courtesy of FivePointFive
Executive Turntable: Big Noise Amped About New GM and UMPG Picks Its First Head of Marketing
Written by djfrosty on August 9, 2024
Welcome to another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re here, we also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Adam Muhlbaum is the newly minted general manager of Big Noise Music Group, the pop/punk label home of The Used, The Veronicas, girlfriends, Goldfinger and more, Billboard can announce. In Muhlbaum’s Los Angeles-based role, an upgrade from his gig as senior vp of marketing and project management, he’ll zero in on A&R, licensing and brand partnerships while also overseeing royalties and administration for the label’s roster, which also includes iann dior, Escape the Fate and MOD SUN. Prior to joining BNMG in mid-2018, Muhlbaum spent more than five years at BMG, where he led production runs for major releases from Blink-182, Janet Jackson, Iron Maiden and more. He also had a stint as head of digital sales and operations at Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak. As part of the transition, Muhlbaum will pass day-to-day operations to Heather Castillo, the label’s vp of marketing, and Josh Cohen, manager of label operations.
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Big Noise Music Group was launched in 2018 by former Vagrant Records head Jon Cohen and Goldfinger members John Feldmann and Nick Gross. “Adam has been with us since day one and has consistently proven his value and expertise while still making Big Noise a positive, productive home for our artists and writers,” said Gross, who is also CEO. “The sky’s the limit for our whole amazing team.”
Muhlbaum added: “Helping to build Big Noise for the past six years alongside Nick, Jon, Feldy, and our incredible label team has been a true highlight of my career and more fun than I ever could have imagined. Our next chapter will be focused on bringing broader creative opportunity to our entire roster — current and future.”
Universal Music Publishing Group picked veteran branding executive Alix Kram as the company’s first head of marketing. In the newly created global role, which she’s held since November, Kram oversees marketing efforts at the publisher with a focus on creative storytelling in order to, as UMPG COO Marc Cimino states, “enhance the incredible stories our songs tell and bring them to life.” Additionally, Kram works closely with Bravado, Universal’s merch specialists, to create strategic opportunities for the UMPG catalog. Prior to joining the Universal fam, Kram spent a year-and-a-half leading a retail business development and marketing team at Netflix. Before that, the NYC-based exec spent seven-plus years at Warner Music Group, where as head of global brand licensing and retail she and her team developed creative opportunities for roster artists including Grateful Dead and Wiz Khalifa. She is also the founder of theKRAMcollective, a boutique marketing and branding agency specializing in experiential storytelling, whose clients have included Hasbro, HBO, Atari and others. She reports to Cimino and chairman/CEO Jody Gerson, and also Bravado president Matt Young. “Upon first meeting [Gerson and Cimino], it was clear that they have created a truly global and unique culture – a force in the industry which leads with a passion for songwriters and champions the expertise of the people that make up the company,” said Kram.
ASM Global did some local hiring and promoting in Arizona, naming Ralph Marchetta to regional vp of live entertainment and elevating Melissa Wasson to general manager of State Farm Stadium. Marchetta, previously GM and svp of Footprint Center in Phoenix, has the mighty task of booking both the Desert Diamond Arena and State Farm across Maryland Ave. in Glendale. “He is well-respected by all, and now we have him playing for our team,” said Jason Rio, ASM Global svp of live entertainment and content development. Wasson joined the stadium staff in 2006 back when it was University of Phoenix Stadium and for the last 13 years has served as assistant GM. She has a lifelong connection with the stadium’s biggest tenant — the Arizona Cardinals — given she’s a native of St. Louis, the team’s former home. “Her decades of in-depth experience will prove invaluable as she continues creating unparalleled memorable experiences that thrill locals and visitors,” said Doug Thornton, executive vp.
Across the pond, ASM Global shifted industry veteran Ed Sanderson from a Singapore-based role, where he’s been working on the massive Kai Tak Sports Park project, to executive vp of business for Europe and the UK. Poor guy has to move to Milan, where he’ll be based as he bounces around Europe in support of ASM’s plans to expand its footprint there. “Living by my personal philosophy of ‘biting off more than you can chew and chew like crazy,’ I’m eager to get started, learn, and make a meaningful impact for our customers, clients, partners, and colleagues,” he said.
