Executive Turntable
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Gary Gersh, president of global touring at AEG Presents, is leaving the concert promotion giant after eight years at the company, chairman Jay Marciano announced in a staff letter on Wednesday (Sept. 13). Rich Schaefer, currently the company’s senior vp of global touring, will step into Gersh’s role as president. “Gary played a vital role […]
Diddy is gearing up to release his first album in 13 years, The Love Album: Off the Grid, on Sept. 15.
While the music and business mogul is in album mode, his multiple interests continue to be overseen by a seasoned group of executives, including his management team at SALXCO. Read on to learn about the executives working behind-the-scenes at Combs Global, REVOLT TV & Media and more.
Nathalie Moar – Longtime Advisor and Communications Lead
Moar is a. global communication strategist who manages Diddy’s narrative and brand image across his multi-brand empire, as well as all of his various activations.
Che Pope – Head of Love Records
Pope’s experience in the music industry spans 25 years in both the creative and executive arenas of the music business. The Grammy-winning producer has collaborated with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Destiny’s Child, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, The Weeknd, Diddy and Kanye West.
Frankie Santella – Vice President of Music Management & Strategic Partnerships
Santella was first hired by Diddy as part of Bad Boy Management in New York City, where he was involved in cultural events such as Diddy’s 50th birthday celebration, 2013 attendance at Burning Man and collaborations with such companies as Nike, Ciroc, WWE and Live Nation. In 2020, Santella moved to Los Angeles to work at Combs Global.
Kristina Khorram – Chief of Staff to Sean “Diddy” Combs
Khorram works side by side daily with Diddy and spearheads many of his projects and events.
Deon Graham – Chief Brand Officer
Graham oversees brand presence, strategic marketing, growth and development for Diddy’s portfolio of companies.
Tarik A. Brooks – President
The seasoned executive, with over 22 years of experience, oversees all business operations and investments owned by Diddy.
Detavio Samuels – CEO of REVOLT TV & Media
Samuels leads all business efforts with a bicoastal team of young executives and creators, working to build the world’s largest Black-owned media company.
Jay Lundy – Senior VP of Investing & New Ventures
In his role, Lundy leads new ventures, investment diligence and business development strategy.
Dr. Steve Perry – Founder & Head of Capital Preparatory
Perry is an educator, bestselling author, and founder and head of schools at Capital Preparatory Schools. Since 2006, he has sent 100% of their predominantly low-income, minority and first-generation high school graduates to four-year colleges.
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WATCH: Diddy Talks About His New Album ‘The Love Album,’ New Record Label & More
Range Media Partners has launched a music publishing division and tapped Casey Robinson to lead it, the company announced Tuesday (Sept. 12).
Robinson arrives at Range Media from Hipgnosis Songs Group, where he served as executive vp of A&R and led the company’s pop division, working with artists and songwriters including Monsters & Strangerz, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Normani, Teddy Geiger, Imad Royal, Dan Wilson, Joe London and Steph Jones. He joined Hipgnosis following the company’s 2020 acquisition of Big Deal Music Group, where he served as co-president/partner. Robinson also previously worked as senior director at BMI, where he signed Imagine Dragons.
Other employees of Range’s new publishing division include director of A&R and publishing Sam Drake, director of A&R Federico Morris and manager and vp of A&R Jared Cotter. The division has already signed songwriter Geoff Warburton, known for his work with artists including Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Keith Urban and Elle King.
“Casey and the team believe there is a tremendous opportunity to launch a boutique publishing company inside of the Range ecosystem,” said Range Music founding partner/Range Media Partners co-founder Matt Graham in a statement. “The connectivity to our management roster, label, film/TV relationships and music supervisors provide a fertile ground for developing writers and producers … His experience as a builder at Big Deal and Hipgnosis is essential to getting our strategy and culture honed to ensure maximum opportunity for our talent. We couldn’t be more excited about what we can create together.”
