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19 Jan 2024

Nuria Andreu Joins GTS as New Manager of Spanish Singer-Songwriter Aitana

Nuria Andreu has joined GTS and is appointed manager of Spanish singer-songwriter Aitana, Billboard can report. In her new role, as part of the GTS (Global Talent Services) team in Spain, she will be exclusively dedicated to the growth and further development of Aitana’s career, which was previously managed by Olga Palma at GTS.

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Based in Madrid, Andreu will report directly to Narcís Rebollo, president, Universal Music Iberian Peninsula.

After beginning her career in the pharmaceutical sector with experience in other fields, such as communications and strategy, Andreu founded her own marketing and production agency in 2018. In 2020, she joined Sony Music Spain as head of communications and PR and, in 2023, was appointed communication director of Rosalía’s company, Motomami S.L. Before joining Universal, she was Rosalía’s personal manager.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join a company like GTS and the project of an artist with Aitana’s talent and strength,” Andreu said in a statement. “Wishing to contribute and continue adding success hand in hand with the magnificent team that She already has.”

Aitana, who signed with GTS in 2018, added, “looking forward and excited to start a new stage in my career and my artistic development [and] continue growing little by little and learning about music together.”

With more than 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the 24-year-old artist wrapped her Alpha Tour in 2023 with a sold-out show at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, which sold all tickets in a record-breaking 72 hours, becoming the first Spanish artist to do so.

“I am certain that with her experience and skills, Nuria’s incorporation to GTS will be key to Aitana’s continued success, boosting her unstoppable career development and consolidating the GTS strategy of growth and service to our artists, as a leading company in the sector,” expressed Rebollo.

19 Jan 2024

Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ Hits No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart

Surely continuing to spark warm thoughts amid winter, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” climbs to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, dated Jan. 27.

The song, released on Republic Records, becomes Swift’s ninth AC leader, extending her mark for the most among all acts over the 2000s, ‘10s and ‘20s. In that span, Adele, Michel Bublé and Josh Groban rank second with six No. 1s each.

Meanwhile, “Cruel Summer” halts the record 37-week No. 1 run on Adult Contemporary of Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.”

Here’s a recap of Swift’s nine Adult Contemporary No. 1s:

  • “Cruel Summer,” one week to date at No. 1, Jan. 27, 2024
  • “Anti-Hero,” three weeks, beginning March 25, 2023
  • “Delicate,” 10, Sept. 15, 2018
  • “Style,” two, July 11, 2015
  • “Blank Space,” four, Feb. 21, 2015
  • “Shake It Off,” nine, Nov. 22, 2014
  • “Mine,” one week, Dec. 11, 2010
  • “You Belong With Me,” 14, Oct. 31, 2009
  • “Love Story,” six, June 6, 2009

“Cruel Summer” was originally released on Swift’s 2019 album Lover. Republic began promoting the song as a single last June, after Swift began performing it on her The Eras Tour, her first in which she’s been able to spotlight songs from Lover, which was released shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The song also adds a new milestone atop the Adult Pop Airplay chart, where it logs a 20th week at No. 1, becoming just the fourth hit to have reigned for at least that long since the survey began in Billboard’s pages in March 1996. “Cruel Summer” trails only the commands of Santana’s “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas (25 weeks, 1999-2000), and The Calling’s “Wherever You Will Go” (23 weeks, 2001-02) and ties the rule of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” in 2020.

Among other chart honors for “Cruel Summer,” it became the landmark 10th of Swift’s 11 career No. 1s on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, reigning for four weeks, and her record-breaking 12th No. 1, and her longest-leading (10 weeks), on Pop Airplay.

Plus, “Cruel Summer” is Swift’s sixth song to triple up with No. 1 ranks on Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay, joining “Anti-Hero,” “Delicate,” “Style,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.” She now solely boasts the most such leaders, one-upping Adele’s five at each of the three formats (“Rolling in the Deep,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Hello,” “Send My Love [To Your Lover]” and “Easy on Me,” in 2011-22).

