State Champ Radio Executive Turntable
Trending on Billboard Oak View Group (OVG) has officially named Chris Granger as CEO, elevating the veteran sports and live-entertainment executive after five months in the interim CEO role. The appointment is effective immediately. Granger replaces former CEO and company founder Tim Leiweke, who was indicted earlier this year on federal bid-rigging charges related to […]
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WME has promoted Rob Markus to head of international for the agency’s contemporary music team, the company announced Monday (Dec. 1). In his new role, Los Angeles-based Markus will oversee all aspects of WME’s international touring and strategy for contemporary music.
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Markus, a senior partner at WME, has worked at the agency for more than 20 years. He helped build the company’s Latin music group, which boasts such stars as Danny Ocean, Gustavo Mioto, Humbe, J Balvin, Juanes, Maluma, Nathy Peluso, Paulo Londra and Pedro Sampaio. His client list also includes A Perfect Circle, Avenged Sevenfold, Depeche Mode, Kygo, Måneskin, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Anka, The Flaming Lips, The Hives, Toto and Will Smith. On the festival front, he’s been key to expanding the Lollapalooza brand into Argentina, Brazil and Chile, which are hosting Lollapalooza festivals in March.
Prior to WME, Markus ran EMI and Virgin Records in Hungary and also set up EMI Music Publishing in Eastern Europe.
“Rob understands the international touring business and its increasing complexities and importance to an artist’s career better than anyone,” said Lucy Dickins, WME’s global head of contemporary music and touring, and Kirk Sommer, global co-head of contemporary music and touring, in a joint statement. “Having lived and worked around the world, Rob possesses a deep knowledge of the nuances of the live music space in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and South America, as well as emerging tour markets like the Middle East, Africa, and India. This expansion of his role fortifies our global music presence and elevates the best-in-class services we offer our clients and partners.”
Added Markus, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead WME’s international music team and look forward to growing and guiding our global roster with the same team approach that has served me well throughout my career.”
ASCAP has named media veteran Marc Zelanko as chief of staff, reporting directly to CEO Elizabeth Matthews. In this newly created role, Zelanko will help drive ASCAP’s mission to grow revenues and improve operational efficiency for its 1.1 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
Zelanko brings more than 20 years of experience in business operations and transformation within IP-driven media and entertainment companies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president at Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), where he led strategic initiatives to strengthen operations and streamline processes across global teams. His wins include organizing CEO-level leadership forums, managing the COVID Task Force to maintain operations for 15,000-plus U.S. employees, reducing liabilities through HR process improvements and coordinating the Viacom Marketing Council.
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In the aughts, he spent five year at MTV Networks, where he rose to senior vp of business operations and notably helped scale Scratch, a creative consultancy launched by the network.
Earlier in his career, Zelanko worked in the Media & Entertainment Group at Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Matthews praised Zelanko’s appointment, stating: “Marc is the perfect fit to help ASCAP deliver on our mission to grow revenues and drive efficiencies for the benefit of our more than 1.1 million songwriters, composers and music publishers. He brings a wealth of experience working cross-functionally to lead complex global initiatives, and we are excited to add him to our senior leadership team.”
Zelanko added: “ASCAP has a mindset of innovation and evolution to meet the changing needs of its members and licensees. I look forward to bringing my expertise to ASCAP’s mission in support of improving the future for its songwriters, composers and music publishers.”
This announcement follows ASCAP’s recent hire of John Pershing as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Pershing, formerly with What If Media Group, brings extensive experience in IT, product development, and data engineering, further strengthening ASCAP’s leadership team.
Check out a full rundown of this week’s staffing news below.
Anne-Marie Pearce & Chris Barton (PPL)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Trending on Billboard Austin Daboh has left his senior role at Warner Music’s Atlantic Records after five years. Daboh, who served as executive vice president of Atlantic Records U.K., announced the news on his LinkedIn profile on Thursday (Nov. 20). Daboh also served as president of Black Music at the label from 2023 onwards. He […]
CTS Eventim, Europe’s largest concert promoter and ticketing company, has appointed William Willms as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Willms succeeds Holger Hohrein, who will depart at year-end. A seasoned executive with a doctorate in law, Willms brings over 20 years of global leadership experience, most recently as CFO at Lufthansa Technik AG, […]
Trending on Billboard Audio entertainment and satellite radio company SiriusXM Holdings said on Tuesday its chief financial officer Tom Barry will step down by the end of the year. Zac Coughlin, currently CFO for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp, was named to succeed Barry. Coughlin previously held CFO titles at the Nike […]
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Warner Music Group announced on Friday that it has promoted Leho Nigul to chief technology officer, effective Dec. 1, as part of a series of executive changes this week.