Added Robinson, “I’m thrilled to be joining the creative team at Range. Since the company’s creation just a few years ago, I’ve admired its spirit, culture and dynamic growth. Range’s curated approach to identifying and fostering talent across genres will serve as a blueprint for how we build the publishing company, which will be dedicated to long-term career growth for both artists and writers.”
Launched in September 2020, Range Media is led by managing partners Graham, Jack Minihan, Tyler Henry, Melissa Ruderman, Chris Thomas, Evan Winiker, Cory Litwin and Shawn McSpadden, as well as partners Michele Harrison, Greg Johnson, Rachel Douglas, Ace Christian and Joel Zimmerman.
The Digital Media Association (DiMA), the trade group representing digital music streaming services, has tapped Graham Davies, CEO of U.K. songwriters advocacy group The Ivors Academy, to become its next president and CEO beginning this fall. “Graham has long championed initiatives that bring the music industry together through collaborative discussion and action,” DiMA’s board of directors said […]
The Recording Academy has promoted Todd Dupler to chief advocacy & public policy officer, effective immediately. In his role, Dupler oversees the advocacy division focused on championing creators’ rights and elevating policy issues that stand to affect the music community. He also orchestrates cross-departmental efforts to advance the overall advocacy goals of the Recording Academy […]
If it’s Friday that means another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music industry.
European indie labels body IMPALA unveiled a new board for the upcoming two-year term, with Francesca Trainini of Italian national association PMI elected president and Dario Draštata of Balkan regional association RUNDA tapped as new chair. Everlasting Records CEO Mark Kitcatt stepped down as president, but will continue as a board member and chair of IMPALA’s streaming reform group. Standing pat is Geert De Blaere of Belgium’s BIMA as treasurer and Helen Smith as executive chair. At the Vienna WAVES Festival and Conference, the trade body also reviewed its priorities for the new term, including a focus on streaming reform, artificial intelligence and growth in Central Eastern Europe. “The Central and Eastern European region is a huge market with amazing talent and I am excited to be able to chair IMPALA with the huge opportunities we have across streaming and the whole market,” said Draštata, whose RUNDA supports former Yugoslavia nations. For more information on the membership makeup and structure of IMPALA, click here.
Curb/Word Music Publishing promoted and added staff in its country music publishing department. Sarah Schumacher has been promoted to senior creative director, country publishing, while Calista Miller has joined the team as creative coordinator, country publishing. Schumacher previously worked at Disney Music Group and Darkhorse Music Management, before initially joining Curb/Word Music Publishing in 2021 as creative director of country publishing. Schumacher’s responsibilities include managing creative operations of the country songwriter roster and catalog, recently signing writer/producer Alex Kline into the Curb | Word Music Publishing family. Miller is a recent 2022 graduate of Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and previously interned for Curb/Word Music Publishing’s country team. Miller’s primary responsibilities include coordinating and facilitating strategic writing sessions for the country writer roster, managing social media strategy for the department, and assisting in pitching/placing writer catalog, in addition to catalog administration duties. –Jessica Nicholson
Music B2B company Revelator hired Luciana Pegorer and Arturo Soler to co-pilot the firm’s expansion into the booming indie Latin American market. Formerly of Warner Music Brazil, Pegorer will lead Revelator’s Brazilian office, while music industry veteran Soler will lead the company’s LATAM office out of Mexico. “Revelator has always operated globally but we saw that to serve the fast-changing Latin American market, we needed highly qualified, creative professionals with deep relationships, who were natives to the local market” notes Revelator founder and CEO Bruno Guez. “We found them in Luciana and Arturo.”
NPR president and CEO John Lansing announced he’ll retire at the end of the year after a four-year tenure that involved navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent budget crunch. He’ll remain in place until NPR’s board of directors identifies his replacement, the public radio giant said. “We are all immensely grateful to John for his principled and tenacious leadership through a turbulent time for NPR, our system and our nation,” said NPR board chair Jeff Sine. Prior to joining NPR, Lansing was the CEO of USAGM, overseeing several global networks including Voice of America.