As for yet one more Swift chart feat this week, her “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” jumps 11-8 on Adult Pop Airplay. It becomes her record-extending 30th top 10 on the tally, further distancing herself from Maroon 5, second with 27, and P!nk (20).

All charts dated Jan. 27 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Jan. 23.

19 Jan 2024

Coco Jones Blows Sherri Shepherd’s Mind With a Killer Mariah Carey Impression

“Caliber” singer Coco Jones stopped by Sherri Shepherd’s syndicated show on Friday (Jan. 19) to talk about her 2024 Grammy nominations, her desire to keep holding up the R&B genre, and most importantly, to share a flawless, funny Mariah Carey impersonation.

Aware that Jones has gone viral for her impersonation skills, Shepherd cued up the “Celebrity Spin” game to test Coco’s skills at nailing a famous voice in a wacky scenario. Britney Spears ordering a latte? Nailed it. Rihanna on a roller coaster? “Oh hey now, hey now. Stop de ride, stop de ride,” Jones sang in RihRih’s signature island-soaked timbre.

Jones definitely saved the best for last, though. Asked to conjure Mariah on the phone with Shepherd’s in-house turntablist, DJ Suss One, Jones gathered her thoughts and busted out, “Hey Mr. DJ, are you gonna play my favorite song,” in a perfect Carey coo, topped by a signature sky-high MC whistle note.

The singer who is nominated for five Grammy Awards — including best R&B performance, best R&B song, best R&B album, best traditional R&B performance and best new artist — told Shepherd the very first person she called to celebrate the good news was, of course, her mom. “I called my mama when I landed,” Jones said. “My mom was the team before the team. She was the one knocking on doors on behalf of her little 9-year-old just to beg somebody to listen, so I want he to see that her sacrifice has paid off.”

The Bel-Air star also spilled on what’s next for her character Hilary Banks, promising that she will continue to “stir the pot” and “surprise you guys” in season three of Peacock’s reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The 26-year-old singer also revealed that she’s hoping to have her full-length debut album out this summer. To date, Jones has released a handful of EPs, including 2022’s What I Didn’t Tell You, which featured her only Billboard Hot 100-charting single to date “ICU,” which peaked at No. 62.

Watch Jones on Sherri below.

19 Jan 2024

Green Day Throws a ’90s House Party in New Video for Queer-Affirming Song ‘Bobby Sox’

Nostalgia for the ’90s can be found all throughout today’s music, but when Green Day leans into penning a ’90s-style punk track, it just hits different.

On Friday (Jan. 19), the legendary rock trio shared the music video for their new song “Bobby Sox.” The single unveiled off of their just-released album Saviors, “Bobby Sox” sees the band leaning into its fuzzed-out punk sound with a rocked-out love song in which frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sings to prospective partners — both male and female — in a nod to his bisexuality.

In the grainy new video, Green Day takes over a backyard to throw a daylight rager, as members of the diverse crowd make out, get tattoos, jump off roofs and yes, sing along to the band’s performance of its new track. “Do you wanna be my girlfriend?” Armstrong wails in the final chorus. “Do you wanna be my boyfriend?”

In a statement released with the video, Armstrong said that the group wanted to capture the feeling of their early career with a new song, while also making a song that spoke to queer audiences as well. “‘Bobby Sox’ is one of my favorite songs on the album, it’s the ‘Nineties’90s song that we never wrote,” he said. “It started out being a song I wrote for my wife, but as it materialized, I wanted to switch it up and added, ‘Do you wanna be my boyfriend?’ on top of ‘Do you wanna be my girlfriend’ … So the song becomes a kind of universal anthem.”

Armstrong also spoke about the track in a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, saying that it felt “liberating” to sing about someone wanting to be his boyfriend. “It became more of a queer singalong,” he said.

