Executive Turntable
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Warner Music Nashville (WMN) leaders Cris Lacy and Ben Kline have been elevated to co-chair/co-president titles, following their promotion to co-presidents of the label in June 2022. Kline and Lacy launched the new year with a company-wide, off-site day of culture building and programming last week.
“I’m honored to lead WMN with Cris in what is an exciting time of change and opportunity for this business,” Kline said in a statement. “We are committed to continuing our leadership position within that change by being laser focused on our incredible artists, their powerful music and their creative visions.”
Lacy added, “Let’s be honest, this is a time of great change in the world at large too. When culture shifts, music ignites, it bridges, it covers, it uncovers. We are here for all of that, and proud to be the Nashville contingent that amplifies those stories to all parts of the globe.”
Lacy and Kline were promoted following the announcement of John Esposito‘s transition to chairman emeritus at the beginning of the year. Billboard broke the news of the pending leadership transition in April 2022. Lacy has been with WMN since 2005, while Kline joined in 2014.
During an interview with Billboard back in 2019, Esposito noted that Kline and Lacy were already being prepped to take over greater leadership roles: “I’m putting all sorts of weight on their shoulders. And the great news is since we did that promotion, they both have risen to an even higher level,” he said. “I’m happy knowing I can give them so much to do so they can become as much the face of the label as me. And that has taken a weight off of me. If I walk in the room, [people] assume I can make the final decision. Now they know that either of them can make a decision [too].”
Veteran manager/label executive Greg Ham has launched artist development company one:eight entertainment, with Christian music icon Steven Curtis Chapman as his first signing.
Ham was previously a partner in the MWS Group, and the clients he shepherded there — Michael W. Smith, reigning Gospel Music Association artist of the year CeCe Winans, Gotee Records newcomer Joseph O’Brien and Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton — will move to one:eight entertainment. Producer Robert Deaton, who was previously managed by Ham outside the MWS Group, will also be under the one:eight umbrella, as will worship leader Charity Gayle.
The idea for the new company began percolating when MWS partner Chaz Corzine exited early last year to become the founding executive director of the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Nashville’s Belmont University. Corzine co-founded the MWS Group in 2009 and had served as Smith’s manager for 38 years.
“Chaz left a year ago now and it was Michael and me,” says Ham, a veteran executive whose extensive resume includes serving as former president/CEO of ForeFront Records. “As we were going through the year, we were saying, ‘I think there’s an opportunity to grow this thing more, but we’ve got to retool it a little bit.’”
The result is one:eight entertainment and the new business association with Chapman. “I’ve been a friend and a huge fan of Greg Ham for many years,” says Chapman, whose current single, “Don’t Lose Heart,” is currently No. 9 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart. “There’s nobody smarter or more full of integrity and I’m very blessed and honored to be a part of this exciting new season for Greg and the awesome team at one:eight entertainment.”
Chapman was previously managed by the Stable Collective, a company he launched in 2017 with artist manager Mark Mattingly. Mattingly joined radio station K-LOVE and Air1 Media Networks last October as executive director of live events and sponsorships.
Ham says the name one:eight entertainment was inspired by the Jan. 8 birthday he shares with Elvis Presley and David Bowie and also his favorite scriptures. “Three of my favorite verses that are foundational to me are 1:8 verses,” he shares. “That’s Daniel 1:8, which is ‘Daniel purposed in his heart’ and it’s a cool story. I consider that foundation[al]. And then Joshua 1:8, which is ‘Be strong and courageous,’ and Acts 1:8, which is ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you’ — so to me power from above to bring hope to the world. We are an artist/creative development company with global perspective and those three verses are at the very core.”
Though Chapman and Smith are two of the Christian industry’s all-time most successful male artists, Ham doesn’t see representing both as a conflict. “Maybe 20 years ago yes, but today it makes sense because to me it’s more complementary than competitive,” he says. “Steven and Michael being under the same umbrella says something very special to me to the younger generation that this is something to aspire to where two competitors can be served under one entity and the unifying nature that it shows.”
