Executive Turntable
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Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”
Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him.
“I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financial healthy place,” Musk said when asked about when he’d name a CEO. “I’m guessing probably toward the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company.”
It remains unclear how seriously Musk will take that timeline. His comment came only hours after he posted images of his shiba inu dog, Floki, on Twitter as the company’s “CEO.”
“So much better than that other guy!” wrote Musk, who often posts memes. After making the posts, a cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin, based around the image of a shiba inu meme, rose in value by around 5%. Musk previously has suggested Twitter accept Dogecoin in transactions.
Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla. In recent months, however, more attention has been focused on the chaos surrounding his $44 billion purchase of the microblogging site Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military’s use of Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink as it defends itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion has put Musk off and on at the center of the war.
Musk offered a wide-ranging 35-minute discussion that touched on the billionaire’s fears about artificial intelligence, the collapse of civilization and the possibility of space aliens. But questions about Twitter kept coming back up as Musk described both Tesla and SpaceX as able to function without his direct, day-to-day involvement.
“Twitter is still somewhat a startup in reverse,” he said. “There’s work required here to get Twitter to sort of a stable position and to really build the engine of software engineering.”
Musk also sought to portray his takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter as a cultural correction. Since taking over the company, he’s restored Donald Trump’s access to the platform after the then-president lost access to the website after a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Musk also reinstated the accounts of several people who spread misinformation about the coronavirus, including that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
“I think that the general idea is just to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of essentially San Francisco and Berkeley, which are so somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world,” Musk said. “And, you know, Twitter was, I think, doing a little too much to impose a niche.”
Musk’s takeover at Twitter has seen mass firings and other cost-cutting measures. Musk, who is on the hook for about $1 billion in yearly interest payments for his purchase, has been trying to find way to maximize profits at the company.
However, some of Musk’s decisions have conflicted with the reasons that journalists, governments and others rely on Twitter as an information-sharing platform.
Musk on Wednesday described the need for users to rely on Twitter for trusted information from verified accounts. However, a confused rollout to a paid verified account system saw some impersonate famous companies, leading to a further withdrawal of needed advertising cash to the site.
“Twitter is certainly quite the rollercoaster,” Musk acknowledged.
Forbes estimates Musk’s wealth at just under $200 billion. The Forbes analysis ranks Musk as the second-wealthiest person on Earth, just behind French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault.
But Musk also has become a thought leader for some as well, albeit an oracle that is trying to get six hours of sleep a night despite the challenges at Twitter.
Musk described his children as being “programmed by Reddit and YouTube.” However, he criticized the Chinese-made social media app TikTok.
‘“TikTok has a lot of very high usage (but) I often hear people say, ‘Well, I spent two hours on TikTok, but I regret those two hours,’” Musk said. “We don’t want that to be the case with Twitter.”
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk warned that artificial intelligence should be regulated “very carefully,” describing it as akin to the promise of nuclear power but the danger of atomic bombs. He also cautioned against having a single civilization or “too much cooperation” on Earth, saying it could “collapse” a society that’s like a “tiny candle in a vast darkness.”
And when asked about the existence of aliens, Musk had a firm response.
“The crazy thing is, I’ve seen no evidence of alien technology or alien life whatsoever. And I think I’d know because of SpaceX,” he said. “I don’t think anybody knows more about space, you know, than me.”
Allegra Willis Knerr was promoted to executive vp of global synch licensing at BMG, where she will manage the company’s synch licensing teams across the globe. The Los Angeles-based executive was previously senior vp of global synch licensing, a role she was elevated to last year. She’ll continue reporting to BMG chief content officer Dominique Casimir.
Willis Knerr can be reached at Allegra.Willis.knerr@bmg.com.
Dan Wall joined Live Nation Entertainment as executive vp of corporate and regulatory affairs. Wall has been a key advisor to the company for more than 12 years, previously offering guidance as lead outside counsel as a partner at law firm Latham & Watkins.
