Executive Turntable

It’s time for another spindle around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.
Global advertising and communications company Havas appointed Damien Escobar as its first-ever global chief music officer, effective immediately. Based in New York City, Escobar’s role is to provide insights into strategy and production in support of brands looking to enhance their storytelling with music. His agency experience includes serving as svp of music and culture at Havas unit Arnold Worldwide, though Escobar is perhaps best known in music circles as an accomplished — and chart-topping — violinist. Just last year, his song “Taboo” spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz Airplay chart, and he scored a No. 1 on both Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts with 2017’s Boundless. Escobar’s pre-solo group Nuttin’ But Stringz placed third in the 2008 season of America’s Got Talent and the “hip-hop violinist” and former child prodigy was later profiled on NBC’s TODAY show. At his new gig, Escobar reports to Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Creative Network and Havas Health & You.

“Damien is a creative and innovative force in the industry—and we’ve seen how his multifaceted talents have already shaped and elevated campaigns for some of our biggest brands,” said Murphy. “He is at the heart of contextualizing the sound with the visuals; amplifying the story the brand wants to tell through music. This role will allow him to help continue creating these stories for all our Havas clients.”

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Meanwhile…

Warner Chappell Music appointed Lisa Li as managing director of China. Based in Beijing and reporting to Arica Ng, president of Asia Pacific, Li will be responsible for leading all of WCM’s operations in China, while also collaborating with other teams across Asia to strengthen the Warner brand in the region. Having Li’s back will be Mar Ma, who has been appointed director of A&R at the publisher. Prior to joining WCM, Li served as head of business development at Warner Bros. Discovery in China. She’s also held senior roles at HBO China, Disney Interactive and others. Ma’s CV includes a decade of experience that includes stops at both Warner Music China and Universal Music Publishing China. “Lisa’s strategic mindset, leadership skills, and passion for the entertainment industry make her the ideal person to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunities in China,” said Ng.

UMG Nashville named David Friedman to the newly-created role of vp of national promotion and strategy. Friedman oversees all strategic elements of UMG Nashville’s promotion operation. Friedman most recently led the MCA Nashville promotion team. “Over the past year, the UMGN promotion department has evolved, and having someone with David’s vast experience running point on our overall radio strategy makes the department stronger,” UMG Nashville evp/COO Mike Harris said in a statement. “Having his expertise at the center is a natural fit, and I’m really excited for David and to see where he can take this new role.” –Jessica Nicholson

Warner Records promoted Josh Reich to senior vp of Top 40 promotion. The Chicago-based radio veteran, who reports to evp of promotion and commerce Mike Chester, will lead the label’s pop promotion department in efforts to promote Warner singles across 170 pop radio reporters. Reich has been with Warner since 2011 and was most recently vp of Top 40 promotion & digital strategy. He had past stops at WXRT/Chicago, A&M Records and RCA Records. “Josh is a well respected promotion executive who brings outstanding depth and knowledge to his position. “[Reich’s] reputation and results are first-class, matched only by his ability to close,” said Chester. “He truly embodies our culture of artist development and I’m thrilled to have him leading our pop efforts at this exciting time in our label’s history.”

Online recording studio and music publishing platform Tunedly made two major changes at the top. Co-founders Chris Erhardt and Mylene Besancon are no longer chief executive officer and chief creative officer, respectively, replaced with Ben Jackson and Katja Glieson in the key roles. “This change at the top promises to inject new energy into Tunedly, leveraging Jackson’s extensive industry experience and Glieson’s creative prowess to drive the platform forward,” the company said. Launched in 2015, Tunedly connects songwriters and other music creators with session musicians for professional music production and music publishing services. Jackson is a music producer with “deep industry knowledge” while Glieson comes bearing a track record of success as a social media content creator. While no longer CEO, Erhardt will remain a member of the board and focus on launching TunedCoin. Besancon, meanwhile, has already taken the reins as CEO of song personalization platform Bring My Song To Life.

Photo Credit: Quadir Thomas

Dina Marto joined UTA as an executive in the global agency’s music division. She is based in Atlanta and will report directly to partner and co-head of UTA Atlanta Rob Gibbs. Prior to UTA, Marto founded and ran Twelve Music & Studios, where her client list over the course of a decade included Theron Thomas and Polow Da Don, as well as labels including Atlantic Records and Maybach Music Group. She also previously worked with L.A. Reid at Island Def Jam, where she A&R’d albums by the likes of Young Jeezy, Nas, Rick Ross, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J and more. She also co-founded C & D The Agency in 2020, a women-led marketing agency dedicated to empowering minority women. Gibbs commented that Marto’s “deep connections in the city’s music scene will undoubtedly open doors and create new opportunities for our clients.”