ICYMI: Timothy Xu is the new chairman and CEO of Universal Music Greater China … Julie Keiko Fujishima announced she was stepping down as president of talent agency Johnny & Associates … Elliot Grainge is joining Warner Music’s global leadership team … and this week saw the passing of Clive Davis’ righthand man at Arista, Elliot Goldman.
Australasian collecting society APRA AMCOS promoted Jonathan Carter from head of legal & corporate services to chief operating officer. Carter is a 15-year veteran of the rights group and scored his current position in 2016. In his spare time, he sits on the Global Legal & Policy Committee of CISAC and was previously president of the Copyright Society of Australia. “Given our growth, size and strategic ambition, we need to look at how we’re going to operationalise and drive our strategic plan across the company, and similarly ensure we’re taking a holistic view in mitigating risk,” said Dean Ormston, Chief Executive APRA AMCOS. “Jonathan will be critical in helping us collectively drive forward on our strategic plan.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology not only has a music department, but it just hired its first-ever professor Jazz. Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón has joined the MIT faculty. “MIT is an incredible school with top-tier students and a creative and open-minded aesthetic,” says Zenón. “I’m extremely excited and honored to become part of the MIT family.”
Last Week’s Turntable: Former Asylum Co-President Joins Hitmaker
If it’s Friday that means another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music industry.
Gabrielle Peluso joined Hitmaker Distro / Hitmaker Music Group as general manager, overseeing distribution, artist development strategy and day-to-day operations for the Tony Bucher-founded music company. The 2017 and 2022 Billboard Women in Music honoree previously served as co-president of the re-launched Asylum Records, where she built up a roster that included Seddy Hendrinx, Ken the Man, Jay Loud and Detroit rapper Sada Baby. Prior to that she was vp of urban music at eOne Music, and before that a senior partner at the Kevin Liles-led KWL Enterprises. But for the first 15 years of her industry career, the NYC-based Peluso worked at Def Jam, where she rose to general manager and guided campaigns for a superstar roster that included Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Frank Ocean, among others. “Her years of experience inside the major label system, to her most recent years navigating the indie space, has made her a perfect fit for this role,” said Bucher. You can reach her at Gabrielle.peluso@hitmakerdistro.com.
Virgin Music Group hired Olukorede “Kay” Ikazoboh to lead the Universal-owned artist and label services company’s expansion into Nigeria. Ikazoboh will oversee Virgin’s operations in the region from the company’s new office in Lagos. As an artist manager, Kay has worked with such artists as Odunsi the Engine and Mowalola, and she previously held several roles working in emerging markets for Warner Music Group. “Kay is known throughout Nigeria as a champion of independent labels and artist development, said Michael Roe, managing director of Virgin Music International. “Her relationships, expertise and insight into the local market make her the perfect executive to lead our operations in this very important music market.” Virgin has had a presence on the continent since the 2021 acquisition of South African indie distributor Electromde, and last year the company launched a dedicated label services division there with more than 50 label partners.
Joel Klaiman
Music industry mainstay Joel Klaiman officially cut the ribbon on ASCEND4M, his new multi-discipline agency focusing on music, media, marketing and management, in addition to a record label. ASCEND4M’s roster already includes pop band North Star Boys, singing sisters Sorelle and singer-songwriter Casey Baer. Klaiman most recently served as president of HitCo Entertainment, the label launched by Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Charles Goldstuck in 2018 and sold to Concord last year. During its short life, HitCo was home to Big Boi, Dinah Jane, Saint JHN and Yella Beezy, among other artists. Prior to HitCo, Klaiman was a repeat Power 100 list honoree during a six-year run as executive vp and general manager at Columbia Records, where he was responsible for overseeing the label’s marketing, digital marketing, promotion, publicity, branding, sync licensing, video production and content development departments. Prior to Columbia, Klaiman was evp of promotion and artist development at Republic Records for six years, working with such unknowns as Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Amy Winehouse.
