Executive Turntable
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Better Noise Music has announced several new leadership changes. Founder Allen Kovac (New York) is now chairman of the label, Dan Waite (London) has been named CEO and Steve Kline (New York) has added the title of president to his existing COO title. Better Noise’s roster includes mainstream rock acts such as Five Finger Death Punch, Dirty Heads, The Hu and Asking Alexandria.
In a statement, Kovac, who was included on Billboard‘s 2022 Indie Power Players list, said the label “is continuing to grow our international cumulative sales through our global offices.” Billboard named Better Noise the No. 1 mainstream rock airplay label and No. 1 mainstream rock airplay imprint of 2022.
“In this new role,” said Waite, “I’ll aim to maximize the careers and album consumption of our signed acts on our label as we grow the label, expanding through new signings, opening up new markets and working closely with the amazing specialists that we have in each department at BNM which has kept us #1 Rock Label for the last five years.”
Kline, who has been Better Noise’s COO since 2016, has worked for 18 years under the Kovac Media umbrella, first at artist management firm 10th Street Entertainment. “I want to thank Allen for putting his faith in me, as he has over the past 19 years, in this enhanced role at Better Noise,” said Kline. “I am incredibly excited to work with Allen and Dan in leading our amazing global team to future success.”
Nicole Kim was named vp of A&R at Columbia Records. Kim arrives at the label from Big Hit Music/HYBE, where she served as head of A&R and head of creative for BTS. During her more than five-year tenure at the Korean company, she worked on BTS’ collaborations with Coldplay, Halsey, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and more. Prior to Big Hit/HYBE, she held creative roles at Starship Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing Korea. Kim will be based out of Columbia’s Los Angeles office and can be reached at nicole.kim@sonymusic.com.
Shahendra Ohneswere was named to the newly-created role of head of creative strategy at Island Records, where he will lead overall creative strategy and digital marketing initiatives for the label. He is based in New York and will report to co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak. Ohneswere joins Island from Columbia, where he has served as senior vp of content development/co-head of digital marketing since 2018. He was named to Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players lists in 2021 and 2022.
Jennifer Cabalquinto was named CFO at EMPIRE, where she will oversee all day-to-day and long-term financial planning and accounting operations while strategizing the company’s expansion into sports, video games, TV/film and live entertainment. She has held CFO positions at 2K Games, Universal Studios Hollywood, Telemundo and the Golden State Warriors.
Garrett Levin is stepping down from his role as president/CEO of The Digital Media Association (DiMA) as he plots a move to Geneva, Switzerland, where he will relocate this summer due to his wife’s job. Levin will continue leading the organization through his departure as the DiMA board searches for a successor. “I have been honored to lead this organization over the past four-plus years and am deeply proud of our many successes during that time,” said Levin on LinkedIn. “We reached a landmark settlement with music publishers and songwriters, continued the important work of turning the Music Modernization Act into operational reality, forged stronger relationships between streaming services and other music stakeholders, and continuously told the story of the vital role that streaming plays in today’s music industry.”
Virgin Music Group announced the promotion of three executives: Leslie Cooper to senior vp of artist development and special projects, Marisa Di Frisco to vp of national promotion and Lauren Holman to vp of streaming marketing. In her new role, the Los Angeles-based Cooper will oversee K-pop releases while also identifying new artist development opportunities within the company and leading collaborative efforts in that area. The New York-based Di Frisco will continue overseeing promotion campaigns at Alternative, Rock, AAA and Non-commercial/College radio. The Los Angeles-based Holman, finally, will lead the streaming and playlisting strategy team. Cooper can be reached at Leslie.Cooper@virginmusic.com, Di Frisco can be reached at marisa.difrisco@virginmusic.com and Holman can be reached at lauren.holman@virginmusic.com.
Warner Chappell Production Music (WCPM) launched SCOREMONGERS, a new music resource that includes a premium underscore label and custom music-to-picture services. Led by WCPM head of production Pat Weaver, the SCOREMONGERS team includes WCPM producers and composers such as newcomer Sean Gould and existing WCPM staffer Scott Reinwand, who assists in overseeing all SCOREMONGERS music services, including custom music-to-picture, music customization and music editing to picture. The company launches with more than 60 albums and over 10 genres inspired by trending films and TV series, including “companion albums with wide tonal range, complimentary palettes, transitions, and recurring themes, along with extensive stem and submix options,” according to a press release. The music was created by film and TV composers including Michael Brook, Lisbeth Scott, Greg Tripi, Tony Morales and John Kaefer. Weaver can be reached at pat@scoremongers.io, Gould can be reached at sean@scoremongers.io and Reinwand can be reached at scott@scoremongers.io.
Elizabeth “Beth” Heidt was promoted to chief marketing officer at Gibson Brands, where she will join the leadership team; she was previously vp of cultural influence. In her new role, Heidt will oversee Gibson Brands’ global brand and marketing teams, entertainment and artist relations, social media, partnerships, public relations, multi-media divisions and the Gibson Gives Foundation.