The Grand Ole Opry promoted three executives in its ranks. Nicole Judd has been elevated to associate producer, show development, contributing to the development/production of all Opry shows in addition to serving as a programming liaison for various internal and external teams. Judd has been with the company 17 years, most recently serving as Opry marketing manager. Gina Keltner has been promoted to associate producer, talent. Keltner, who marks her 25th year with the Opry, will book more than 200 Opry shows per year, as well as other events and initiatives. Audrey McGrady, who has been with the Opry since 2017, has been promoted to talent manager, managing all talent-related show advancement for Opry shows and contributing to various aspects of show production and programming strategy with the Opry programming and artist relations team. –Jessica Nicholson

Nettwerk Music Group welcomed Talia Rubino as vp of global sync, a role where she’ll spearhead creative strategies to maximize sync opportunities for Nettwerk artists, writers and labels. Rubino has racked up 16 years of experience in sync licensing, first with Warner Music on the label side before a highly accomplished 10-yeare run in publishing at Warner Chappell Music. “Her extensive experience in artist development and facilitating licensing opportunities makes her an invaluable asset to our leadership team,” noted Nettwerk president and COO Simon Mortimer-Lamb. “Nettwerk’s ethos is artist-first, career forward, and Talia’s skills align perfectly with that promise.”

Diversified Production Services, the live entertainment event producer behind such shows as the Global Citizens Festival, iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Roots Picnic, hired live events veteran Darren Pfeffer as president. The New York City-based exec is coming off more than six years at MSG Entertainment, where he rose to evp of MSG Live. Prior to that, put in a mere 21 years at iHearMedia, where as svp of music and entertainment marketing he led the company’s live entertainment division. According to RAMP, DPS also announced that co-CEO Dave Meyers will transition to a senior advisor role at the company.

NASHVILLE NOTES: Go West Creative promoted Eileen Valois (pictured) to president and CEO of the full-service creative and events agency. Valois joined GWC three years ago as president and chief operating officer following a lengthy and accomplished career in experiential brand building being an all-around “intuitive disruptor,” the company said. Congratulate her at eileen@gwcg.com … SMACKSongs promoted Carly Sater to creative manager. Sater joined the company in 2019. Her day-to-day responsibilities include signing and developing songwriters, booking writing sessions and creating opportunities for writers … Boutique artist services label Twelve6 Entertainment promoted Travis Myatt to president and general manager, and also elevated Willow Belenski to project manager and Alaina Maggart to the new role of creative manager, Twelve6 Publishing … Black River Entertainment svp of promotion Mike Wilson has left the company after more than a decade, telling Music Row “it’s now time to move on to a new challenge.”

Position Music added industry veteran Jay Moore to its executive team as vice president and head of investments, reporting to president and CEO Tyler Bacon out of Position’s Los Angeles offices. As vp and hoi, Moore will lend an analytic hand around label and publishing signings and catalog acquisitions. Prior to joining Position, Moore was chief investment officer at Ditto Music. He has also worked in a senior director capacity at Kobalt Music. “The ability to quickly analyze and price deals is a crucial piece of ultimately closing them,” said Bacon. “We are immediately seeing the benefit of his work in the current pipeline, along with the work he did on our recent Gesaffelstein acquisition.”

The Syndicate scooped up BMG veteran Alina Akhmadullina as director of label services in its quickly-expanding label services/project management department. The year-old division already works closely with Round Hill Records, Rhino, Loosegroove Records, Dine Alone and Vydia, among others. At BMG, Akhmadullina rose to senior marketing manager during a five-year stretch in which she worked on campaigns for Slash, Billy Idol, Karen O, Godsmack, Hollywood Undead and Run The Jewels. “Alina brings a depth of knowledge, unparalleled enthusiasm, and a loaded range of skills to The Syndicate,” said Rob Gross, svp of label services. “As we build out the Label Services/Project Management division and offerings, Alina will be a pivotal force behind our upward build and growth.” The LA-based Akhmadullina can be reached alina@thesyn.com.

740 Project, the marketing firm and record label fresh off wins for its work with Killer Mike and Ye, elevated Nancy Liu to partner and Jacolyn Carrasco to vp of marketing. Liu has spent the past two years as president of the marketing firm and, as partner, joins co-founders Jesse “Punch” Edwards, Rahim Wright and Charley Greenberg with that title. 740 is fast approaching its 10th year and currently boasts a tight relationship with Quality Control artists Lil Baby, Migos and Lil Yachty, as well as Megan Thee Stallion, J Balvin and Travis Scott.