Check out the video for Green Day’s “Bobby Sox” below:



19 Jan 2024

Mariah Carey’s 2023 Holiday Tour Scored Her Best Concert Attendance in 25 Years

Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas One and All! tour grossed $29.6 million and sold 214,000 tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. On a per-show basis, the tour’s 15 dates sold more tickets than any Carey tour in 25 years, dating back to the Butterfly World Tour in 1998.

Carey released Merry Christmas in 1994, featuring the iconic and evergreen smash single, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” That would be enough to cement her status as the Queen of Christmas, but Carey has put in the work each year and assumed her throne on stage as well. For every year since 2014 (except for the 2020-21 COVID years), she has toured and/or held mini residencies honoring her holiday material.

For four years, Carey played a stint at New York’s Beacon Theatre, building from 16,200 tickets in 2014, to 20,700 in 2015, and to 23,400 in 2016. She cut down to just three shows at the Beacon in 2017, before rebuilding at Madison Square Garden in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Her two shows there in December sold a combined 28,700 tickets and grossed $4.5 million, both of which are bigger than ever.

Not only has Carey increased her efficiency in New York, she’s built out across the country and into Europe. What began as a NYC-only event in 2014, expanded to Europe in 2017 and 2018, plus more North American cities in 2019. After last year’s post-pandemic return focused on just New York and Toronto, the 2023 tour boasts Carey’s biggest holiday routing yet, never playing to fewer than 12,500 fans across the U.S. and Canada. Holiday classics or not, it’s her first such major arena tour since 2006.

Considering “All I Want for Christmas Is You” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 based on the tracking week of Nov. 10-16, and stayed at No. 2 through the first week of 2024, it’s possible she could expand beyond the Nov. 17-Dec. 17 window of this year’s run.

The Merry Christmas One and All! tour averaged $2 million and 14,200 tickets per show. Those revenue figures are Carey’s biggest ever, dating back more than 30 years since she crashed the Billboard charts.

But while a bustling concert economy and decades of inflation can explain some of her recent success, Carey’s reach – the sheer number of tickets she sold – is also sky high. That 14,200 average is the best per-show attendance for any of her tours since 1998, when she was supporting the previous year’s Butterfly.

Leading up to that 1998 tour, Carey amassed four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 12 No. 1 songs on the Hot 100. Since then, there have been another two No. 1 albums and seven No. 1 songs, including 14 weeks on top, spread across the last five holiday seasons, for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” In 2019, one month before that track reached the summit, Carey ranked No. 4 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Artists chart, leading among women and Black artists.

Still, Carey has never toured with the same intensity as many of the acts that surrounded her on that list, such as Elton John, Madonna or Taylor Swift. Her first three concert tours, in the midst of her ‘90s chart-topping spree, each lasted for no more than 11 shows, almost one eighth of Swift’s calendar for 2024.

It’s encouraging that Carey has arguably been busier than ever on the road in the last decade, including her annual holiday series, two Las Vegas residencies and three international tours. Far removed from releasing her last chart-topper, her 2023 upswing in concert attendance, not to mention the all-time-high grosses, tells a positive story about Carey’s legacy as the Queen of Christmas, using her unique niche (and 19 No. 1 hits – a record among soloists – expanding their presence in the holiday show setlist) to fill arenas.

19 Jan 2024

Lizzo Teases She’s Working on New Music: ‘The Magic Is Back’

Lizzo is getting back to business. The 35-year-old hitmaker teased on Instagram Thursday (Jan. 18) that she’s working on new music, sharing a muted video of herself recording vocals at a studio setup. 

In the clip, the “Truth Hurts” artist appears to sport a simple black Yitty hoodie and headphones as she passionately belts inaudible lyrics into a microphone. And while viewers can’t hear what she’s singing, Lizzo does give a clue as to the style of music she’s working on, audibly saying after she finishes her take, “I felt like Gwen Stefani in the ’90s.” 

“To my dearest lizzo fans, the magic is back?,” she captioned the video. 