Katie Dean is exiting her role as senior vp of promotion at MCA Records Nashville to pursue new opportunities, following a two-decade career at Univeral Music Group Nashville (UMGN). Dean has led the promotion team at MCA Records Nashville since 2015.
Elsewhere, David Friedman has been named vp of promotion for MCA Records Nashville while Miranda McDonald rises to vp of national promotion.
Friedman began his major label career at Capitol Records Nashville and also spent time at Arista Nashville and Columbia Nashville. For the past seven years, he’s worked as vp of national promotion at UMG Nashville. In his new role, he heads up the MCA Nashville promo staff, leading strategies for an artist roster that includes Kassi Ashton, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill, Parker McCollum and George Strait.
“Having David move to run MCA’s promo department is one of the easiest decisions I’ve made in a long time,” UMGN executive vp of promotion Royce Risser said in a statement. “He has been ready for this position for years, and I have been selfishly keeping him in his former role because I loved having him there. He will be an incredible asset to MCA’s iconic roster, and I have every bit of confidence that he will continue the building success story at MCA Nashville.”
“Like Lynyrd Skynyrd once said, I’m ‘Workin’ For MCA!’” added Friedman. “I’m beyond excited to transition within the UMGN family to the MCA promotion team and look forward to working alongside these flamethrowers in breaking new artists and growing the careers of this phenomenal roster. Thank you, Royce, Mike Dungan, and Cindy Mabe, for this amazing opportunity.”
McDonald joined MCA Nashville in 2012, working as the label’s Southwest regional director. She had previously worked as a radio regional for Valory Music and as a radio host and reporter for CMT Radio. In her new role, McDonald will work with Risser on radio initiatives for the label group’s four imprints: Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville.
“Miranda McDonald has been our secret weapon for years,” Risser said. “Not gonna be so secret anymore. Her intuitive nature and deep relationships are some of the best I’ve ever seen in radio promotion. She is also a true ‘creative’ and now I will have the ability to utilize her skills for all four of our labels. I am so excited for her to begin ripping it up for UMG Nashville.”
“MCA has been my beloved chosen family for over a decade now,” McDonald added. “So, to be given the opportunity to not only continue working alongside MCA, but also with my extended family at each of the imprints, their incredible artists, and an entirely new group of partners in radio, is an honor. I am so fortunate to continue to grow my career with the best team in the industry. Answer my calls please.”
The shift at MCA Nashville follows the recent news that Cindy Mabe will succeed Mike Dungan as chairman/CEO of UMG Nashville, effective April 1. Dungan recently announced his upcoming retirement after more than four decades in the music industry. Mabe was named president of UMGN in 2014. With her ascension, she becomes the first woman to serve as chairman/CEO of a Nashville-based major-label group. Dungan will continue to serve as an adviser to UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.
Graham Rothenberg was named partner at entertainment marketing agency The Syndicate, with his title elevated to president & general manager. Rothenberg, who has been with the company for 18 years, has served as general manager since 2018. He will now lead the agency alongside partners Jon Landman, Tracey Zucatti and Chris Elles. During his tenure, he has been a key force in campaigns including the Interpol “Big Shot City” exhibit and Panic! At The Disco’s crop circle tour announcement.
“I’ve known Graham for over 20 years and have watched him grow from College Radio Music Director (WICB) to College Radio Promoter at The Syndicate to becoming our General Manager and now being elevated as our President and a Partner of the company,” said managing partner/CEO Jon Landman in a statement. “Graham’s leadership and creativity have been instrumental in advancing our organization to new levels while staying true to the grassroots connection to music and artists on which we founded the company. As we enter our 25th year of The Syndicate, we can’t wait for what’s on the horizon.”