UMG Nashville promoted Vipin Reddy to vp of streaming. Reddy, who has been part of the label group’s streaming team since 2018, will now lead the department, overseeing DSP relationships, as well as global audio and video streaming strategy for all UMGN artists. Prior to joining UMGN, Reddy was part of the UMG global streaming marketing team; most recently, he was point on UMGN artist strategy with Apple Music and Pandora. “From the day he joined the company, Vipin has been an integral part of the streaming team,” UMGN evp/COO Mike Harris said. “His deep knowledge of the streaming business has been vital to UMG Nashville’s success.” –Jessica Nicholson
Following the news that Anya Grundmann will step down as senior vp of programming by year’s end, NPR announced this week the unification of its content divisions under one roof. At the top of this structure will be a chief content officer, who’ll oversee all of NPR’s editorial and content operations. Edith Chapin, the public radio giant’s svp of news, will be interim CCO until an executive search can be wrapped. Reporting to the CCO will be vp of visuals and music Keith Jenkins, vp of content (cultural programming) Yolanda Sangweni and vp of content operations Sharahn Thomas, among others. NPR CEO John Lansing said in a staff memo that there will be “no addition or subtraction to headcount” with the implementation of the new structure.
Gibson promoted Mat Koehler to vice president of product — an expansion of his previous duties as head of product development that adds instruments and sound to his remit. That means he’ll be leading research, design and product development for amplifiers and effects across all Gibson family brands, including, Mesa Boogie, Maestro and KRK. Gibson Brands president and CEO Cesar Gueikian called Koehler, who hails from Les Paul’s hometown of Waukesha, Wisconsin, an “extraordinary custodian of our iconic past” and a “steward of our future.”
Danny Wimmer Presents, the leading independent promoter behind Bourbon & Beyond, Aftershock and other festivals, added a crop of new hires as it looks to build on 12 years of growth. Elizabeth Harsh is DWP’s new evp of brand and experience, following more than 17 years working at brands like Ticketmaster, MySpace and Disney. Johnny Firecloud, formerly of Crave and StackCommerce, assumes the role of director of digital communications. Anson Li joined DWP as the director of insights after a successful new customer campaign at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Britten Stephenson, with a dozen years of industry experience, is the guest services manager. “These new additions will undoubtedly enrich DWP’s journey,” the company said, “furthering its dedication to curating exceptional live event experiences and building even deeper connections with fans everywhere.”
ICYMI: UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin is stepping down after three years at the helm of the British music industry trade body to become director of strategy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak … Jenn Yacoubian and Stacy Vee were appointed executive vps at Goldenvoice … Venue Coalition has hired veteran entertainment executive Steve Kirsner as vp of booking … and WMG employees have been summoned back to the office.
Range Media Partners‘ music division hired Nashville-based execs William Lowery and Shawn McSpadden. In his new role as svp, Lowery will focus on business development ventures and content opportunities. McSpadden, who joins as managing partner, will focus on growing the music division, talent roster and shared services department. Range Media works with country artists including Midland, Hailey Whitters, Stephen Wilson Jr., Ryan Bingham, Drayton Farley and Brent Cobb. McSpadden was a founding manager at Red Light Management Nashville, where for 17 years he oversaw music publishing, outside business ventures, and managed artists across multiple genres. Lowery previously launched the venture advisory firm Brigade Media Capital. Prior to forming Brigade, Lowery was a senior executive at Endeavor Content, where he ran its faith-based division and identified music and content crossover opportunities. –JR
German live promoter DEAG added a co-CEO to its leadership structure. Going forward, founder and CEO Peter L. H. Schwenkow will share duties with Detlef Kornett, who’ll continue to oversee international business affairs at the firm. Additionally, David Reinecke will take over as chief financial officer from Roman Velke, how is departing after five years in the role.