Aside from her Barbie soundtrack piece “Pink” and her 2022 holiday song “Somebody at Christmas,” Lizzo hasn’t released music since her July 2022 album Special, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “About Damn Time.” When she does officially make her return, it’ll be her first project since she was hit with a major lawsuit from several of her former backup dancers alleging sexual harassment and hostile work conditions.  

Soon after, a designer who worked on the Grammy winner’s Special Tour last year sued Lizzo for perpetuating a “culture of racism and bullying” during the trek. Lizzo has emphatically denied the accusations in both suits. 

In November, Lizzo told fans that she is working “on music, myself, relationships with people and food, my anxiety, my body, my business.” “And my trust issues with the world,” she added. “They are deep now, deeper than they’ve ever been.” 

See her post below: 

19 Jan 2024

Kakao Entertainment Nominates New Co-CEOs

Kakao Entertainment nominated two executives to serve as co-CEOs on Friday (Jan. 19): Kisu Kweon, who is currently chief operations officer, and Joseph Chang, global strategy officer. 

The South Korean tech conglomerate Kakao is influential in the music industry. Its subsidiary, Kakao Entertainment, merged with Melon, the country’s top streaming platform, in 2021, and it also owns Starship Entertainment, which has developed internationally successful K-pop groups like Monsta X and Ive. But in 2023, Bae Jae-hyun, Kakao’s chief investment officer, was indicted for allegedly manipulating stock price during a corporate battle with HYBE for a controlling stake in K-pop company SM Entertainment.

In December, Kakao’s founder and chairman said the company would “reset our expansion-centered management strategy,” “focus on core businesses,” as part of an effort to “change the company culture,” according to The Korea Economic Daily.

The promotion announcement at Kakao Entertainment emphasized “the need for leadership with a new perspective.” “We feel a great responsibility as we take on leadership during these pivotal times,” Kweon and Chang said in a joint statement. 

“Our priority is to contribute to and meet the expectations of society going forward,” they added. “At the same time, we are dedicated to proving Kakao Entertainment’s full potential in the global market. We are excited to accelerate the innovation of our expansive content business to grow as a truly global entertainment player.”

The announcement of the co-CEO nominees indicated that they would each have slightly different purviews. Kweon “plans to focus on stabilizing the business while emphasizing innovation,” according to the press release, while Chang — a former Sony Music executive — will prioritize “strengthening [Kakao Entertainment’s] competitiveness in IP planning, production, and distribution.”

Now that Kweon and Chang are nominated as co-CEOs, the announcement noted that they “will undergo a formal appointment process through the board of directors and general shareholders’ meetings.”

19 Jan 2024

Jeffrey Wright Recalls the Time David Bowie Asked If He Wanted to Hear Some Unreleased Tunes: ‘Sure, Put in Your Little Disc’

Like many of us, David Bowie was one of American Fiction actor Jeffrey Wright’s all-time heroes. But unlike most of us, Wright not only got meet the late rock legend, he also had the opportunity to act alongside him in the 1996 biopic Basquiat, in which he played neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat alongside Bowie as pop art figurehead Andy Warhol.

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On The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday (Jan. 19), Wright recalled meeting Bowie on the film in reaction to a picture Clarkson put on the big screen from a photo shoot the actor did with the “Space Oddity” singer to promote the biopic about the talented street-artist-turned-international-phenom.

“He meant the world to me,” Wright said of Bowie, who died of liver cancer in 2016 at 69. “There were periods of my life where his music was the soundtrack.” Wright describe the intense prep he did for the film — directed by artist Julian Schnabel — in which the actor painted for six months in Schnabel’s studio in the presence of dozens of original Basquiat paintings to get into character.

One day while working on a canvas, Wright said the door opened and Bowie — who also dabbled in painting, as well as quite a bit of big screen acting — walked in unexpectedly. “He kneels down next to me and he says, ‘do you mind if I watch?’,” Wright said Bowie asked. “And I said, ‘well, I think I’m gonna have to get used to it, yeah.’”