Kok-Siew Yeo was named managing director of Warner Music Taiwan. He will oversee Warner Music’s operation in Taiwan and work to strengthen the company’s position as an important player in the global Mandopop industry. Kok-Siew joins the company from Meta, where he served as creator partnerships lead. Based in Taipei, Kok-Siew will report to Warner Music Asia co-presidents Chris Gobalakrishna and Jonathan Serbin.
Vinit Thakkar was named managing director at Sony Music Entertainment in India. He joins the company from Universal Music India, where he served as COO of India and South Asia. (Via afaqs!)
Lou Al-Chamaa was named senior vp/head of A&R publishing at Avex USA. He arrives at the company following six years at Sony Music Publishing, where he served as vp of A&R.
Jennifer Hills and Sarah Desmond were promoted to co-managing directors of Universal Music UK’s brand partnerships and synch division Globe. Both were previously senior vps. Reporting to Hills and Desmond will be Adam Soffe, who is returning to Globe as vp/head of synch, creative, as well as Neil Mulford, who has been promoted to vp/head of synch, licensing.
Vickie Nauman, founder/CEO of music tech consulting company CrossBorderWorks, joined the advisory board of Barcelona-based Web3 music company KLOOV. The company works on digital collectibles, experiences and NFTs.
Nina Musolino joined Page 1 Management as a manager out of the company’s Nashville office. She will work closely with senior director Danielle Middleton in New York as she signs and manages talent. Musolino reports to Page 1 founder and CEO Ashley Page. She was most recently a publisher and artist manager at Forward Music in Nashville. Musolino can be reached at nina@page1management.com.
Jay Cruze was hired as director of Southeast promotion and marketing at Big Machine Records out of Nashville. Cruze succeeds Jeff Davis, who retired last year. He most recently worked at iHeartMedia, where he helped develop and implement national programming for the company’s country platforms. Cruze can be reached at Jay.Cruze@bmlg.net.
Concord CEO Scott Pascucci is stepping down effective June 30 after helming the fifth biggest music company for a decade. Bob Valentine, who ascended to president in 2021 from CFO, will become Concord’s new CEO.
Additionally, Concord’s chief label officer Tom Whalley will also vacate his role but will continue to be involved as founder of Loma Vista Recordings, his joint venture with Concord. Pascucci, who remains on Concord’s board of directors, and Whalley will be inaugural members of Concord’s new advisory board.
“I started my career in the music business 30-plus years ago for the simple reason that I love music, and I discovered along the way that I enjoy building businesses and leading teams of people,” said Pascucci in a statement. “Thanks to [Wood Creek founding partner] Brett Hellerman, I was given the opportunity to do all of those things at Concord. In 10 years, we have built a company that matters in the music industry, a place that cares about its employees, artists and writers, and that is well-positioned for the future. I am proud of all that we have accomplished. I look forward to continuing on the board of directors, to help guide the company forward under Bob’s leadership, while also having more time to focus on my interests in film and social impact initiatives.”
(Wood Creek Capital Management bought Concord from Village Roadshow in 2013. Concord is now a private company funded by institutional capital and Concord’s management team.)
Pascucci’s announcement comes several weeks after Concord launched Concord Music Royalties, LLC Series 2022-1, a $1.8 billion asset-backed security that will allow further growth through funding reserve accounts, paying down debt and other uses.
“It positions us beautifully for the future,” Pascucci tells Billboard of the security. “It has given us significant additional capital for growth while also dramatically broadening the base of institutional lenders who are now familiar with the company.”
The succession plan has been in the works since 2019. “An orderly succession in key positions is critical to the stability and future growth of the company, as evidenced by the smooth transition from Jake Wisely to Jim Selby as chief publishing executive a few years ago,” Pascucci continues. “ My decision to move out of the CEO position and to stay on the board was made over 2 years ago, at which time Bob moved into the role of president.”