Rothenberg added, “It’s an immense honor to be named Partner at The Syndicate, a company I’ve been privileged to grow with over the past 18 years. Starting as a college radio promoter back in 2004, I’ve been able to watch The Syndicate evolve into the unique agency it’s become today. I’m extremely excited to work even more closely with Jon, Tracey, and Chris while continuing to lead our incredible staff in moving culture forward and helping our clients achieve their most creative goals.”
Jackie Augustus joined Spotify‘s artist partnerships team to lead country and folk artist partnerships for the streamer. Augustus, who was named to Billboard‘s Country Power Players list in 2022, most recently served as strategic partner manager of music at Instagram.
Chris Schuler was named vp of promotion at Capitol Records Nashville where he will lead the promotion team previously headed up by Bobby Young. He most recently served as vp of promotion at Arista Nashville. Schuler can be reached at chris.schuler@umusic.com.
Sherry Lansing was designated chairman of the board on Universal Music Group‘s board of directors, effective Jan. 10. Lansing, a retired film studio executive who previously served as CEO at Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox, succeeds Judy Craymer, who retired from the position to focus on her film and theater production projects.
Jitze de Raaff was appointed president of CTM Entertainment, effective Jan. 1. He was previously managing director of CTM Publishing and Music in the Benelux region. De Raaff, also co-shareholder of the company, will now be responsible for all other CTM activities in addition to music. He will additionally play a bigger role in the company’s international expansion alongside CTM CEO André de Raaff. He can be reached at Jitze.deRaaff@ctm.nl.
BMG appointed Stefan Lehmkuhl programmer for Berlin’s historic 1,700-seat Theater des Westens, which the company announced it had leased for two years last September. Lemkuhl has curated and produced music events including Melt Festival and Lollapalooza Berlin for two decades. He will be joined by event producer Parker “Pansy” Tilghman.
Randy Reyes was promoted to senior director of rhythmic promotion at Atlantic Records. Reyes has worked in rhythmic and pop mix show promotion at the label for the past nine years.
Tvg hospitality, founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, named Jayne Davis COO and Katie Millar gm of the Orion Amphitheater. The New York-based Davis arrives from OTG Management where she served as senior vp of operations development, while Millar previously served as manager at Paramount Fine Foods Centre & Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
James Ainscough was appointed to the role of CEO at the Royal Albert Hall, where he will lead the execution of the venue’s post-pandemic business plan; he previously worked at the Hall from 2008 to 2017 as director of finance and administration and then as COO. He joins in late spring 2023 from the charity Help Musicians, where he currently serves as CEO. Ainscough replaces Craig Hassall, who stepped down from the CEO role last month. COO Dan Freeman will continue serving as interim CEO until Ainscough officially joins.
Mandy McCormack was named executive vp/marketing & partner strategy for Trisha Yearwood, Inc. In her enhanced role as part of Yearwood’s management team, McCormack will manage brand partnerships, oversee marketing plans, seek out new business ventures and provide strategic consultation in all aspects of the country star’s business. McCormack most recently served as senior vp of radio promotion & marketing/artist strategy at Garth Brooks’ Pearl Records and Team TY (Trisha Yearwood). McCormack can be reached at mandy@trishayearwoodinc.com.
Tristra Newyear Yeager was named chief strategy officer at music/tech PR firm Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), while Travis Feaster was named new business manager at the company. Newyear Yeager, who has been with RPS for 17 years, was previously director of strategy and will now oversee PR and client services and guide strategic planning at the firm. Feaster was most recently national sales manager at Boutique Amps Distribution.
Jayne Hamblin was named manager of management and records at Creative Nation, where she will oversee the day-to-day responsibilities for Creative Nation’s artist clients while serving as a liaison between them and outside partners. Hamblin can be reached at jayne@creativenationmusic.com.
The National Independent Venue Association has announced music policy advocate Stephen Parker as its new executive director. Parker will take over the position from Rev. Moose, who previously served as NIVA and National Independent Venue Foundation founding executive director. NIVA announced in August that they would begin the search to fill both of Rev. Moose’s positions, so he could focus on his creative marketing firm, Marauder.