Wright recalled that they had a laugh and for the remainder of the shoot Bowie was “so generous and so smart and funny… and he couldn’t have been cooler to me.” In fact, one day he was in the hair and makeup trailer with Gary Oldman — who played a fictional composite character modeled on Schnabel — and Bowie walked in with a most incredible query. “‘Do you want to hear some music?’” the singer asked them.

“And we’re like, ‘huh?!’,” Wright remembers responding in gleeful shock. “And we’re like, ‘yeah David Bowie we’ll tolerate your music, yeah sure! Put in your little disc.’” What Bowie cued up were tracks from his then-unreleased new album, the arty concept song cycle Outside, which included some songs that ended up in the film.

“And we’re listening to it and we’re like, ‘Whoa!’ and David’s sitting there air-guitaring to his own music… and it was like, you know, the cool guy at school who found some obscure record somewhere and brought it in,” Wright recalled thinking. “Except the cool guy was David Bowie!”

American Fiction — about a struggling Black novelist horrified by the smash success of a racially charged book he wrote as as joke — is in theaters now.

Watch Wright talk about Bowie below.

19 Jan 2024

Kid Cudi Says Kanye West Apologized: “There’s Just Nothing Like Kanye and Cudi”

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Kid Cudi

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Kid Cudi and Kanye West are cool again. During a recent interview, the latter said a sincere apology from Ye is what led to them squashing their latest public fall out.

Cudi hit up Apple Music 1 and spoke to Zane Lowe about a number of topics, but of course the first many want to know is what’s up with him and Yeezy? In case you need catching up, recently the two friends were not on good terms, at all. Back in 2022 (they’d also been on the outs before), Ye dropped his Donda album, and Cudi was noticeably not on it despite being one of his most frequent collaborators. But then Ye threw salt in the wound by specifying that Cudi’s absence was due to him being friends with Pete Davidson, who at the time was seeing Ye’s soon to be ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

The “Day N Nite” rapper continued to stress that their friendship was done for almost two years before they were seen hugging it out in late 2023 while Ye was live streaming that Vultures album, that still hasn’t dropped, btw.

But now as Cudi is promoting his latest album, INSANO, he and Ye are brothers, again. “Siblings hurt you the most,” Cudi told Zane Low. “So you go through things, but family is always there. You don’t give up on family. And I think in the thick of it, when it was going down, I wanted to walk away. I wanted to give up, but in thinking about it the past couple years, it’s like this is someone who is my brother ultimately who came into my life and championed me and did things for me that nobody else did for me early on in my career. People don’t even know that Kanye paid for the first day and night video when I didn’t have a deal. This was like, he needs a video, so I’m a pay for it. Guy saw me to shoot it, saw me the first director. Didn’t know me, but was sure just doing a favor and so shit like that.”

True, true. But it was Ye actually saying “sorry” that sealed the deal, this time.

He adds, “He’s learning and he’s growing. He knows he made some mistakes and I think that that’s the beauty of it, is this is a beautiful thing. It’s like he knows he’s been on one hell of a ride and he knows, he’s said some things that he might not be able to come back from in a lot of realms, in a lot of spaces from certain people. But we grow and I think I pray for him, and that’s my brother. And the reason why we became cool again is because he apologized to me and it was sincere. I was just like, ‘Wow.’ Kanye does not apologize to anybody and say sorry to anyone. And that’s my brother, man. I know he loves me and there’s just nothing like Kanye and Cudi. We like the duo that everybody loves to see.”

Until they’re not. As for Insano, Cudder is quite excited about it. “I want people to arguably have the debate about my sh*t being one of the best albums of the year,” he said. “I didn’t want to have any doubts. I wanted to make something that was completely undeniable.”

Kid Cudi’s new and 11th album Insano is out now. Check out the full interview below.