Bob Valentine
Elena Goss/Courtesy of Concord
“Scott has made the transition from CFO to president remarkably smooth and easy,” Valentine says. “As CFO I was used to a particular flow of helping to finance our acquisitions and new productions; in stepping into the president’s role, I needed to get into the rhythm of the creative process outside of a purely financial lens. Scott’s extraordinarily patient, and he’s made sure to loop me in on some of the many day-to-day things that I wouldn’t have been in the middle of as CFO. Also, the senior team, most of whom are in Nashville, work very closely with each other. That makes a transition like this easier than they tend to be for a company.”
Valentine’s history with the company precedes Pascucci’s. He joined Norman Lear’s ACT III Communications in 1999 when it acquired Concord Records. He left in 2001 but returned in 2005 as CFO.
“I have had the privilege of helping to build Concord into the company that it is today ever since Norman Lear and his business partner Hal Gaba had the extraordinary foresight to buy a small, independent jazz record label in the same year that Napster was invented,” Valentine said in a statement. “The journey since then has been scary, thrilling, surprising, and incredibly rewarding.”
Valentine tells Billboard that Concord will proceed on its current path. “We’ll continue to focus on our core mission: to champion artists, elevate voices and impact culture. We can’t do any one of those without the other two. At the heart of everything we do is artistry; it’s our job to identify it, elevate it, and ultimately impact culture with it,” he says. That has been and will continue to be true for everything we focus on, whether it’s furthering our frontline label division’s breadth and depth, acquiring iconic songs and recordings, signing new and exciting songwriters, or licensing and co-producing theatrical works. I’m also excited about our Concord Originals segment, which aims to develop and adapt some of our music and theatrically based works (past and present) for film and television.”
Concord’s catalog consists of more than one million songs, composed works, plays, musicals and active recordings and includes works from Phil Collins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty, Daft Punk, Miles Davis, Danny Elfman, Evanescence, The Fania All-Stars, Genesis, Imagine Dragons, Isaac Hayes, James Taylor, Jewel, Joan Sebastian, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, Cyndi Lauper, Little Richard, Nikki Six, Otis Redding, R.E.M., Rodgers & Hammerstein, Pete Seeger, St. Vincent, Taking Back Sunday, Ryan Tedder, The Traveling Wilburys, The Vince Guaraldi Trio and Hans Zimmer.
Headquartered in Nashville, Concord has additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne and Miami. Concord also has staff in Auckland, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.
As chief label officer, Whalley oversees frontline imprints Fantasy Records, Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Rounder Records, Loma Vista Recordings, Easy Eye Sound, KIDZ BOP and Fearless Records.
“In 2014, I found a great partnership with Scott Pascucci and Concord,” says Whalley, who co-founded Interscope Records and was Warner Bros. Records chairman/CEO from 2001 to 2010. “That partnership helped build a very important independent label, Loma Vista Recordings. It has been an added bonus to serve as the chief label officer for frontline labels at Concord. I am very proud of what we have accomplished.”
Following Whalley’s departure, Concord will create a new role that will oversee the entire recorded music division, including frontline and catalog operations.
The new advisory board, which will be unveiled this fall, will also include Wisely, as well as other members from allied fields, such as music, film, theater and technology. It will act as a resource for best practices and new business opportunities for Concord.
Pascucci’s news comes a week after the announcement that Hartwig Masuch, CEO of BMG, the fourth biggest music company, is leaving at the end of the year after 15 years at the company. He will be replaced by BMG CFO Thomas Coesfeld.
Warner Music Group adds another YouTube veteran to its executive leadership team with the hiring of Ariel Bardin as the label’s first president of technology. In his new position, Bardin will head tech and data teams tasked with creating new systems and products to “support the next phase of WMG’s global growth,” the company said on Tuesday (Feb. 7).
The New York-based Bardin will report to his former Google colleague Robert Kyncl, who officially became CEO of WMG on Feb. 1 following the departure of longtime chief Stephen Cooper.