Parker has served as an advisor and consultant at the Country Music Association, senior special assistant to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, senior policy advisor at the National Guard, and, most recently, as vp of public affairs and communications at gener8tor, an organization focused on entrepreneurship and the creative economy. Parker serves on several non-profit boards, including the Country Music Association Foundation board of directors.
Parker tells Billboard that he greatly admired NIVA for their work since they were founded in 2020 to help independent music venues survive through the pandemic, calling the association the most successful lobbyists in the country in 2020. That year, NIVA successfully advocated for $16 billion in federal funds through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
“I ultimately came upon this job by talking to different members at the conference that they had in July of last year (NIVA ‘22), but also just from knowing independent venue owners, board members, different staff members of NIVA,” says Parker. “This [association] is the crown jewel of anybody who cares about public policy, and in music, and art and live entertainment and comedy. There is no place like it. This organization is built on advocacy. And for me with my political background, it was an incredible fit. I feel honored and humbled every day that they chose me.”
Stephen Parker
Courtesy Photo
In his new role, Parker will be tasked with continuing to grow the association’s numbers and advocate for NIVA members at the federal and state level. One of Parker’s first missions is to advocate for fans who are being impacted by deceptive ticketing practices, including speculative ticketing — where ticket resellers post tickets on secondary sites like StubHub or Viagogo before those tickets even go on sale. Additionally, Parker says some state and local governments still have remaining pandemic relief funds from the federal government that can continue helping independent venues that have not fully recovered from the mass gathering shutdowns and customers hesitancy to return to live events.
Advocacy, he adds, could also come in the form of getting NIVA members elected to local government positions. “We have so many members that want to do something and want to continue to push things forward when it comes to advocacy,” says Parker. “Making sure that they have toolkits and resources to make their voices heard for the communities that they live in is a huge priority for me.”
“We look forward with immense optimism to NIVA’s next crucial chapter of growth and development to best serve members who fight tirelessly to improve their communities, workplaces and entertainment experiences,” said NIVA board president Dayna Frank in a statement. “With Stephen’s leadership, energy, and enthusiasm we are in the best possible hands. His experience with advocacy and relationship development in a longtime-successful association will ensure we flourish together today, tomorrow and in the future. We’re so lucky to have his determination and expertise.”
In addition to advocacy, Parker’s role will be to strengthen the association itself. NIVA intends to expand their healthcare coverage for members and their local venue workers, organize venues for purchasing power on common goods and continue to develop educational programs for members on sustainability, DEI practices and more. In recent months, NIVA has announced partnerships with voter registration non-profit Headcount and r.Cup, a sustainable platform providing reusable cups to eliminate single-use plastic.
“Growth for growth’s sake, is never good, but growth to make sure that we can continue to serve our members better, that we can continue to make a case to new members to join our organization and so we can continue to do the work and the services to make sure our venues can survive and thrive, that’s the reason for growth. And that’s what we’re looking at,” says Parker.
Sophie Jones was promoted from director of public affairs to chief strategy officer at BPI; she will also serve as interim chief executive until a permanent appointment is made following the recent exit of Geoff Taylor. Coinciding with Jones’ elevation, the communications, independent member services and research & insight department heads will now report directly to Jones alongside the public affairs team.
The Orchard promoted Mary Ashley Johnson to executive vp of sales and artist & label management, U.S. and Canada. The company also named Katie Studley as vp, Nashville. Johnson will continue driving revenue and market share for The Orchard while managing teams responsible for client relationships and high-level strategy on key releases across the U.S. and Canada. Studley will oversee the Nashville office’s day-to-day operations while developing new business relationships and further expanding The Orchard’s presence in Nashville. Based in New York and Nashville, respectively, Johnson and Studley report to COO Colleen Theis.
Longtime senior executive, editor and music historian Jay Orr retired from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum after more than 26 years. He most recently served as executive senior director for research, editorial and content; he also led the museum’s editorial team, overseeing the development of exhibits, publications and more. Orr can now be reached at jayorr@comcast.net.