19 Jan 2024

Executive Turntable: NAMM Foundation Losing Luehrsen; Norwegian Lines Up a Music Cruise Captain

It’s time for another quick whirl around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) launched a search for its next executive director of the NAMM Foundation, following a recent decision by longtime leader Mary Luehrsen to step down by Sept. 30. In addition to her director role at the foundation, Luehrsen is senior advisor for public policy at the music trade organization, which stages its 2024 event next week in Anaheim. The foundation’s key activities include school and career resource programs such as Careers In Music and GenNext, as well as Best Communities for Education, which gives props to schools for committing to music education. In her legendary and impactful 22-year run at NAMM, Luehrsen’s “visionary ideas and leadership have resulted in thousands of music educators, college students, community nonprofit music service leaders and international partners meeting, learning and networking at [the] NAMM Show,” the trade org said. She also expanded NAMM’s connection with other domestic and international music orgs and worked to shape public policy toward making music integral to education.

“Her passion, intellect, and relentlessly positive efforts have laid a strong foundation for our future success and we are so grateful she has lent us her talent, mentorship and creativity, all of which have joyfully impacted millions of next-generation music makers,” said NAMM CEO John Mlynczak.

Russell Reynolds is leading the search for Luehrsen’s replacement. All prospective candidates are invited to reach out directly to the Russell Reynolds Associates team at NAMMFoundationED@russellreynolds.com.

Meanwhile …

Sixthman has a brand-new captain. Norwegian Cruise Line tapped Jeff Cuellar to succeed Anthony Diaz atop — or should we say aboard — its floating music festival subsidiary, which is coming off its “most successful year to date.” Cuellar’s been with Sixthman since October 2021, first as vp of partnerships and later vp of events, marketing and community — all during the backdrop of the boat-rocking COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to Sixthman, he was vp of strategic partnerships at festival promoter AC Entertainment, where he worked on Bonnaroo, Forecastle, Railbird and many more. As CEO, Cuellar will keep pushing for growth and work to solidify Sixthman’s place as the entertainment cruise king. Sixthman hosted over 45,000 guests over the course of 18 cruises in 2023, including the massive EDSea electronic music festival aboard the big ol’ Norwegian Joy. This year’s dock-et includes events hosted and/or curated by Kevin Smith, Yellowcard, Sister Hazel and Joe Bonamassa, among others. “In the short time Jeff has been at Sixthman, he’s made a significant impact,” said outgoing CEO Diaz, who is staying on as an advisor until June. “He played an integral role in the success of 2023, leading the strategy and outreach to strengthen and develop new artist relationships and debut first-for-the-brand festival concepts across all genres.”

Warner Chappell Music Germany promoted Natascha Augustin to managing director, reporting to WCM co-chair and CEO Guy Moot. The move means outgoing Germany MD Lars Karlsson will now be able to solely focus on his other gig, leading WCM Scandinavia. Augustin joined WCM in mid-2010 and was most recently vp of creative and head of A&R. She also helped launch Atlantic Records Germany, where she was head of strategy, but will now focus on WCMG. “I see myself as an advocate for songwriters and artists, fighting for their rights in a rapidly changing world full of new challenges,” she said. The company noted that Augustin will spend time in all three German hubs for WCM — Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. “Germany is such an important global market, and home to some of the world’s best writers, producers and artists,” added Moot. “We’re the number one domestic publisher there thanks to the support that Natascha has given a generation of songwriters under Lars’s expert guidance.”

Staying in Deutschland, BMG promoted Johannes von Schwarzkopf to senior vp of corporate development — marking a title fist-bump in a department he has led since its formation last year. Von Schwarzkopf joined BMG in 2021 as senior director of board projects and was promoted for the first time in 2023. In his vp-of-cd role, he’ll continue developing new business opportunities for the world’s fourth largest music company, and spearhead initiatives to accelerate growth in areas like partnerships and GenAI. He reports directly to BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld and is based in the company’s Berlin headquarters. “Johannes has a proven track record of analytical rigor and thought leadership, and has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing our new strategy over the past year,” said Coesfeld. “His entrepreneurial mindset and commitment to the team make him a great leader.”

