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Amid calls to cut ties with Kanye West over his repeated antisemitic comments, CAA stopped representing the artist within the last month, a source tells The Hollywood Reporter.
The Century City-based talent agency had worked with the artist, but his repeated interviews espousing antisemitic rhetoric have proved indefensible to business partners. With CAA ending its run with West, Hollywood’s major talent agencies — including WME and UTA — have supported calls to end working relationship with the rapper and fashion mogul.
On Oct. 23, Jeremy Zimmer, who leads rival agency UTA, sent a companywide email titled “Rise of Anti Semitism and Hate,” writing that West’s comments “embolden others to amplify their vile beliefs.” The UTA CEO added: “we can’t support hate speech, bigotry or anti-Semitism. Please support the boycott of Kanye West.”
Days earlier, Endeavor and WME mogul Ari Emanuel penned a column in the Financial Times saying that “silence” isn’t an option for the business community given West’s antisemitism. “Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience,” Emanuel wrote.
While West has a lucrative deal with Adidas for his Yeezy shoe and fashion line, other major partners — including French label Balenciaga, as well as production studio MRC, which was working on a documentary with the artist — have publicly distanced themselves and cut ties. “We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” wrote MRC’s leaders, while Balenciaga noted that it doesn’t have “any relationship” with West moving forward.
While the rapper still has official accounts on Twitter and Instagram, posts containing antisemitic comments — including a tweet on Oct. 8 that called for “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” — have been removed from the social media giants’ platforms. In seeming response, West inked a deal to take ownership of the small “free speech” social media app Parler on Oct. 17. That app is run by the CEO George Farmer, the husband of conservative activist Candace Owens, who donned a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt along with West at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month.
The artist — whose net worth is estimated at $2 billion, per Forbes‘ calculations — had his last full length album, 2021’s Donda, distributed by Def Jam Recordings, a division of the publicly traded Universal Music Group. In a tweet on Oct. 17, UMG stated, “There is no place for antisemitism in our society,” but made no reference to West.
West’s media tour this month has included stops with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, rapper N.O.R.E. on the podcast Drink Champs, and Chris Cuomo at NewsNation. “I classify as Jew also, so I actually can’t be an antisemite,” West told Cuomo.
This article was originally published on THR.com.
Jenna Park Adler was promoted to co-head of CAA‘s global hip-hop/R&B touring group alongside existing head Mark Cheatham. Adler’s clients include Jennifer Lopez, Doja Cat, Charli XCX, Green Day, Chloe x Halle, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deftones and Mark Ronson.
Robert Santelli was named executive director at the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. He will oversee the Springsteen Archives and work to create programs, exhibits and collaborations with music museums and universities in the U.S. Santelli can be reached at bsantell@springsteenarchives.org.
BMG named Brandon Riester vp of A&R, recorded music. In the role, the Los Angeles-based executive will sign and develop artists for the label’s frontline recording team and participate in song development alongside BMG’s songwriters and publishing team. He reports directly to executive vp of recorded music Dan Gill. He was most recently A&R for Nuyorican Records. Riester can be reached at brandon.riester@bmg.com.
Colin Reed, longtime chairman and CEO at Ryman Hospitality Properties, is transitioning to executive chairman of the company after more than 21 years as CEO. Succeeding him in the CEO role is Mark Fioravanti, who will also hold the title of president, effective Jan. 1. Reed’s new role will include his responsibilities as executive chairman of Ryman’s board of directors and as chairman of the Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) board of directors. He will also focus on working with OEG strategic investor Atairos as well as NBCUniversal to exploit opportunities for value creation, advance the company’s ESG and DEI goals and handle community and government affairs. He will also continue his role with artist and shareholder relations alongside Fioravanti.
ASM Global named Liam Thornton as executive vp of strategy and development. In the role, he will be responsible for strategic planning, market research, site selection, lease and partnership negotiations, development feasibility, site planning, project advisory and investment analysis. Thornton can be reached at lthornton@asmglobal.com.