Rostrum Records founder/CEO Benjy Grinberg launched Rostrum Pacific, a parent company that will incorporate an expanding portfolio of entertainment properties, including a soon-to-be-announced catalog marketing agency. Longtime Rostrum Records GM Jonathan Partch will lead Rostrum Pacific as COO; he can be reached at jonathan@rostrum.com.
ONErpm launched a digital strategy department and tapped longtime staffer Casey Childers to lead it. The Nashville-based Childers was most recently senior project manager at the company. “Our goal is to be able to provide the help artists need to grow their social footprint in a way that is true and organic to them,” said ONErpm head of U.S. marketing Jenna LoMonaco in a statement. “With Casey and the Digital Strategy team’s work, we can now provide hands-on help with social growth, engagement, and new forms of revenue.” Childers can be reached at casey@onerpm.com.
Donald Robins was named director of promotion at Warner Music Canada, where he will lead the company’s promotion team. Robins has worked in radio promotion his entire career; he joined Warner Music Canada in 2006 as a promotion representative for Quebec.
Electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland launched CORE Records, a boutique record label that will focus on “crossing and fusing genres, cultures and boundaries,” according to a press release. CORE, which will work closely with partners Virgin Music/Universal Music Group, will be led by Michel Van Buyten, who oversees Tomorrowland’s music division, including the Tomorrowland Music label. He will be joined by the newly-appointed Pieter-Jan Nuytten, who will serve as CORE’s dedicated A&R manager; Nuytten arrives at the label from PIAS/Strictly Confidential Music Publishing. The label’s first signings including Berlin-based solo dandy producer Afriqua and Belgian electronic duo Mosley Jr; both will perform at CORE Festival in Brussels on May 28. Van Buyten can be reached at michel.vanbuyten@tomorrowland.com and Nuytten can be reached at jan.nuytten@tomorrowland.com.
Steve Tadlock was named senior vp of venue relations at LiveCo, where he will manage facility relationships, content-backed booking deals and continue driving the company’s growth. Mark Dinerstein was also promoted from executive vp to president of LiveCo’s newly-formed corporate development group, where he will oversee the development and execution of company-wide initiatives and new acquisitions, venue deals, strategic partnerships and more. Tadlock joins LiveCo from ASM Global, where he most recently served as GM of Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
Amber Davis was promoted to senior vp at Warner Chappell Music UK, where she will take on a broader role in shaping the publisher’s overall U.K. strategy while continuing to oversee the A&R department as head of A&R. David will report to Warner Chappell Music UK managing director Shani Gonzales.
Donna Vergies was appointed vp of international marketing at Chrysalis Records/Blue Raincoat Music, where she joins the staff full-time following her previous position as a freelance international consultant for the company. Based in London, Vergies will work with artists on the Chrysalis/Blue Raincot roster, overseeing international campaigns and managing relationships with the company’s global partners and distributors. She can be reached at Donna@blueraincoatmusic.com.
Shannan Hatch was promoted from vp of creative serivces to senior vp/head of Nashville creative at SESAC, where she has worked for more than 20 years. In the role, Hatch will continue leading the Nashville-based creative services team while working closely with SESAC senior management to support creator-focused initiatives. She can be reached at shatch@sesac.com.
Rodrigo Dominguez was promoted to managing director of peermusic Spain and Portugal; he previously served as managing director of Portugal alone. He continues to hold the title of Latin American creative coordinator, managing activities for peermusic’s network of operations in those territories. Dominguez is based in Lisbon and Madrid and can be reached at rfernandes@peermusic.com.
Danny Berkeley-Scott was named vp at music management company Hallwood Media, where he will look to grow the firm with signings and in-house brand partnerships. In addition to launching Hallwood’s engineer management division, Berkeley-Scott oversees partnerships with Headspace, Bandlab and Soundwide.
FaZe Clan head of communications Chelsey Northern departed the youth gaming and lifestyle company to lead her recently-established public relations company The Untold, which will represent FaZe Clan along with clients including Deadfellaz, Proof Holding, Futureverse and the innovation teams at Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records.
Hillary Smoot joined the Schneider Rondan Organization as Las Vegas director/senior account executive. She brings her clients from the entertainment and hospitality worlds, including Feld Entertainment. Smoot was most recently recruited to create Red Moon PR, overseeing public relations campaigns for Los Angeles’ Viper Room, El Dorado Cantina and Red Mercury Entertainment shows including Purple Reign and MJ Live.
Joe Davis joined entertainment, business and financial management firm KBFM to lead its newly-established in-house tax department. Davis will merge his CPA firm, BootstrapTax, with KBFM. He will support the firm’s clients with all tax matters while overseeing accounting and tax planning for several small businesses and entrepreneurs both within and outside the music industry. He can be reached at joe@kbfmgmt.com.