“Ariel understands how technology can serve creativity to have real, long-lasting cultural and commercial impact,” Kyncyl said. “He has a tremendous appreciation for artistry, deep technical expertise, and a proven track record in execution at the highest level. We’re fortunate to welcome him to our team.”
Bardin spent 16 years at Google, where as vp of product management he helped build, launch and grow some of the company’s household-name products, including Google AdWords and Google Payments. For YouTube, he is credited with leading teams working on various creator-centric products as well as its Content ID system, which finds and monetizes user-uploaded videos for rights owners. In the fall of 2021, Bardin joined software company Celonis as its chief product officer.
“I had the pleasure of working with Robert during our time together at Google, where I especially enjoyed our work empowering and equipping YouTube creators,” Bardin said. “WMG is entering an exciting new era under his leadership, and I’m looking forward to joining him and the rest of the company on a mission to provide the highest level of service to the company’s artists, songwriters, and teams.”
The appointment of a newly created president role arrives two days before WMG will announce financial results for its first quarter — along with its first earnings call with Kyncyl at the helm.
Billboard elevates key employees Shira Brown and Sara Katzki, who are named as vice presidents of the music industry title.
Brown, previously associate vice president of video strategy and development, rises to vp of video at Billboard. In her new position, Brown will be responsible for maintaining and improving production quality, while growing the video business, and expanding the venerated title’s revenue streams to include e-commerce, archival licensing and show IP development.
Additionally, she will play a central role in Billboard’s live and event video content.
A Billboard veteran of seven years. Brown had previously led content strategy and partnerships for Larry King Now and Ora TV, and has accumulated upwards of 15 years’ experience in the video space.
Katzki, meanwhile, is the ex-senior director of project management at Billboard. Moving forward, she will serve as vp of Brand Studio, with duties for overseeing ideation, development, and execution of multi-faceted custom concepts for partners across live events, video, social and talent-based programs for all branded content.
A Penske Media Corporation (PMC) stalwart for almost a decade, Katzki has overseen music and brand project management for clients including Honda, Samsung, Amazon, American Express, Google, Diageo and more.
“It’s a privilege to be able to promote two very talented team members who continue to make massive contributions to your brand, culture, and business,” says Mike Van, president of Billboard, in a statement issued Tuesday (Feb. 7) by the trade title’s parent company Penske Media Corporation.
Brown and Katzki “are the best at what they do,” says Dana Droppo, chief brand officer at Billboard, “and it is an honor to be able to acknowledge their hard work publicly.”
The promotions follow the June 2022 appointments of Van and Droppo to their new roles at Billboard.
LiveCo, a new concert promotion company that combines BASE Entertainment, Premier Productions, Icon Concerts, Rush Concerts and Peachtree Entertainment, launched with a team that includes Brian Becker and Mark Maluso (BASE Entertainment), Michael Pugh and Shane Quick (Premier Productions), Paul Meloche (Icon Concerts), Jacob Reiser (Rush Concerts) and Bradley Jordan (Peachtree Entertainment). “Designed to help expand the live entertainment industry,” according to a press release, LiveCo represents talent and productions including Jimmy O. Yang, Criss Angel, Cocomelon Live, Cody Johnson, Jo Koy, Dude Perfect, Zach Bryan, MercyMe, Elevation Worship and Gabriel Iglesias.
BMI announced several key promotions within its creative team. Rafael Martinez and John Ellwood were appointed to the newly created roles of vp of strategy and business affairs, creative and assistant vp of strategy and business affairs, creative, respectively. Reema Iqbal was named executive director of creative, film, TV & visual media. LuAnn Davidson was promoted to executive director of creative administration. Nina Carter was promoted to senior director of creative, partnerships & events. Jon Miller was named director of creative, Europe. Lastly, Katie Kilgallen and Reginald Stewart were both promoted to director of creative. Ellwood can be reached at jellwood@bmi.com, Iqbal can be reached at riqbal@bmi.com, Carter can be reached at ncarter@bmi.comm, Miller can be reached at jmiller@bmi.com and Kilgallen can be reached at kkilgallen@bmi.com.