RADIO, RADIO: MCA Nashville elevated UMG veteran Miranda McDonald to vp of promotion, leading all radio initiative for the label’s roster. She arrives from UMG Nashville, where she was vp of national promotion and worked across multiple teams, including at MCA, Capitol and Mercury … Shari Roth joined Big Loud Records as vp of multi-format radio, effective immediately. She most recently served as national director of radio accounts at Warner Music Nashville for eight years … Speaking of, Warner Music Nashville expanded senior vp of radio Kristen Williams’ role, making her vp of radio and commercial partnerships.

Tixr appointed Stéphane McGarry to the role of vp of partnerships and country manager as the ticketing platform looks to expand its “already robust roster of partners” across Canada. McGarry arrives from AudienceView, where he was vp of sales. Prior to that, he was Crowtorch’s president of Canadian operations. Tixr already has a robust portfolio in the Great White North, including deals with Sonic Concerts, Cowboys Music Festival, Game Con Canada and more. Robert Davari, co-founder and CEO of Tixr, said McGarry has “consistently added value to every organization he’s touched, and collaborating with him has been on my agenda for years.”

BOARD SHORTS: Music tech platform Hook announced its inaugural group of outside advisors: DJ/producer KSHMR; SNAP head of music partnerships Manny Adler; venture capitalist Abe Burns; Downtown Music Holdings founder & chairman Justin Kalifowitz; Hundred Days founder & co-president Ben Klein; and Reed Smith managing partner Gregor Pryor … SOLID, aka the Society of Leaders in Development, announced its 2024 board of directors, led by president Rio Van Risseghem (The Orchard), vp Zach Green (Green P&M), secretary Melissa Flaxman (Black Box) and treasurer Lizzy Stone (Wiles + Taylor & Co). See a full list here.

ICYMI:

Steve Berman is vice chairman, Annie Lee is COO and Geoff Harris is CFO at the newly conjured Interscope Capitol Labels Group, encompassing Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Capitol, Blue Note, Priority, Verve and Motown … The Ivors Academy named Roberto Neri as its new CEO … Black Music Action Coalition co-founder Willie “Prophet” Stiggers (pictured) joined the founders board of the Neil Lasher Music Fund at Caron Treatment Centers … and Capitol Music Group co-president Arjun Pulijal stepped down after 11 years at the company.

Last Week’s Turntable: Luminate Focuses on Indie Retail

It’s time for another spindle around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Earlier this week, UMG announced a “strategic organizational redesign” that has so far resulted in several top executives — and many others — losing their jobs across the label group, though the scope of the headcount reduction is still unclear. Billboard’s Dan Rys is following closely here.
The Digital Media Association (DiMA) hired seasoned legal exec Colin Rushing to the newly crafted position of executive vp and general counsel at the music streaming trade group. Rushing previously spent nearly 14 years at SoundExchange, where he rose from senior counsel to chief legal officer during a consequential tenure —  his job was to lead rate-setting efforts before the Copyright Royalty Board — that made him a fixture on Billboard‘s annual list of top music lawyers. Since leaving SX in September 2021, he has taught at Belmont University and acted as director of the Copyright Society of the South.

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“[Rushing] brings all his invaluable expertise of US copyright law and a reputation for achieving consensus solutions,” said DiMA President and CEO Graham Davies. “Colin’s knowledge of the US licensing system combined with his passion for championing streaming will be hugely valuable. His appointment underlines our work on a global basis, where we seek maintain and develop environments that ensure our members can continue to innovate and contribute to the music growth success story.”

Meanwhile…

Kelly Rich exited her role as COO at Nashville-based Red Street Records. Rich initially joined Red Street as a consultant in 2022 and was named COO later that year. Rich previously served as country lead at Amazon Music. Rich’s career also includes time as Big Machine Label Group’s senior vp of sales, marketing and interactive, as well as time stints at UMG Nashville, DreamWorks, Arista Nashville, BMG and more. Elsewhere at Red Street, Sally Allgeier has been promoted to national director of country promotion, while Jess Loper has joined as vp of A&R and publishing for Red Street Christian. Loper previously served as vp of brand management for Toby Mac’s Gotee Records and Publishing. Amanda Roach also joins Red Street Records as manager of country A&R and Publishing. Roach was previously catalog manager and A&R coordinator at Warner Chappell Music. –Jessica Nicholson

Chris Muratore

Luminate, which feeds data to the Billboard charts, is turning to music analytics executive Chris Muratore to cement relations with the indie music retail sector ahead of the launch of its new data platform later this year. Muratore joined Luminate earlier this month as director of partnerships, with a clear focus on working with various stakeholders to ensure physical sales data collection is accurate. The 30-year industry veteran most recently co-founded Border City Media, the tech startup behind music consumption data tool BuzzAngle Music. Prior to Border City Media, Muratore spent 18 years in various executive roles at SoundScan/Nielsen Music, where he oversaw all data relationships and analytics for the company and, notably, was a trusted analytical source for countless media outlets including this one. Muratore is reachable at cmuratore@luminatedata.com. FYI: Luminate is an independently operated company owned by PME TopCo, a joint venture between Penski Media Corporation and Eldridge. Billboard is an independently operated company owned by PME Holdings, a subsidiary of PME TopCo.