Andrea Ganis, a 43-year veteran of Atlantic Records and the label’s first president of promotion, announced Thursday she is leaving the company. In a memo to staff, the glass ceiling-breaker graciously thanked her staff (“you are all warriors”) and bosses, including former CEO Doug Morris (“my mentor”) and current chiefs Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald (“they… have the courage to take chances”).
Ganis joined Atlantic in 1980 as a secretary (“yes, we were called that”) and worked her way up to president of national promotion by 1988. Two years later she was named a senior vp and in early 1996 was elevated to executive vp. In 2019, Ganis was promoted to the then-newly created role of president of promotion, overseeing all promotion activities pertaining to Atlantic and its subsidiaries, as well as serving on the company’s leadership team.
“Andrea is a force of nature and a legend in the promo universe,” said Kallman and Greenwald at the time. “She’s been a rock star at Atlantic for nearly four decades and the godmother to countless career-defining records.”
Ganis recounted her early days at the historic label in a lengthy message to colleagues, first picked up by Variety.
“I couldn’t believe my good fortune to then get a job at the mighty Atlantic Records led by the legendary Ahmet Ertegun,” she wrote. “I started in January of 1980 and thanks to his and Jerry Wexler’s unparalleled A&R acumen, got to work with many of the greatest artists on the planet and, amazingly, helped them reach even greater heights. Working with baby bands and developing artists brought its own joys, particularly when they too achieved new heights and we helped them realize their own dreams. I found all of it incredibly inspiring and still do — I will always get a rush from the many songs I hear for which I can claim ‘I worked that record.’”
As one of the first women to head a major-label promotion department, Ganis has been a regular honoree in Billboard’s Women In Music issue. In 2011, her “continued focus on teamwork, strategic planning, creativity, innovation and humor in an ever-challenging environment” was credited for big wins that year with Bruno Mars and others. In 2017‘s list, she noted that “artist development is in Atlantic’s DNA” when calling out a roster that included Cardi B, Charlie Puth and Portugal. The Man. In 2020, her 40th year at the label, she and her staff were feted after Atlantic overdelivered across genres from a roster including Lizzo, Jack Harlow and Coldplay.
Read her message to staff below:
With 15,877 days at Atlantic including 2,262 add dates under my belt, Malcolm Gladwell and his 10,000 hours got nothing on me.
So yes, its my time to say to all of you goodbye for now. After 43+years at Atlantic, I can truly say I have had the greatest ride of all time. Every era had its own magic and though the work was hard, it was also incredibly exciting, tremendously rewarding and quite fabulous in every way—an understatement if there ever was one.
I was one of the original glass ceiling girls who started as a secretary (yes, we were called that) and worked my way up to President of Promotion—not bad for a girl who went to college with the largest record collection of anyone, leaving 4 years later with an even larger one!
I started out like all of you—with a great love of music. Ironically, how I was exposed to it became my lifelong career—through the radio…..WNEW, WLIR and WHFS were responsible for my initial musical discoveries—whatever I heard I usually purchased. In junior high and high school I bought my albums at Korvettes—a discount store near where I grew up; they knew me by name and I came in every week like clockwork hungry for music of every genre. BTW, they were 3 for $10.00 then and I continued those purchases throughout my college days in Washington DC negotiating for the same price—ah promotion already in my blood!
I was lucky enough to be brought up in a musical era that was diverse in every way. FM radio was free form and callout research did not exist. Though there was no social media and bands were far more mysterious then, I became totally immersed in the music and culture enhanced by radio, word of mouth, concerts and clubs, Rolling Stone magazine, conversations with record store personnel and anything I could pick up from other members of my musical community. And the best part was the music scene was remarkably prolific populated by bands whose work was not only unique but identifiable by the first note. Like you, I was addicted to all of it.
I couldn’t believe my good fortune to then get a job at the mighty Atlantic Records led by the legendary Ahmet Ertegun. I started in January 1980 and thanks to his and Jerry Wexler’s unparalleled A&R acumen, got to work with many of the greatest artists on the planet and amazingly, helped them reach even higher heights. Working with baby bands and developing artists brought its own joys, particularly when they too achieved new heights and we helped them realize their own dreams. I found all of it incredibly inspiring and still do—I will always get a rush from the many songs I hear for which I can claim “I worked that record”.
And even now, so many years later, the joy of hearing the song on the radio for the first time brings me to tears…this will forever be a constant and knowing how much effort it took to create that moment makes it all the more special. Seeing any act we’ve been a part of perform in any arena for sure will make me cry, particularly when the fans sing every word.
My tremendous thanks to Julie and Craig who continue to guide with intelligence, vision, honesty and heart. They lead by example and continue to have the courage to take chances. Always a shout out to my mentor, Doug Morris, who believed in me and saw the potential to what I could become.