Also at ASM Global, Kimberly Weedmark was named general manager for the Los Angeles Convention Center; she joins the company from Universal Studios Hollywood, where she served as vp of special events and group sales. In her new role, she will work with the City of Los Angeles to continue to grow the convention hall.
Warner Chappell Music promoted Petter Walther Walthinsen to head of A&R for Warner Chappell Music Nordics. In the expanded role, Walthinsen will be responsible for the strategy, direction and culture of the company’s A&R department across the Nordics, with all A&R executives in the region reporting to him. Walthinsen, who will report to the region’s managing director Lars Karlsson, was previously senior A&R manager at Warner Chappell Music Norway.
Lily Golightly was hired as senior vp of publicity at Verve Label Group. She will oversee U.S. communications efforts for the company’s imprints, including Verve Records, Impulse!, Verve Forecast, Decca Records U.S., Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon and ECM. She previously spent over seven years at 300 Entertainment and operated her own independent publicity company, No Big Deal PR, through January 2020.
Andre Rodriguez was hired as Warner Music Latina’s director of commercial operations. In his new role, he will lead commercial operations for the entire Latin American region, and his team of six employees together will work to bridge the gap between the labels’ marketing and production departments to increase efficiency. He will report directly to senior vp of commercial services Marcela Vaccari. Rodriguez previously served as 10K Project’s senior director of production, and in addition to his new role at Warner, he will continue to manage artists under his self-owned company MUSTDIE.
Russell Hunt was hired as senior creative manager at Reservoir Media. Hunt will be based in the company’s London office, working closely with U.K. head of creative Charlie Pinder to expand Reservoir’s global presence. He will report to executive vp and global creative director Donna Caseine. He joins the company from Tigerspring, where he was head of A&R U.K.
Dan McEvoy and Bertie Gibbon joined the team at ATC Management. McEvoy brings client Black Country, New Road, while Gibbon will oversee the careers of new ATC clients Sorry, The Goa Express and Miss Tiny. McEvoy can be reached at dan@atcmanagement.com and Gibbon can be reached at matthew@atcmanagement.com.
Nashville-based publishing company SoNash launched and announced its executive team: president Travis Chaney, vp Bridgette Tatum, creative director Abigail Wate Ayala and creative consultant Juli Newton-Griffith. Wate Ayala can be reached at Abigail@sonashpublishing.com and Tatum can be reached at bridgette@sonashpublishing.com.
Music technology platform Vydia hired Susan “Sweetness” Ybern and Elena Lanza as label & artist relations managers. Both will play a crucial role in the company’s new business growth, marketing and strategy with artists and labels. They will be responsible for sourcing, negotiating and signing new partnerships deals while working collaboratively across the marketing, legal, client success and product management departments. Ybern can be reached at sweetness@vydia.com and Lanza can be reached at elena.lanza@vydia.com.
Alison Hemmings joined Audible as associate director of public relations. Most recently she worked on the communications team at iHeartMedia, leading publicity and media strategy for the iHeartPodcast Network.
SMACKTok, which offers influencer marketing services under the SMACK umbrella, hired Aleks Samul as coordinator. She will report directly to SMACK founder Marissa Turk and assist in day-to-day operations for the company. Samul can be reached at aleks@smacksongs.com.
Nashville-based marketing agency Thinkswell — which helps artists establish themselves as brands and assists brands in reaching new audiences — hired James Crowley as head of strategy, Jenni Hand as head of operations, Katie Sulzner as digital marketing manager and Nicole Marchesi as digital marketing manager. Michael Adcock was also promoted to art director. Crowley will use data analytics to build a comprehensive digital advertising and social media strategy for clients; Hand will manage campaigns, organizational structure and lead all efforts for artists and organizations; Sulzner will create high level strategic campaigns; Marchesi will execute marketing camapaigns and create video and graphic design content for clients; and Adcock will oversees all creative direction and brand development at the company. Crowley can be reached at James@thinkswell.com, Hand can be reached at jenni@thinkswell.com, Sulzner can be reached at katie@thinkswell.com, Marchesi can be reached at nicole@thinkswell.com and Adcock can be reached at michael@thinkswell.com.