Black Music Action Coalition co-founder Binta Niambi Brown has joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP as entertainment partner in the legal and consulting firm’s NYC office. Brown has worked in a number of industries: as a corporate lawyer for top firms like Cravath Swaine & Moore and Kirkland & Ellis, as a member of Chance the Rapper’s management team at Nice Work, and more recently as head of operations and strategy at Keep Cool Records/RCA. She is also an adjunct professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch. At Manatt, Brown will work within the creator economy and advise global mogul-level clients on how to build, innovate, expand and protect their businesses and brands, the firm said. “Binta has a tremendous reputation as a corporate dealmaker, talent manager and artist advocate, making her incredibly invaluable to talent-side clients who are increasingly building their businesses and taking ownership of their personal brands in today’s exploding creator economy,” said Manatt entertainment leader Jordan Bromley.

David Barbis is the new head of promotion at Big Loud Rock, the label home of HARDY, Blame My Youth, Jaguar Twin and other alt-rock acts. Barbis will spearhead all promotional matters at the Los Angeles-based label and report up to BLR president Greg Thompson. He joined from C3 Management, where as vp of promotion he worked on campaigns for wide slate of artists, including White Reaper, The Head and the Heart, Modest Mouse and Chevelle, among others. Prior to C3, Barbis held roles at Polygram, Dreamworks and Capitol Records. “Dave is a true music man and one of the most outstanding promotion executives I have ever known,” Thompson said. “His passion for his artists is unparalleled, and we are beyond thrilled to have him join the Big Loud Rock team.” Barbis can be reached at daveb@bigloud.com.

Primary Wave Music added Agnes Kacicki to its executive team as head of corporate development. Working closely with Primary Wave’s founder and CEO Larry Mestel, Kacicki will focus on big-fish catalog and business acquisitions, as well as forming portfolio-expanding partnerships on the international scale. Based in Los Angeles, Kacicki will also work closely with Bill Cisneros, president of IP investment management, and Ramon Villa, the company’s COO, to assist with investor relations. Kacicki comes from RBC Capital Markets, where she served as director in the investment banking division and specialized in advisory and capital raising activities across various entertainment sectors, including Primary Wave’s bailiwick: music publishing. “Agnes has been a close adviser to Primary Wave for many years in her senior role at RBC, she will make a very significant impact on our ability to increase our acquisition capabilities, and service our partners,” noted Mestel.

Sony Music UK hired Brooke Salisbury to fill the newly created position of senior vp of international marketing and digital partnerships. In the role, Salisbury will oversee the various teams working on cross-border marketing and partnership with digital services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. She arrives at Sony from Warner Music’s ADA UK, where she was general manager of the distribution and label services division. Prior to ADA, Salisbury held senior roles at Domino, where she rose to head of marketing in the UK market and worked with rock favorites Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand, among others. She reports up to Sony Music UK & Ireland chairman and CEO Jason Iley, who remarked of being “delighted to welcome Brooke to her new role where she will help bolster our service for both artists and digital partners.”

Global management company IMG Artists promoted Sam Snook to head of vocal, London. Snook has clocked 17 years in the classical musical industry, including positions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera and Opera America. He first joined IMG Artists in 2009, working closely with evp and global head of vocal Matthew A. Horner. “Sam’s move to London is a very positive development for IMG Artists,” Horner said. “With the complicated nature of our business, and the best artists needing true worldwide representation, I see this move by one of my most trusted colleagues as a fruitful venture for all of us in vocal.”

BOARD SHORTS: Music community startup We Are Giant added AEG Presents COO of global touring David Rappaport to its board of directors. He’ll lend his expertise on event execution, artist relations and more at the freshly launched plaform for hosting licensed listening parties, live streams, chats and more on its site and app … Hipgnosis Song Fund’s board of directors have a plan to attract bidders — and satisfy concerned shareholders. Learn all about it here.