Which brings me to promotion….a land that I love. I was a solid athlete in my formative years and it taught me the importance of teamwork, a lesson I swear is one of the great keys to success….yes, a village indeed. So to be given the opportunity to grow from a young team member to leading the greatest squad there is for as long as I have has been a dream come true.
Throughout all these years I’ve worked with so many wonderful, smart, talented people on the record, radio and management sides and I thank each of you for helping me learn and grow—I hope I’ve done the same for you.
To my current team—my colleagues but better still, close wonderful lifelong friends, I can’t begin to express the love and respect I have for each of you—we have changed culture one spin at a time! You are all warriors and the best there is at getting the job done.
It has been an honor and a privilege to carry the promotion torch for Atlantic Records. We are a skillful, smart, strategic, creative, word-is-our-bond kind of crew, who always took the time to laugh, even at our own expense. Continue to turn no’s into yesses, stay passionate and in the toughest of times, know you’ve got this.
Long may we all run—
Andrea
Ineffable Records, the label division of Ineffable Music Group, has announced the appointment of Diego Herrera as director of Business Development. Herrera joins the leading independent reggae label after close to a decade at Pandora, where he played a pivotal role in music curation, specializing in pushing forward reggae, dancehall, soca, and other Caribbean genres. […]
Plans change. Dinner, vacation, date night… leadership transitions at music companies. BMG announced Wednesday it is shortening its long-term succession plan for longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch, with Thomas Coesfeld, the company’s chief financial officer, assuming the role July 1 instead of New Year’s Day.
The Bertelsmann-owned company said Masuch is leaving “at his own request and on the best of mutual terms,” with the longtime CEO explaining the handover between Coesfeld and himself has “gone so smoothly” that he decided to move up his exit date by six months. (In January, Masuch, 69, explained that he wanted to retire before turning 70.)
Masuch will remain in an advisory role after the transition until 2026, the company said.
“Hartwig has written many chapters in BMG’s success story, which Thomas will now continue,” said Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe in making the updated announcement, adding that “as CFO, he got to know BMG well, drove forward its digital orientation, and invested considerable funds in the acquisition of music rights. I am certain that BMG will continue to grow under [his] leadership.”
Coesfeld was named deputy CFO at BMG in October 2021 before taking over as CFO the following spring. He previously served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, a division of BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann. He began his career in 2014 as a management consultant at McKinsey in Munich.
Upon taking the top office at BMG, Coesfeld will also become a member of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the Group Executive Board.
Replacing Coesfeld as CFO will be Mathis Wolter, who joins from Bertelsmann-owned RTL Group, where he has been senior vice president of controlling and investment for over three years. Prior to that, Coesfeld was svp of controlling and reporting at BMG. Joining Coesfeld and Wolter on the BMG Executive Board will be Sebastian Hentzschel (promoted from chief technology officer to chief operations officer), Dominique Casimir (chief content officer) and Nikola Holle-Spiegel (chief human resources officer).
Also joining BMG’s top management team is Alberto Chullen Llamas, arriving from Bertelsmann Education Group to be executive vp of investments to focus on future catalog acquisitions at the label. “After 45 acquisitions in 2022 alone, acquisitions remain central to BMG’s growth into 2023 and beyond,” said Coesfeld. “We are delighted to have secured the services of such a heavy-hitter as Alberto from within the Bertelsmann family, and one who knows BMG well.”
Coesfeld added, “We have a strong team at the helm of BMG… Together we will drive the company’s progress, and I very much look forward to working with them all. I would like to thank Hartwig Masuch for handing over a company which is both highly creative and successful. Hartwig’s clear focus on building a company which works for artists and songwriters has resulted in a globally relevant music company which has redefined what a music company can be in the streaming age.”
Hartwig Masuch
Barbara Dietl
Masuch joined Bertelsmann in 1991, overseeing Germany, Switzerland and Austria as part of BMG Music Publishing’s first incarnation. In 2008, he advised Bertelsmann when the company sold its share of Sony BMG Music Entertainment to Sony in 2008, and soon, helped start BMG Rights Management — which later became BMG.
Under Masuch’s leadership, BMG has grown to be the fourth-biggest recorded music and publishing company in terms of revenue, trailing only the three majors.
In March, the label and publisher reported that it generated 866 million euros ($912.6 million) in 2022 compared to 663 million euros in 2021 ($784 million) — an increase of 30% year-over-year. The company’s publishing division, which makes up 60% of BMG’s revenues, grew by 26% to 518 million euros ($546 million) on new hits by Bebe Rexha and Lewis Capaldi, and catalog works by Blondie and Nirvana.
In recent years, BMG has acquired music rights from The Pointer Sisters, Peter Frampton, Harry Nilsson, Simple Minds, Tina Turner and Mötley Crüe, among others, and through a partnership with KKR the company has acquired catalogs from John Legend and ZZ Top. On the label side, BMG has signed Duran Duran, Santana, Bryan Adams, Maxwell and Louis Tomlinson. BMG has also moved into the live business, first by acquiring a majority stake in German live music promoter Undercover GmbH in 2020 and later with a similar alliance with KARO Konzert-Agentur Rothenburg GmbH, the organizer of the German Taubertal-Festival. The company also oversees Berlin’s historic 1,600-capacity Theater des Westens.