Web3 company Yuga Labs (Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Meebits) appointed Daniel Alegre as CEO, effective the first half of 2023. He succeeds Nicole Muniz, who will stay on as a partner and strategic advisor to the company. Alegre will work closely with Yuga Labs founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano to continue growing the business. Alegre most recently served as president and COO of Activision Blizzard.
Roy Hennis was promoted to senior vp of sales and Nik McLeod was named vp of publishing at LyricFind. Hennis will continue to lead his team in LyricFind’s core markets as well as emerging products including Lyric Videos and LyricIQ, while McLeod will oversee the publishing department’s international licensing efforts in key territories and markets.
The Copyright Alliance announced two at-large board members whose terms commenced on Sunday (Jan. 1): Todd Dupler of The Recording Academy, who will serve on the board for a second consecutive term, and Jeff Sedlik of American Photographic Artists. Both will serve two-year terms at the organization.
Kevin Hart‘s multi-platform media company Hartbeat hired Sara Abdulahi as senior vp of people & culture, Annie Ballot as senior vp of global media, Neil Wright as vp of live & experiential and Namon Jones as vp of brand partnerships. The company also promoted Tina Maher to senior vp of brand & franchise management. Abdulahi, who comes from ATTN:, will oversee talent management, compensation and benefits, training and development and employee relations; Balagot, who comes from NBCUniversal, will oversee strategy and distribution of Hartbeat media, including expanding distribution for LOL! Network across all platforms; Wright, who comes from Complex Networks, will oversee live events and experiences; Jones, who arrives with more than 20 years of experience running digital sales, will develop and expand on Hartbeat’s East Coast brand partnerships; and Maher, who joined the company in 2017, will oversee and execute monetization, growth and partnerships strategies for Hartbeat’s owned and operated brands and franchises.
Deezer appointed Ingrid Bojner (Storytel) and Mark Simonian (retired chairman of global TMT investment banking at Credit Suisse) as independent board directors. They were co-opted by the board to replace Alban Gréget and Jeronimo Folgueira, who resigned from their director positions last month. Folgueira will continue as Deezer CEO and work closely with the board of directors on all relevant business matters. Bojner and Simonian’s mandates will extend through the remaining term of their predecessors — or until the annual general meeting is called to approve the financial statements for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2024, and the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2023, respectively.
Artist and music management company UROK hired Tayla Dhyll as head of audience, a newly created role, and Sophie Lane as senior artist manager. Dhyll will be tasked with developing, implementing and managing digital strategies for artists, while Lanez will work on two of UROK’s new management signings. The company also promoted Chris Kasa to senior vp of artist management, making him responsible for new signings and managing the careers of Jade Bird, Lucky Kilmartin and Jo Hill; Afoma Ojukwu to artist relations manager; Steve Sasse to artist and repertoire director across records, publishing and producer management for the entire UROK roster; and Annabelle Scott-Curry to creative director on a consultancy basis, working alongside UROK on Plan B and Jess Glynne.
Beasley Media Group hired Ariana Sheehan as director of digital content strategy. Based in Albany, New York, Sheehan will work closely with vp of digital content Erika Beasley and vp of digital marketing Jennifer Williams to help drive the company’s digital content strategy and grow its audience. She joins from product review and marketing company BestReviews.
The Country Music Association (CMA) has elected its board of directors for 2023, with new board members including songwriter Rhett Akins, Onsite Entertainment executive Debbie Carroll, Pink Dog Entertainment leader Curt Jenkins, Warner Music Nashville co-head Ben Kline, CCLD LLC’s Chris Lisle, BMG Nashville/BBR Music Group leader Jon Loba, Monument Records general manager Katie McCartney, Maverick’s Chris Parr, Grand Ole Opry vp/executive producer Dan Rogers, Sony Music Publishing Nashville executive vp of creative Josh Van Valkenburg, Press On Publicity founder Wes Vause and singer/songwriter/musician Charlie Worsham.