Damaris Rex-Taylor has been promoted from general manager to managing director at RCA Records UK. Rex-Taylor joined the Sony Music UK label in 2019 as director of marketing before rising to GM two years later, and during her tenure has spearheaded various marketing and promotional strategies and led campaigns for Tyla, Travis Scott, Miley Cyrus and other roster artists. The recent Oxford grad has past stops at Chrysalis and Parlophone, and proudly moonlights as co-chair and a founding member of Sony Music UK’s Social Justice Fund supporting anti-racist initiatives. “We’re delighted for Damaris to step into her new role,” said Stacey Tang and Glyn Aikins, co-presidents of RCA UK. “She’s an innovative leader, holds a wealth of knowledge and has a tremendous understanding of creative strategy, instinctively knowing how best to support all our artists. Since joining RCA she’s shaped the incredible team we have, and we’re excited to see her take the label into a new era.”

Warner Music Nashville promoted Kristen Williams to senior vp of radio and commercial partnerships. Williams has helmed the radio division since 2010 but now will add the commercial partnerships team — which works on retail, catalog and direct-to-consumer efforts — to her dailies. WMN co-president Ben Kline said “this set-up positions us to work in a more sophisticated way while continuing to super serve our artist community and partners in this ever-changing, dynamic business environment.”

Jared Fox was promoted to senior vp across two divisions at SiriusXM: artist and industry relations, where he oversees talent bookings, and content marketing and partnerships, where he and his team manage and maintain relationships with existing talent partners. All told, Fox oversees a staff of over 40 at the satellite radio company. Recent wins on the artist relations front include Green Day rocking Irving Plaza and Maluma’s recent concert in Vegas ahead of the Super Bowl. As for partnerships, team Fox has a talent list that boasts Carrie Underwood, LL Cool J, Kelly Clarkson and more. Fox joined SiriusXM in 2013, following stints at Vevo, Atom Factory and Epic, and was most recently vp of artist and industry relations. He reports to Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer.

Meanwhile, SiriusXM president Scott Greenstein announced two big additions to its podcast leadership team this week. Sarah van Mosel, a former executive at Sirius subsidiary Stitcher, returns in the newly-created position of senior vp of podcast strategy. In this role, van Mosel will focus on podcast acquisitions and new talent development. Working closely with Sarah will be Adam Sachs, who’ll zero in on podcast programming and production as SiriusXM’s senior vp or podcast content. Colin Anderson stays on and will continue to report to Sachs, “making an all-star podcast production team,” said Greenstein, also SiriusXM’s chief content officer. “With this new team structure, we are now set up to take full advantage of the podcast opportunity ahead of us. I’m excited for what this team is capable of.”

Mom+Pop Music elevated Jackie Vanzura to director of digital, reporting to svp and head of digital Lindsay Schapiro. Vanzura joined the NYC-based indie label two years ago as a digital marketing manager leading strategy for roster artists, including SEB, Magdalena Bay and Odie Leigh. On tap for Vanzura is spearheading digital strategy for MGMT’s new album, Loss Of Life. Prior to Mom+Pop, Vanzura worked at WMA. “Jackie is a talented member of the Mom+Pop team,” said Schapiro. “Her creativity combined with her passion for music and her digital know-how contributes to our success. We are thrilled to see her growing into this new role.”

NASHVILLE NOTES: Hill Entertainment Group welcomed Machaela Nesler-Scibilia as analytics & digital coordinator and Gipson Clark as touring & operations coordinator, with both reporting to president and CEO Greg Hill … Trevor Provost is the new marketing manager at Severance Records, the recently launched rock label co-founded by Mike Easterlin and Steve “Stevo” Robertson as part of a joint venture with Big Loud Rock. Provost was previously in the management department at SMACKSongs … Three Riser House promotion executives were elevated to new positions. Jeff Davis rose to vp of promotion from East Coast regional promotion director, Roger Fregoso was upped to national director of promotion from senior director of West Coast, and Nathan Cruise climbed to senior regional director of promotion from Central regional promotion director.