“BMG has set sales records in recent months, signed outstanding artists, acquired iconic music rights catalogs and developed new lines of business,” Hartwig said. “The values of transparency, service, and fairness are now an inseparable part of what has become the company’s DNA, much respected by the entire music industry. So I’m leaving on a high note – and in the firm conviction that with Thomas Coesfeld and his management team, a new generation will successfully lead the music company into a new era.”
Mary Rahmani, the founder of Moon Projects and former director of music content and artist partnerships at TikTok, has joined Songfluencer and its parent company, Genni & Co., as a strategic advisor, Billboard can reveal.
Songfluencer is a social media marketing agency for the music industry that has led digital marketing campaigns for artists including Samara Joy and Wet Leg. Genni & Co. is also home to the marketing technology service Genni, social media competition platform Preffy and short-form content agencies Genni Agency and YO SUZY!
In her new role, Rahmani will provide insights and guidance to both companies based on her robust background in music and technology.
“If you have been at the intersection of creators and music over the last few years, it would be difficult to not bring up Mary Rahmani,” said Songfluencer CEO/founder Johnny Cloherty. “We are very proud to be working with her and excited to learn from her expertise.”
“Johnny has been behind some of the most exciting trends in music and short-form video, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with him and adding my own perspective to his business,” added Rahmani.
Rahmani’s Moon Projects is described as a multi-disciplinary firm that provides curation, strategy and digital consulting services for musicians and brands. It’s also a joint venture music publishing company with Warner Chappell Music and a joint venture record label with Republic Records. Moon Projects is home to “Numb Little Bug” singer/songwriter Em Beihold.
Albert Piedrahita was appointed director of national publicity at Universal Music Latino, while Sebasti Daneilas was upped to manager of publicity. Piedrahita has been key in developing and leading communications strategies in both the Latin and general market, including campaigns for Karol G, Jhayco and Feid. Daneilas, who will report to Piedrahita, will continue managing and supporting communications strategies for the roster. Piedrahita can be reached at albert.piedrahita@umusic.com.
David Ecker was named label development manager at Exceleration Music, while Rachel Cunningham joined the company to lead fan engagement and commerce. Ecker, who boards Exceleration after spending eight years on Spotify’s artist and label partnerships team, will play a crucial role in managing day-to-day relationships with Exceleration’s family of label and artist partners. Cunningham will lead the development of audience growth and e-commerce strategy to drive Exceleration’s direct-to-fan business, including the development of online stores and the building and rollout of the company’s marketing technology stack. She comes from Gimme Radio, where she served as head of fan engagement & e-commerce marketing.
Andrew Ellis joined Ground Control Touring, bringing with him acts including Manchester Orchestra, Men I Trust, New Found Glory, The Front Bottoms, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Bayside, Cults and Senses Fail. His longtime associate, Gabe Sunshine, will join him at the company’s New York office. Ellis can be reached at ellis@groundcontroltouring.com.
Whitaker Elledge was promoted to GM/senior vp of artist development at Dualtone Music Group, up from his previous role of vp of artist development. Based out of Nashville, Elledge will now oversee all Dualtone staff and daily operations, including continuing to lead all album rollouts, marketing campaigns, teams and spends against budget performance. He will be the point person for all artists and their teams through album cycles as well as third-party team members.
Joanna Noyes was promoted to senior vp of global marketing & brand strategy at The Orchard; she was previously vp of brand marketing and communications. She will now oversee global marketing and brand strategy in over 45 markets globally, leading a team of over 40 employees.
Otto Price joined WME as an agent in the Christian music department at the company’s Nashville office. He joins the agency from Square One Creative Group, where he worked as a producer, arranger, composer and musician; he previously worked in A&R at Warner Music Nashville’s label group. In his new role, he will oversee the daily touring, TV, literary and sponsorship opportunities for artists as well as bookings in international territories. Price can be reached at OPrice@wmeagency.com.
Kirsty McDonagh joined Various Artists Management as senior manager. Based in London, McDonagh joins the firm from Insanity Group, where she spent eight years. In her new role, she will be working day to day with Tom Grennan, Melanie C, Caseyette, Kingdoms, Rndmbeats and Liv Dawson. McDonagh can be reached at Kirsty@variousartistsmanagement.com.
Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called — and it’s a woman. He did not name her but said she will be starting in about six weeks.
Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company’s permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer.
In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.
While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”
More than a month later, he tweeted in December: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.” The pledge came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in a Twitter poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.