Nigul, previously senior vice president of engineering, will oversee WMG’s technology strategy, team, and product roadmap, reporting directly to CEO Robert Kyncl. He succeeds Ariel Bardin, who will step aside as president of technology after three years but remain through 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.
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Nigul joined WMG in 2023 and has led engineering teams across key initiatives, including global licensing, royalty management, fan engagement, and AI projects. His background includes senior roles at Instacart and more than 17 years at IBM, where he specialized in eCommerce and SaaS development.
“Leho’s deep knowledge and wide-ranging experience as a leader, engineer, and innovator make him ideally suited to take our team into the future and leverage AI for the benefit of our artists, songwriters and employees,” said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl.
Bardin’s tenure saw significant upgrades to WMG’s tech infrastructure, including new tools for artists and songwriters, streamlined global supply chains, and enhanced data systems. Kyncl praised Bardin for helping to “transform our company systems”and for “setting the foundation to rapidly scale WMG going forward.”
Nigul added that WMG’s approach to innovation creates “powerful, new opportunities for our artists, songwriters and teams.”
The leadership shift on the tech side comes amid a busy week for WMG, which also announced several high-profile appointments: Gregg Nadel was named president of A&R at Warner Records Group; Cris Lacy became chair and president of the rebranded Warner Records Nashville, continuing her role as one of the highest-ranking women in Nashville’s label ecosystem; and Atlantic Music Group tapped A&R veteran Jeremy Vuernick as executive vice president.
Independent music company EMPIRE has announced a wave of key leadership moves across its publishing, commerce and Nashville divisions as the company celebrates its 15th anniversary.
Vinny Kumar has been promoted to president of EMPIRE Publishing, where he’ll continue overseeing global deals and strategy. Under Kumar’s leadership, EMPIRE Publishing has become a leading independent publisher, representing Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated songwriters and earning recognition across ASCAP, BMI, and NMPA awards. The division debuted in Billboard’s Hot 100 Publisher Rankings Top 10 in 2024.
“We met nearly two decades ago and he’s been part of the foundation of what this company stands for,” EMPIRE founder and CEO Ghazi said of Kumar. “He will continue to lead with integrity and creativity, and his passion for music and strategic vision have helped elevate every facet of our publishing business.”
Vinny Kumar
EMPIRE Africa also launched its publishing arm under managing director Munyaradzi Chanetsa, with notable successes from writers behind Davido’s Grammy-nominated “Unavailable” and multiple Southern African hits.
Meanwhile, Matthew Maysonet has been elevated to senior vice president of commerce and streaming partnerships, leading a global team of nearly 20. Andrea Galicia moves up to senior director, while Goldie Harrison (formerly of UnitedMasters) and Daisy Moreira (a Def Jam veteran) join as directors in the division. The team will drive monetization and streaming strategies for EMPIRE’s diverse roster, including Latin and global acts.
Galicia, Harrison and Moreira
In Music City, EMPIRE Nashville added Bri Small as vice president of digital and Zak Waters as director of A&R. Small (ex-Warner Music Nashville) will lead digital engagement for Nashville artists, while songwriter and producer Waters will focus on talent discovery and creative development. Both hires underscore EMPIRE’s commitment to an artist-first, genre-fluid approach in one of the industry’s most competitive markets.
EMPIRE Nashville leader Jen Way praised Small for bringing “such a special energy and creativity to everything she does,” calling her the ideal person to guide the label’s digital strategy. She described Waters as a versatile creative with strong storytelling instincts who will “represent exactly where EMPIRE Nashville is headed—artist-first, genre-fluid, and creatively fearless.”
Bri Small (Credit: David Bradley) and Zak Waters (Credit: Zak Cassar)
Check out a full rundown of this week’s staffing news below.
Dee Hale (Sony Music Publishing)
Image Credit: Amy Allmand Photography
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BMG leader Thomas Coesfeld has been appointed as the next chairman and CEO of global parent company Bertelsmann, succeeding Thomas Rabe when his contract wraps on Dec. 31, 2026. Coesfeld will officially take over as chairman and CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, marking a generational shift in leadership for the global media conglomerate, the company announced Thursday (Nov. 13).
Coesfeld has served as CEO of BMG since 2023, succeeding longtime chief Hartwig Masuch, and joined Bertelsmann’s executive board in 2024. Before that, he was BMG’s CFO and previously chief strategy officer on the executive committee of Bertelsmann Printing Group. He began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey in Munich.