Nashville Notes: Former Billboard editor and writer Phyllis Stark joined country radio trade Country Aircheck in the newly created role of executive radio editor. She was most recently Nashville bureau chief at the now-defunct All Access, and her byline has been seen on Rare Country, Close Up, Radio-Info.com and MSN.com, among others. She’s at phyllis@countryaircheck.com … Amanda Cates left her position as head of artist services at Maverick Nashville, an artist management and artist services firm … Megan Youngblood is MCA Nashville‘s new director of promotion for the west coast. Staying in the UMG fam, she was most recently the west coast regional rep for Capitol Records Nashville.
Last Week’s Turntable: BMG’s New Legal Affairs Chief and a UMG Nashville Twofer
UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has announced he is stepping down after three years at the helm of the British music industry trade body to become director of strategy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
A date has yet to be announced for Njoku-Goodwin’s exit from the organization, although it is expected to take place imminently. UK Music Deputy chief executive Tom Kiehl will take over from Njoku-Goodwin while the search for a new CEO is underway.
Njoku-Goodwin took over as CEO of UK Music in September 2020, succeeding Michael Dugher. Prior to joining the London-based organization, Njoku-Goodwin worked in politics, serving as a special adviser to former cabinet minister Matt Hancock and the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The first two years of Njoku-Goodwin’s time at UK Music, which represents all sectors of the United Kingdom’s music industry, coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and saw him campaign for government funding to help prop up the business at a time of national lockdowns and the shutdown of live shows.
In conjunction with other music trade groups, UK Music also lobbied the government to remove barriers to touring in Europe brought about by the country’s exit from the European Union. Those barriers — many of which still exist — include new restrictions for U.K. artists and crews entering Europe (and vice versa for European acts playing the United Kingdom) and increased production costs due to cabotage, carnets, visa and work permit charges.
A recent focus for UK Music has been ensuring that creators and rights holders receive effective protection from artificial intelligence’s (AI) transformative impact on the industry.
Last year, Njoku-Goodwin strongly criticized what he referred to as “dangerous and damaging” plans by the British government allowing AI developers to freely use copyright-protected works, including music, to train their systems without the need for creators and rights holders to provide permission.
Speaking out against the proposals, which were met with a fierce backlash from across the music and creative industries, Njoku-Goodwin — who sits on the board of the London Philharmonic Orchestra — said they “would give the green light to music laundering.”
After further consultation with representatives of the music and media industries, the government announced that it was shelving the proposed text and data mining exceptions in February.
Other issues that UK Music has campaigned for in the past three years include music education and improving diversity and inclusion throughout the industry. The organization has also continued to regularly produce reports on the health of the U.K. music business, including last month’s “Here, There and Everywhere” assessment of the country’s live sector.
“The U.K. music industry is one of this country’s great national assets, and it’s been a privilege to represent it for the past three years,” said Njoku-Goodwin in a statement announcing his departure. “I’m delighted our sector is in much better shape now to take on the challenges and opportunities it faces in the future.”
Paying tribute, UK Music chairman Lord Watson said Njoku-Goodwin had “played a key role” in helping the industry get back on its feet after the struggles of the pandemic and called him “a passionate advocate for our sector.”
Accomplished talent buyers and entertainment executives Jenn Yacoubian and Stacy Vee have been appointed executive vps at Goldenvoice, the AEG Presents-owned concert and festival promoter behind marquee events like Coachella, Stagecoach, Just Like Heaven and more. Vee and Yacoubian will oversee the booking department, headquartered at Goldenvoice’s offices in Los Angeles, while continuing to act […]
Entertainment consulting company Venue Coalition has hired veteran entertainment executive Steve Kirsner as vp of booking. In his new role, Kirsner will focus on servicing the company’s 150+ member venues across North America, assisting them with national and regional booking as well as doing advocacy work for the national touring industry. The addition of Kirsner […]