In February, he told a conference he anticipated finding a CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”
Shares of Tesla rose about 2% Thursday after Musk made the announcement. Shareholders of the electric car company have been concerned about how much of his attention is being spent on Twitter.
Last November, he was questioned in court about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Musk had to testify in the trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery over a shareholder’s challenge to his potentially $55 billion compensation plan as CEO of the electric car company.
Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn’t want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer. Musk also said at the time that he expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to be completed in the next week or so. It’s been nearly six months since he said that.
Musk’s tenure at Twitter’s helm has been chaotic, and he’s made various promises and proclamations he’s backtracked or never followed up on. He began his first day firing the company’s top executives, followed by roughly 80% of its staff. He’s upended the platform’s verification system and has scaled back content moderation and safeguards against the spread of misinformation.
Bantering with Twitter followers late last year, Musk expressed pessimism about the prospects for a new CEO, saying that person “must like pain a lot” to run a company that “has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy.”
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted at the time.
Promotions are pouring in at Elektra Entertainment, with the Warner Music cohort of Elektra, Fueled by Ramen and Roadrunner elevating Chris Brown, Katie Robinson and Johnny Minardi to various leadership roles across the company.
Effective immediately, Brown is elevated to executive vp of Elektra and co-head of Roadrunner, while Minardi is promoted to head of Fueled by Ramen, co-head of Roadrunner and senior vp of A&R at Elektra. Rounding things out, Robinson is named head of marketing across all of Elektra Entertainment.
The elevations arrive following a major change at Elektra, where co-president Mike Easterlin recently announced his shift to a consultant role “as part of the recent changes at the company.” As a result, Gregg Nadel now has the president title to himself, with Robinson and Minardi (Los Angeles) and Brown (New York City) all reporting to him.
“Elektra’s fierce commitment to artist development is only equaled by our dedication to executive development, and it’s been a privilege to watch Chris, Katie, and Johnny grow into their own as leaders,” said Nadel in a statement. “Elektra wouldn’t be what it is today without them. They’ve all individually made such a strong, tangible impact and delivered exceptional results that have elevated our artists on the global stage.”
Brown was most recently head of marketing at Elektra while his successor, Robinson, was svp of marketing. Their department’s big wins in recent years include successful campaigns for Slipknot, Fall Out Boy, Turnstile, twenty one pilots, Maisie Peters, jxdn, Alec Benjamin and others. Minardi, previously vp of A&R for Elektra, is credited with signing Tones and I, Fall Out Boy, The Band CAMINO and Grandson, among others, and played a key role in bringing Travis Barker’s DTA Records into the Elektra fold.
In the Warner family tree, Elektra Entertainment (formerly Elektra Music Group) is one of the branches of 300 Elektra Entertainment (3EE), led by chairman & CEO Kevin Liles. WMG, the third-largest label group, disclosed quarterly earnings this week that were saddled by flat results across its recorded music division but showed a strong three months for publishing.
BMG/BBR Music Group has named Peter Strickland as its new general manager, reporting to BMG Nashville president Jon Loba. He previously worked with the label for nearly two years as a consultant.
Strickland will oversee the financial and daily operations of BMG/BBR Music Group, streamlining distribution channels and physical-product sales as well as spearheading the label’s comedy initiatives. He succeeds Rick Shedd, who retired in April.
During his career, Strickland has held several executive-level titles at Warner Music Nashville (WMN), including as vp of sales; vp of sales & marketing; senior vp of brand management & sales; executive vp/GM; and chief marketing officer. In addition to those roles, he also created two comedy imprints and executive produced Jimmy Fallon’s 2013 Grammy Award-winning comedy album, Blow Your Pants Off, before opening his management company, Marathon Talent, in 2018.
“Peter and I worked together early in our career, where I had the chance to see his creativity, passion and energy up close,” Loba said in a statement. “Working with him again over the last year as a consultant, it is evident those same qualities burn hotter than ever. Beyond that, he is the consummate team player and was the obvious choice to step into the GM role upon Rick Shedd’s retirement. We couldn’t be more excited to officially bring him into the BMG family!”
“It’s an honor to be asked to join this incredible team,” Strickland added. “Jon Loba has built a great culture at BMG, and in reuniting with Jon, I look forward to contributing to the next chapter.”
SoundCloud chief content & marketing officer Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood has departed the company after nearly two years, Billboard has confirmed. There is no word yet on her next moves.
Wirtzer-Seawood joined SoundCloud in June 2021 from UnitedMasters, where she served as president for more than two years. Prior to that, she worked as head of music partnerships at Instagram for over three years and head of digital at Beyoncé‘s Parkwood Entertainment for over two years; she has also held senior roles at Def Jam and Zynga.
“I came to SoundCloud to help transform the company and set it on a path toward success,” says Wirtzer-Seawood in a statement sent to Billboard. “After nearly two years of building teams, processes, priorities — and hiring some really stellar people — it was time to move on. I have no doubt that Eliah and the executive team will drive massive success for SoundCloud.”
