nate Smith, named Dan Dymtrow as general manager and Jamie Sudhalter as senior director of A&R. Dymtrow most recently served as executive manager at Maverick Music and head of music at tech startup Curio. Sudhalter most recently served as senior director of A&R at Mercury Records. The Core Entertainment was co-founded by Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and Simon Tikhman in 2019, and focuses on cultivating talent in music, sports, film, television, and technology. In 2023, The Core expanded beyond talent management into the record label space with a partnership with UMG’s Lucian Grainge. –JN
ASM Global appointed Karin Sinclair as the new GM of Södra Teatern, one of Sweden’s oldest active theaters. Sinclair joins ASM from Scandic Hotels, where she was revenue manager for the Swedish chain’s 85 hotels.
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