Deluge Music founder David Robkin has launched two new record labels. Robkin worked with Johnny Gates and Austin Luther to ideate East Music Row Records — “with a goal of blending the hip, innovative sides of Nashville’s new indie rock and alt-country music with the musicianship, professionalism, and ingenuity of Music Row classists.” Robkin then took inspiration from Sun Records and Motown for Deluge Records Nashville, which is modeled in the tradition of a classic collaborative music incubator. “DRN wasn’t created to extract all the worth possible out of its artists, instead, the team chose to foster relationships between artist and label, creating a home in which equitable recording deals aren’t rarities,” the company said. DRN was born through a relationship between Robkin, songwriter Sam Grow, and Grow’s manager Brad Austin.

Breanne Hoke joined Joie Manda’s Encore Recordings as executive vp, head of business and legal affairs. Prior to Encore, she spent five years with Interscope’s business and legal affairs team, rising to vp in October 2021. She got her start in music as a legal fellow at the NMPA before joining Warner Records as an attorney-then-associate director in its B&LA department. Manda, a longtime executive at Interscope Geffen A&M, launched Encore Recordings in 2021 with a goal of “pushing culture forward.”

CAA promoted Jenna Powell to communications executive. She joined the agency in early 2018 as assistant to then-COO Michael Mand before rising through the communications ranks to her current position, which is based in Nashville and supports CAA’s music touring, digital media, theatre and gaming divisions.

Garrett Ream has joined Position Music as vp of artist strategy and promotion, a move announced by president and CEO Tyler Bacon. Ream previously served as vp of rhythm promotion at Republic Records, where he worked on radio and promo campaigns for a murderers’ row of stars including Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Arianna Grande, Post Malone, Pop Smoke and Greta Van Fleet. Ream will report directly to J Scavo, general manager of recorded music at Position. “Garrett is a key hire for us as we continue to build our frontline artist roster and label marketing team,” said Bacon. “In addition to bringing major label promotion experience, he also has an indie drive and entrepreneurial approach to identifying and developing artists that is in lockstep with our company ethos.”

Ten2 Media appointed “avid technologist, hacker and maker” Mike Flynn as chief technology offcer of the upstart company, which works with clients on strategies and then distributes, markets and monetizes that video content on YouTube. Flynn was previously CTO of Studio71, where he spearheaded the development of numerous technology platforms during an 11-year tenure. “”Mike’s track record of success and his passion for leveraging technology to drive business growth align perfectly with our vision for the future of Ten2 Media,” glowed Ten2 Media co-founders Donna Budica and George Karalexis.

Music industry veteran Bob Reeves opened the private venture Excelsior Music, which will focus on management, artist development, radio/tour marketing and promotion. Reeves’ first client is Nashville-based country singer-songwriter Orlando Mendez. Mendez, a second-generation Cuban-American from South Florida, appeared on NBC’s The Voice in 2022, and is currently working on his debut project. Reeves previously held posts as vp and national director with Warner Music Nashville, Sony Music, Monument Records, Epic Records and most recently, Riser House Entertainment. –Jessica Nicholson

Tom Stingemore, who spearheaded Hipgnosis’ sync efforts until his departure over the summer, launched ALLOY Sync Distro as part of an ambitious effort to modernize the music biz’s sync licensing and approvals process. ALLOY is described as a “state-of-the-art, industry-wide platform that significantly streamlines the sync licensing process, while allowing labels & publishers to retain full control of their sync rights,” according the announcement. Stingemore, who has also previously held senior sync roles at UMG and BMG, said the licensing process has been “arduous, disjointed and fractured” for too long and is collaborating directly with industry stakeholders to develop a “gamechanging commercial solution for the entire music business.”

ICYMI:

Chris Barkley

Phill Bauer was named president of DistroKid … Alvaro Rizo joined Carlos Vives’ Gaira Musica Local label as managing director … the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) hired former Mitt Romney staffer Chris Barkley (pictured) as its senior vice president of government affairs … YouTube laid off 100 in its content and creator teams … and Condé Nast gutted Pitchfork as part of a restructuring that folds the esteemed music criticism site under men’s style and fashion bible GQ.
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