During Wirtzer-Seawood’s tenure, SoundCloud has made efforts to differentiate itself as a more artist-friendly alternative to rival streaming services. Chief among these efforts is the fan-powered royalty payment system, first unveiled in March 2021, which has since been opted into by both Warner Music Group and Merlin. Unlike the traditional pro-rata model, under which streaming services collect all subscriber revenue and then pay out earnings based on each rightsholder’s share of total streams, fan-powered royalties direct a portion of every listener’s subscription or advertising revenue to the rightsholders for the specific tracks they listen to.
“Fan-powered royalties give us the ability to have specific data around who those fans are,” Wirtzer-Seawood told Billboard last year, “and we can now unlock those relationships with the superfans and communicate with them, to sell them something or whatnot.”
On Monday, SoundCloud unveiled “Fans,” a new SoundCloud for Artists product that’s being billed as the next evolution of the fan-powered payment system. Now in beta, the tool allows music creators to tap into the platform’s proprietary data and sort their most engaged listeners based on factors like comments, listening behavior, sharing habits and location — and then directly message individual fans to share previews of upcoming releases; sell tickets and merch; and more.
Brooke Primont was promoted to executive vp of global sync at Concord Music Publishing, where she will lead the company’s 17-person synch team worldwide, the company tells Billboard.
Based in New York City, Primont will lead all of Concord’s publishing synch operations, managing teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia — along with the company’s global sub publisher network — while creating synergies across the Concord catalog. She will report to chief publishing officer Jim Selby.
Primont joined Concord more than five years ago as head of the North American publishing synch department. Recent achievements by her team include a Super Bowl ad for UberEats featuring Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”; Ericdoa’s “ >one (greater than one)” for the Valorant video game series; Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” in the trailer for Air; and The Polyphonic Spree‘s “Hold Me Now” in the trailer for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“I am excited to expand my role by bringing together Concord’s sync teams around the world, allowing us to broaden the scope and diversify the opportunities that we can offer our songwriters and composers,” said Primont in a statement. “The global Concord Music Publishing sync team is truly something special, we have developed unparalleled relationships across the entertainment industry, and it doesn’t hurt that our catalog is full of some of the best songs ever written.”
Selby added, “Brooke has already taken our sync division to new heights. I know that this new role will further expand her capabilities, bringing more opportunities to more of our writers and enriching our catalogue.”
Over her 25 years in music publishing, Primont has served in roles at BMI, Cherry Lane Music Publishing and Razor & Tie. She currently serves on the executive boards for the AIMP New York chapter and Kid Pan Alley.
The Paley Center for Media announced that Combs Global and REVOLT chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joined the entertainment industry nonprofit’s board of trustees alongside LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Alibaba Group co-founder/executive vice chairman Joseph C. Tsai. Additionally, FOX Entertainment CEO Rob Wade joined the Paley Los Angeles board of governors. According to a press release, the organization’s board of trustees “offers guidance in support of the organization’s mission to lead the conversation around today’s rapidly evolving media landscape and provides critical input on strategy and operations, including public programs and exhibits, educational classes, workshops, and industry events hosted by the Paley Media Council.”
Recently formed multimedia platform gamma., founded by Larry Jackson, is expanding operations into Africa and the Middle East and has named Sipho Dlamani as president of Africa & Middle East and Naomi Campbell as special advisor of Africa & Middle East. The Africa operation will be based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Middle East operation will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dlamini most recently served as CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa; Campbell, an internationally recognized supermodel and UN Commonwealth Ambassador, is the founder of Fashion For Relief and The Emerge Initiative, among other endeavors. In its debut in the region last Friday, gamma. exclusively distributed and marketed Rema‘s album, Rave & Roses (Ultra) in African territories.
AWAL announced the appointment of its U.K. executive leadership team, including Matt Riley as managing director; and Victoria Needs and Sam Potts as senior vps. Riley will expand his current oversight as the company’s head of A&R, working with AWAL president Paul Hitchman and CEO Lonny Olinick to sign new artists and develop the company’s roster. Needs will add the U.K. market to her existing international marketing duties for AWAL, while Potts will continue working with the executive leadership team to maximize audience development and growth strategies for AWAL artists across traditional and digital media.
Also at AWAL, Cami Operé was named vp/head of publicity. She joins the company from Sacks & Co., where she was vp of publicity and led public relations efforts for artists including Lizzy McAlpine, Jungle and Bruno Major. She can be reached at cami.opere@awal.com.
Sara Knabe was named senior vp of A&R at Big Loud, where she will work with both the Big Loud Records and Big Loud Publishing A&R teams. Knabe joins following a year spent founding and developing Cake Maker Music, her own music publishing, artist development and A&R consulting company; she previously served in roles at BBR Music Group and BMG, among others. Knabe can be reached at saraknabe@bigloud.com.