Todd Moscowitz‘s Santa Anna label appointed Dave Anderson as GM and Carlos “Los” Orgando as vp of promotion. Anderson, who previously served in vp of commerce roles at Geffen and Warner Records, will oversee Santa Anna’s marketing, promotion and digital teams. Orgando, who will assist the label in developing and executing its promotion strategy across several formats, previously held the vp of promotion role at both Geffen and Warner Records. Elsewhere, Derek Lee added the title of CFO of Santa Anna to his existing title of senior vp & CFO at Moscowitz’s Alamo Records.
William “Andy” Anderson was promoted to chief revenue officer at American Urban Radio Networks (AURN); he was previously president of sales. In the role, Anderson will help maximize revenue opportunities, product acquisitions and original content creations for the company. Anderson previously served as director of urban/Canadian advertising at Billboard. (via Radio Facts)
Markus Holzherr was appointed to the newly created role of chief business officer at Warner Music Central Europe. In his new role, Holzherr will oversee the finance, new business, research & analytics and legal departments. He comes from DFB GmbH & Co. KG, where he served as managing director of finance and controlling.
Rob Gross was hired as senior vp of label services at The Syndicate. In the newly-created role, Gross will provide full-scale project management for album releases and sales for all aspects of the company’s services in radio, marketing and PR. Most recently a partner at Shark Attack, he brings clients Warner/Rhino Records and Dine Alone Records to The Syndicate. Gross can be reached at gross@thesyn.com.
Fresh N Sassy Productions CEO/founder Janishia Jones launched ENCORE Music Tech Solutions, a music tech consultancy that signed EMPIRE Publishing as its first client. Under that deal, ENCORE will work with EMPIRE Publishing to scale and improve the publisher’s performance across royalty payment, reporting, synch and other complex systems. ENCORE has already “helped create crucial systems” for EMPIRE Publishing including solutions to better manage agreements, financial accounts and copyrights, according to a press release. Jones can be reached at Info@encoremusic.tech.
Liberty Wilson was promoted to vp of international marketing at Warner Music UK, advancing from her previous role of international marketing director. She’ll continue reporting to the label’s senior vp of international marketing, Victor Aroldoss.
Human Re Sources hired Junko Takeda as vp. Based in Los Angeles, Takeda will oversee day-to-day label relations of Human Re Sources’ Los Angeles and Atlanta operations and continue building the company’s roster of artist clients with support from The Orchard. Takeda most recently served as head of A&R operations at Warner Chappell Music.
The National Independent Venue Foundation (NIVF) appointed Carl Atiya Swanson as executive director. In the role, Swanson will play a key role in “expanding and solidifying NIVF’s programmatic vision,” according to a press release, collaborating with the executive leadership of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and NIVF “to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live performance venues, festivals and promoters throughout the U.S.” He will work to strengthen the independent venue sector via economic development initiatives and workforce development programs while managing critical services including emergency relief funding. Swanson was previously associate director at Springboard for the Arts.
Jacee Badeaux and Halle Bartlett were promoted to senior creative director of A&R and coordinator of A&R, respectively, at Big Yellow Dog Music. In his new role, Badeaux will continue to curate activity for the company’s writers, artists and producers; he was previously creative director. Bartlett, who was previously creative assistant, will be responsible for calendar management, writer coordination, song pitching and social media for Big Yellow Dog songwriters. Badeaux can be reached at Jacee@bigyellowdogmusic.com and Bartlett can be reached at halle@bigyellowdogmusic.com.
Stephanie McGuire was appointed senior A&R international at CTM Publishing. She will continue to guide CTM’s composers, authors and producers while also focusing on fostering more international collaborations and createingmore overseas opportunities for the company’s roster. McGuire can be reached at Stephanie.mcguire@ctm.nl.