Palm Tree Crew Management co-founders Myles Shear and Kygo welcomed Parker Aimers as the artist management division’s chief operating officer and head of artist management. Based in Miami’s Sunset Harbor, Aimers will focus on A&R, touring and digital opportunities across Palm Tree’s roster, including Griffin, Sam Feldt, Forester, Petey Martin and others. He joins Palm Tree from Toronto’s Northside Artists, where he worked extensively with Loud Luxury, Bebe Rexha and Kane Brown. Kygo’s Palm Tree umbrella includes this management arm, which works closely with Live Nation, and Palm Tree Records, a global joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment.

Round Room Live, which produces family shows like Blippi and the national tour of Shrek the Musical, hired Dina E. Meyers as svp of business development. In her new position, Meyers will be responsible for finding and securing fresh content and other revenue-making projects for the company. She joins Round Room Live after serving as head of new markets & business development for Lighthouse Immersive, the company behind the wildly popular “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibition. Prior to Lighthouse, she held roles at AEG Live and S2BN Entertainment, and she’ll continue to lead her own company, DEM Entertainment Consulting. “With her accomplishments ranging across innovative event production, key partnerships, sponsorship activations, and broad industry relationships, we’re excited to welcome Dina to the Round Room family,” said Round Room Live founder and co-president Stephen Shaw.

IDOL handed Mandy Freebairn the role of U.S. label and project manager as the European indie distributor works to rapidly develop its North American division. Based in New York, Freebairn will report to IDOL’s stateside general manager, Thomas Sharp Maxwell. Freebairn’s appointment coincides with the announcement of two North American label deals for the company, with Le Plan Recordings and Old Soul Music. She joins IDOL from Omnian Music Group, where she project managed releases from The Lemon Twigs, Widowspeak, Juan Wauters and others.

BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville announced a round of promotions and hirings. Dawn Ferris, who joined the company in 2010, was promoted to director of national promotion for Broken Bow Records. Ferris previously spent 12 years at Arista Records. Ellen (Mundy) Ford has been named manager of marketing, while Krista Hayes joins as manager of group strategy & syndication. Ford previously worked as a day-to-day manager for WORKS Entertainment and as the SE manager of radio promotion for Revival Music Group. Hayes comes to BBR from Cumulus Media, where she served three years as promotion and marketing director. –JN

James Fava joined global management company Three Six Zero as a partner. Fava will continue as director of his Australia-based management firm Intergalactic Fantastic Worldwide, where his artists include Dom Dolla, Anna Lunoe, Torren Foot and Airwolf. The partnership with Fava gives Three Six Zero an Aussie foothold to compliment its established offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. “James is a huge talent,” said Mark Gillespie, CEO and founder of Three Six Zero. “I am confident that his expertise will be a great asset for Three Six Zero as we continue to expand our business globally.”

London-based rights acquisition company Bella Figura Music hired Billy Millar as senior vp of creative and Chris Presland for the role of catalog project manager. Millar, formerly of BMG and Hipgnosis, will oversee global sync and creative opportunities for the company’s catalog, which includes David Gray’s label and albums. Presland, who arrives following an eight-year run at AWAL, will focus on delivering digital and vinyl reissue support for Gray’s recorded works. Since its launch a year ago, Bella Figura has made a number of high profile acquisitions from artists, writers and producers such as R3HAB, Jeff Silverman, Darrel Brown and Guy Chambers.

RADIO, RADIO: Bauer Media Audio UK appointed Robert D’Ovidio as its new director of music broadcast, on-demand and premium, effective immediately. He’ll work to build cross-brand partnerships and initiatives across Bauer brands and reports to chief content and music officer Ben Cooper … SBS chief financial officer José Molina has exited the Hispanic broadcaster. He first joined SBS in 2001 as director finance, eventually rising to svp of finance before leaving in 2015. After stomps at MundoMax and Univision, he returned to SBS as CFO in 2019.

Creator media company QYOU promoted Lexi St. John to evp of QYOU USA, Morgan Barclay to svp of strategy and Chris Smith to vp of QYOU Studios. QYOU Media USA promoted Kerri Ramgren to senior director of operations, Tim Isenberger to senior director of account management and planning, and Eric Frick to senior manager of business intelligence.

ICYMI:

Jeronimo Folgueira is out as CEO of music streaming service Deezer … Jay Beelin was promoted to vp of international touring at AEG … BMG elevated Marian Wolf to head up its massive North American publishing unit … and Paul Hourican announced he was leaving TikTok, where he served at global head of music operations.

Last Week’s Turntable: A Long Goodbye at A2IM