Steve Ziff was named chief business officer at Loud And Live, where he will oversee the company’s marketing services and enterprise-wide business development efforts, offering strategic guidance to grow the company’s portfolio. He joins the company from Thrill One Sports, where he served as chief marketing officer/chief communications officer. Ziff can be reached at sziff@loudlive.com.
Second Estate Records, a new label founded by A&R veteran and entrepreneur Mel Carter, appointed Katie Kay as general manager and Adise Bellille as president. Together, Kay and Bellille will oversee forthcoming releases from 2Rare and more acts in partnership with Warner Records, with which Second Estate has a joint venture. Kay most recently served as vp of marketing at Cinematic Music Group, while Bellille is an entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur who founded New York-based nightlife hub Carefree Nation, among other endeavors. Kay can be reached at Katie@secondestaterecords.com and Bellille can be reached at Adise@secondestaterecords.com.
Suzi Ibbotson was named director of communications at PPL; she joins from Unilever Global, where she held the same role. She will report to CEO Peter Leathem and join the company’s executive management team. Ibbotson can be reached at suzi.ibbotson@ppluk.com.
The board of Hipgnosis announced that Vania Schlogel stepped down as a director, effective April 30, to focus on her firm, Atwater Capital. “Vania is an exceptional executive and her experience in every aspect of investment and music has been invaluable in making Hipgnosis the market leader,” said Hipgnosis Songs Fund CEO/founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement. “We appreciate her terrific contributions to Hipgnosis Songs Fund during her time on the Board and wish her every success in the future.”
Independent publishing company peermusic announced three promotions in its Canada office as well as its neighboring rights division, including Neville Quinlan to managing director of publishing & neighbouring rights, Canada; Cheryl Link to general manager of peermusic’s Toronto publishing operations; and Rachael Clark to head of administration at peermusic Canada. Quinlan can be reached at nquinlan@peermusic.com, Link can be reached at clink@peermusic.com and Clark can be reached at rclark@peermusic.com.
The U.K. office of independent record company Because Music and London Records has announced several senior appointments. They include Rhian Emanuel, promoted to managing director at Because Music UK; Laura Kelly, promoted to managing director at London Records; Ed Pearson, promoted to senior vp of marketing, dance & electronic at Because Music UK; and Junior Foster, hired as digital marketing & strategy manager at London Records, which he joins from Deezer.
Brian Celler was named senior vp of content and programming, Europe at ASM Global. He will be responsible for the company’s music, entertainment and sports content throughout its European and U.K. portfolio. The 25-year veteran has previously held roles at Q Prime, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Principle Management. Celler can be reached at Brian.Celler@eu.asmglobal.com.
Ashley Gorley‘s publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music, promoted all three members of its team. Blain Rhodes was named president, Kelly Bolton was named senior vp of A&R and Caroline Hodson was named manager of A&R.
Holly Schomann was promoted to senior director of program & project management at TuneCore, where she will now oversee a team of project managers to ensure proper execution of software development processes and internal reporting.
Todd Bonder joined Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt‘s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice. Bonder focuses on intellectual property and general civil litigation, emphasizing entertainment, new media, trademark, copyright, rights of publicity and privacy and publishing matters, as well as unfair competition, trust, probate, contract, real estate and construction disputes. He can be reached at tbonder@reitlerlaw.com.
Veteran agent Stefanie Purificati joined The Feldman Agency in Canada, where she brings clients including Digging Roots, Aysanabee, iskwē and Tynomi Banks to the roster. She will be based out of the company’s Toronto office and can be reached at purificati@feldman-agency.com.
Found Objects, the music and sound collective founded by film/TV composers Jay Wadley and Trevor Gureckis, promoted Katt Matt to executive producer and Nick Chomowicz to senior producer. The collective specializes in sound design and music supervision for film, TV and brands.
Sue Ann Cordell joined Reliant Talent Agency, where she will be responsible for human resources, office administration and executive assistance. She has held roles at companies including WME and is also the owner of life coaching and event-speaking company Shineworthy Lifestyles, among other ventures. Cordell can be reached at sacordell@relianttalent.com.
Maria Eiliert was named account executive at Shore Fire Media out of its Nashville office, elevated from junior account executive. She joined the firm after graduating from Belmont University with a music business degree in November 2020.
Rachel Brittain joined The Neal Agency as a commercial and brand partnerships agent. She joins from FlyteVu, where she served as an account manager and was part of the talent team, connecting artists to brands. She can be reached at Rachel@TheNealAgency.net.
Labelcoin, a blockchain-based song exchange and investment marketplace “striving to end artist poverty with fan-supported investment in artists’ songs,” according to a press release, launched a business advisory council that so far includes Mark Dvornik, former head of U.S. distribution at Paramount Pictures; Hummingbird Productions founder/president Bob Farnsworth; G2G Enterprises founder/CEO Lee Guzofski; and MRSV Media CEO Loren Johnson.