John Page joined Oak View Group (OVG) as senior vp of Acrisure Arena, the Coachella Valley Firebirds and OVG360 Facilities. In the role, he will oversee the management and oversight of all three entities. Based in Palm Springs, Page reports to Coachella Valley Firebirds president Tod Leiweke, OVG business development president Francesca Bodie and OVG360 president Chris Granger. Prior to joining OVG, he served as president of Spectra, which OVG acquired in November 2021.
Nashville’s Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) announced the newly elected members to its 2023 board of directors: President Erin Pettit (Wiles + Taylor), vp Rio Van Risseghem (The Orchard), secretary Jenna Smith (SESAC) and treasurer Ryan Cunningham (ONErpm). Additionally, Grayson Flatness (Sounds Good) was named alumni president of the SOLID Alumni Board.
Hyperreal — the tech company that develops “digital twins” for artists and other creators, allowing them to control their digital identities in the metaverse and beyond — named Scot Barbour chief technology officer and Tim Coleman vp of digital humans. Meanwhile, the company’s chief innovation officer, Sergi Sagas, joined the Hyperreal board of directors. Barbour, who was previously head of production and digital DNA acquisition, will drive the company’s technology roadmap and partnerships and supervise physical and virtual production for Hyperreal. Coleman, who joined Hyperreal in 2020, will head up the effort to build the company’s “highly-detailed, performance ready, photoreal digital avatars known as ‘HyperModels,’” according to a press release.
WME’s music department has promoted seven to partner and 12 to agent across its global offices in Beverly Hills, New York, Nashville, London and Sydney.
Agents recently promoted to partner are: Dave Bradley (co-head of WME’s pop division based in London, with clients including Dua Lipa, Kim Petras and LCD Soundsystem); Brendan Long (London-based and representing electronic music artists including Richie Hawtin, Eric Prydz and Adam Beyer); Henry Glascock (Nashville-based, with clients including Parker McCollum, Catie Offerman and Randy Rogers Band); Doug Singer (Beverly Hills-based, with clients including Orville Peck, Blood Orange and Vince Staples, also appointed department lead for podcast and book tours); Bradley Rainey (who leads WME’s music for visual media group, with a roster that includes Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Randy Newman and Max Richter); Levi Jackson (who leads the tour marketing team for all WME clients including Adele, Luke Combs, Travis Scott, Bruno Mars, Foo Fighters and more) and Jared Rampersaud (Beverly Hills-based and working across the agency’s roster, specializing in live performances for private events and brand activations).
Those promoted to agent in contemporary music include Kidder Erdman, Phillip Richard and Henry Delargy in Beverly Hills; Anna Horowitz and Josh Sanchez in New York; Tom Larner in London; and Brendan Moylan in Sydney. In Nashville, Becca Chisholm, Caleb Fenn, Carter Green and Kanan Vitolo became agents in the country music department and Morgan Carney became an agent in Christian music.
“These promotions showcase the breadth of our client roster and how far we can go in servicing our artists,” said Lucy Dickins, WME’s global head of contemporary music and touring, and Becky Gardenhire, co-head of WME’s Nashville office, in a joint statement. “We are so proud of the leadership and ingenuity each of these individuals has demonstrated, and we look forward to what they will achieve.”
EMPIRE is pushing further into clubland, with big ambitions for helping DJs and producers get paid.
Today (Feb. 1), the San Francisco-based label announced that Moody Jones will step into the newly created general manager of dance role. Jones was previously EMPIRE’s svp of digital & creative, a position from which he worked across genres including dance projects by artists like The Martinez Brothers and Santino Le Saint.
Jones tells Billboard that this position will allow EMPIRE to “prioritize our expansion in this scene.” Jones’ new role follows EMPIRE’S acquisition of Claude VonStroke‘s storied Dirtybird label last October, with Jones adding that EMPIRE Dance is currently in talks with other labels and properties and “are open to other opportunities including catalog acquisitions.” Jones — a 2022 Billboard Indie Power Player honoree — will lead a dance team made up of the Dirtybird team, along with a team of new hires.