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According to the announcement, Coesfeld is expected to lead both Bertelsmann and BMG “in a dual capacity.” BMG representatives confirmed this arrangement to Billboard.
Outgoing CEO Rabe, who has led Bertelsmann for 15 years, praised the board’s choice in Coesfeld as his successor. “We have worked closely and with great trust for many years, and I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition,” he said. “Bertelsmann’s leadership will be in excellent hands with him and his team.”
“I would like to thank the Supervisory Board – and in particular its Chairman, Christoph Mohn – for the trust they have placed in me,” added Coesfeld. “I am very much looking forward to assuming responsibility for leading Bertelsmann. It is a challenge I will take on with the full support of the Executive Board, top management, and all employees.”
Bertelsmann operates in about 50 countries and, in addition to BMG, includes divisions such as RTL Group, Penguin Random House and Arvato. In its latest interim report for the first half of 2025, the Gütersloh-based company posted revenues of €9.1 billion (approximately $9.8 billion), up 1.2% year-over-year.
The company’s supervisory board also announced that Clément Schwebig, currently a senior media executive with over 20 years of experience, will join Bertelsmann’s executive board as CEO of RTL Group effective May 1 of next year. Schwebig previously held leadership roles at RTL in multiple countries.
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After taking over as CEO of BMG in 2023, Coesfeld implemented a sweeping restructuring aimed at “local where necessary, global where possible.” He centralized catalog, sales, and marketing teams into global roles, expanded tech investments and made Los Angeles the hub for catalog operations. Coesfeld also ended BMG’s distribution deal with Warner’s ADA, bringing digital distribution in-house while partnering with Universal for physical formats. Additional moves included layoffs, shuttering Modern Recordings and discontinuing international marketing and film/TV divisions — all part of a strategy to streamline operations and focus on publishing, recordings and data-driven growth.
In its most recent earnings report, Berlin-based BMG posted steady operating profits despite lower revenue, reflecting its focus on core digital music operations. For the first half of 2025, revenue fell 8% year-over-year to €424 million ($463 million). Streaming revenue grew at a high single-digit rate, lifting digital’s share of total revenue to 72%. Coesfeld credited the gains to catalog acquisitions, distribution efficiencies and a strategic shift away from lower-margin physical formats and live entertainment.
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Gregg Nadel, the veteran executive who most recently held the post of co-chair/co-president of Warner Nashville, has been named president of A&R at Warner Records Group, the company announced today (Nov. 12). In the newly-created role, Nadel will work across the Warner Records U.S., Warner Records U.K. and Warner Records Nashville divisions, and report to Warner Records Group co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and co-chairman/COO Tom Corson.
Nadel has spent the entirety of his 28-year career in the record business at the Warner Music Group, having gotten his start at Atlantic Records in 1997 and rising through the A&R and marketing ranks, eventually rising to senior vp. He moved to Elektra Records in 2015 as general manager, rising to president two years later before becoming co-president alongside Mike Easterlin in 2018. Elektra was then combined into 300 Entertainment as the 300 Elektra Entertainment Group for a short time in 2022; Easterlin then exited Elektra in 2023 following a reorganization of the broader Warner Music Group, with Nadel becoming sole president again. In September 2024, Nadel was named co-chair/co-president of Warner Nashville alongside Cris Lacy, a post he held until today’s announcement.
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“As we continue to build out Warner Records Group as a tight-knit, seamless global ecosystem, having Gregg join us at the group level will be a huge asset,” Bay-Schuck and Corson said in a joint statement. “He’s a rare, all-around music man, with experience in everything from signing chart-topping artists to making records to developing superstars to leading creative teams. His invaluable relationships, calm judgment and gift for bringing out the best in world-class talent will make a real difference as we focus our combined efforts on forging long-term careers with our US, UK and Nashville teams.”
According to a press release, Nadel’s new role will see him align with Lacy in Nashville, Warner Records U.S. head of A&R Karen Kwak, and Warner Records U.K. president Joe Kentish on A&R strategy on a global basis. Nadel will be based in Los Angeles.
“Joining the mothership at Warner Records Group is an extraordinary opportunity to champion amazing artists on the global stage and to connect the dots to bring them to audiences everywhere,” Nadel said in a statement. “An incredible devotion to the music is hard-wired into this company’s DNA, and I’m looking forward to working with Aaron, Tom, Joe, Karen, Cris and their brilliant teams on both sides of the Atlantic to discover, nurture and elevate the next generation of stars.”