Former ASM Global executive Roger LeBlanc joined Romeo Entertainment Group as vp of sales development. With decades of experience, LeBlanc most notably founded and led booking and talent buying agency Madison Entertainment before its sale to ASM in early 2023. “Roger’s vast knowledge and his commitment to mentorship will not only enhance the capabilities of our sales team but also propel our growth and set new standards for excellence in our company and the broader industry,” said R.J. Romeo, president and CEO. LeBlanc can be reached at rleblanc@romeoent.com.
Jelena Grozdanich is the new vp of music at FivePointFive, a music-centric welltech app launching soon that will offer live and on-demand classes of functional breathwork. Grozdanich (GROWS-duh-nitch) is coming off a 10-year run at Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Records, where she rose to director in the latter’s film and TV licensing division. While at Sony/Columbia, she represented a who’s-who of influential artists including Beyoncé, Adele, Miles Davis, A Tribe Called Quest and Elvis Presley, among others. During this decade, she also founded her own talent management firm (Guardian MGMT) and wellness community (TheSecret.LA). Grozdanich is based in Los Angeles. “We are excited to welcome Jelena as our vice president of music at FivePointFive to head up our music division,” said Adam Ludwin, CEO. “Jelena’s love of music, combined with her passion for wellness has led to her being seen as a key figurehead for wellness within the music industry over the last 10 years, so we are thrilled to have her as part of the team.”
CAA promoted Blair Adour, Jibran Ahmed and Sam Reisman to agent roles in the company’s global touring department. All three come from CAA Elevate, the agency’s agent trainee program, and they’ve all put in the work: Ahmed joined CAA in 2018 in the music crossover division before being upped to professional last year; Reisman started in 2019 as an assistant in the music touring division and most recently worked as a coordinator; and Adour joined as a professional in 2021 following a stint at Paradigm. Adour and Reisman are based in New York while Ahmed is in Los Angeles.
Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG) promoted three executive staffers. Emily Dashiell has been promoted to senior vp of commercial partnerships, Jeff Gunkel has been upped to svp of market development, and Carlos Monnaco has been elevated to svp of finance. Dashiell will oversee the company’s revenue strategies across its portfolio and continue to focus on partner activations with DSPs while guiding the label business across global distribution, e-commerce/D2C, catalog marketing, and more. Gunkel will oversee areas of market development and digital rights, as well as Re:Think Records. Monnaco’s responsibilities expand to include oversight of financial planning and analysis, royalty accounting, and IT. Among the artists on CCMG’s roster are Chris Tomlin, Amy Grant, TobyMac, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and Crowder. –Jessica Nicholson
Canada native Jenn Dobbins joined BMG as senior vp of rights and royalties in the music company’s U.S.-based copyright and royalties hub in Nashville. Dobbins previously handled asset operations for JKBX, a music investment platform, and earlier she spent six years at Big Machine Label Group, where she rose to director of royalty accounting and income analytics. Throughout her 18-year career in the field, she also made stops at payroll platform Exactuals and Sony Music. At BMG she reports to Eric Scott, evp of rights administration and royalty services, who pointed out her “extensive expertise, deep knowledge, and proven experience in managing complex rights and royalties.”
RADIO, RADIO: Susie Hedrick was named CEO of WideOrbit, a San Francisco-based tech platform that helps broadcasters buy and sell advertising. She replaces founder Eric Mathewson in the role … Nashville Harbor promoted Ryan Dokke to senior vp of streaming and digital partners/radio promotion from vp of promotion and marketing. The label also bumped Andrew Thoen to director of streaming and digital partners/radio promotion from director of Northeast promotion and marketing.
Jessica Roffe joined SoundExchange as associate director of the industry relations team. Roffe has years of artist relations, brand marketing, TV/film production and royalty distribution experience, and joins the collective rights organization following roles at MTV, BMI, NBCUniversal and her own AsUWISH Productions. She is based in Miami and will report to Doug Cohn, vp of artist & label relations. “Excited to be part of the band!!” she said.
Musicians On Call, which brings live and recorded music to hospitals and other health care facilities, announced five new members: Aniket Adhikari as technology manager, Michael Blazer as operations manager, Gabi Coccio as strategic partnerships coordinator, Taylor Leibold as fundraising coordinator and Jennie O’Rourke as digital marketing coordinator. “The talent and experiences Aniket, Michael, Gabi, Taylor and Jennie bring to their roles will take MOC to a whole new level,” said MOC president & CEO Pete Griffin. “I’m confident that the innovative ideas they’ll bring to the table will have a great impact on our mission.”
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Julie Greenwald