In this new role, his day-to-day involves signing artists, working on reintroducing songs from the EMPIRE catalog, and developing ways to incorporate dance strategies into the company’s daily priorities. Most crucially though, is time spent “getting obsessed with artists that deserve more exposure and figuring out where EMPIRE Dance can add value to them,” Jones says.
“The music industry has been evolving over the last five years and the dance labels haven’t caught up yet,” Jones says. “Our goal is to improve dance artist and label deals and reintroduce strong communities. DJs and dance artists have gotten used to making pennies on their music and making majority of their income on touring, which unfortunately means less quality time in production and more negative impact on their mental and physical health. I’m trying to help artists turn the pennies they are making on music into profits to better their livelihood.”
While EMPIRE has previously worked largely in genres like hip-hop and Latin, it’s bringing a significant competitive edge to the dance space. The company has its own publishing division and boasts “our own distributor so we have better data insights and audience analytics that empower us and our artists to make more proactive decisions,” he says.
EMPIRE also has its own studios, synch and partnership team and international staff in more than a dozen cities to help with regional rollouts.
“Moody has been an integral part of EMPIRE’s growth over the years,” EMPIRE CEO Ghazi adds in a statement. “As we expand into Dance, I’m confident in Moody at the helm with his ability to identify and develop artists that are impacting culture.”
Maria “Mechas” Mercedes Montejo has joined Sony Music Latin-Iberia as managing director of the Andean region (which includes Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), Billboard has learned. She replaces Adriana Restrepo, who has joined the leadership team of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI.
Montejo will report directly to Damián Amato, who is overseeing Sony Music Latin’s now unified South American operations. The Buenos Aires-based executive, who’s been with Sony Music for the past two decades, was previously general director for the southernmost cone of the regional including Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.
“This new structure is part of our ongoing transformation efforts to make Sony Music the most dynamic, efficient and nimble organization that can respond quickly to the needs of a dynamic and ever-changing industry”, Afo Verde, chairman & CEO of Sony Music Latin-Iberia, said about the leadership shakeup.
Verde added: “I am very grateful to Adriana for all her efforts and contributions to this important part of our region, both artistically and commercially. Fortunately, we have a strong successor in Mechas, who has broad experience in the industry and the Andean region. I am confident that she will build upon the success and trajectory of the region. I’m also grateful to Damian for taking on this broader role. Without a doubt the artists, Mechas and the incredible Andean team will enjoy and benefit from his leadership.”
Before joining Sony Music, Montejo was the general manager for Warner Music Latin, where she “leveraged her experience and insight” of the Latin American music industry, according to a statement.
Producer Alex Garza and music executive Gerardo Vergara have joined Estrella Media Music Entertainment (EMME), the Los Angeles-based company tells Billboard.
In his role, Garza — who founded Arpa Music Publishing, where he represents artists such as Espinoza Paz, Horacio Palencia and Joss Favela — will oversee music production and publishing and serve as an in-house music producer.
As director, Vergara will manage the roster, catalog, and business opportunities for EMME, as well as new artist signings and development. Having worked in the industry for over 15 years, he’s helped develop the careers of regional Mexican music artists such as Gerardo Ortiz and Luis Coronel. He was previously gm of Green Dream, the management and social media company behind Pepe Aguilar.
“Adding Gerardo and Alex to EMME is the completion of our dream team,” said Eddie Leon, executive vp of radio programming and events for Estrella Media who also oversees EMME. “Both bring a wealth of knowledge and contacts within the music industry that will help in our development of the next Regional Mexican stars. In addition, they will be instrumental in managing Estrella’s IP from its numerous series, events, and awards shows. EMME will give artists, songwriters, and composers a unique and culturally relevant path to develop their talent, fan base and culture.”
The multi-platform media company’s music division launched in April with longtime radio programmer and television personality Pepe Garza as head of content development and A&R. EMME includes a label and publishing arm and aims to “develop the next generation of Latin music stars.”