The board officers for 2023 will be chairman Charlie Morgan of Apple Music; president Kella Farris of Farris, Self & Moore; president-elect Jennie Smythe of Girlilla Marketing; and secretary/treasurer Virginia Bunetta of G Major Management.
The CMA’s elected and appointed board members include artist managers, songwriters, radio executives, publicists, music publishers, record label executives and touring/live entertainment executives. See the full list of 2023 CMA Board of Directors at cmaworld.com.
Recently, the CMA revealed the nominees for the upcoming CMA Touring Awards, which will be held Jan. 30 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. CMA members in the following membership groups are eligible to vote on the 15 categories up for awards: advertising/public relations/media, affiliated, artist, entertainment services, marketing/digital, musician, personal manager, record label, talent agent, talent buyer/promoter, touring and venue.
During the recent CMA Awards held in November in Nashville, Luke Combs continued his reign as CMA entertainer of the year, while his album Growin’ Up earned album of the year honors (Combs earned two trophies for this win, as both artist and producer on the project). Combs is the first person to win entertainer of the year and album of the year on the same night since Taylor Swift did so in 2009.
Elsewhere, Chris Stapleton became the first six-time male vocalist of the year winner, surpassing Vince Gill, George Strait and Blake Shelton, each of whom is a five-time winner in the category. Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde also won musical event of the year for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” Their win marks the first all-female collaboration to win in 28 years — since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” in 1994.
Spotify has promoted longtime employee John Stein to head of North America, editorial, the company announced on Tuesday (Dec. 20). He reports directly to Sulinna Ong, global head of editorial at the streaming service.
Stein joined Spotify in 2013 after the streamer acquired his previous company, the playlisting firm Tunigo. Prior to his promotion, he worked as lead of music culture and editorial, overseeing strategy and curation for Spotify’s U.S. editorial playlists and becoming a strong voice on the company’s editorial team and the music team as a whole.
In 2018, Stein co-created Spotify’s successful genre-less playlist Pollen, which today boasts more than 1.3 million likes on the platform. Due to Pollen’s phenomenal success, the streaming service began leaning into the concept of playlist-as-brand and eventually introduced other similar playlists, including the pop-leaning Lorem (more than 969,000 likes) and the Nordic region-focused Oyster (more than 102,000 likes).
With his promotion, Stein has three new direct reports on his team. They include Rachel Whitney, head of Nashville, editorial; Antonio Vasquez, head of U.S. Latin, editorial; and Ronny Ho, head of dance and electronic development, editorial. The trio joins Stein’s existing team, which includes Ehis Osifo, editor, editorial partnerships; Jess Huddleston, editorial lead, Canada with her direct reports Marc Matar, junior editor, Canada and Karla Moy, editor, Canada; Talia Kraines, senior editor, United States with her direct reports Fredrik Fencke, editor and Lulu Largent, junior editor; and Elizabeth Szabo, senior editor, along with her direct report William Nellis, junior editor, North America.
Sameen Singh was named chief strategy officer & chief digital officer at 88rising, reporting to CEO and founder Sean Miyashiro out of Los Angeles. Singh will lead global strategy, negotiate partnerships, further digital business development and shepherd inorganic growth in the role. He will also lead the development and implementation of strategic initiatives and commercial innovation. Singh comes to 88rising from Create Music Group, where he served as chief strategy officer for two years. He can be reached at sameen@88rising.com.
Capitol Music Group (CMG) has promoted six employees in its marketing departments. They are: Jessica Eason to vp of marketing for Capitol Records; Zoe Gillespie to vp of brand partnerships and strategy for CMG; Kate Haffenden to vp of international marketing for CMG; Chris Kershaw to vp of marketing for Capitol Records; Byron Miller to vp of commercial marketing, streaming strategy (urban) for CMG; and Alex Williams to vp of gaming strategy & business development for CMG. Eason can be reached at jessica.eason@umusic.com, Gillespie can be reached at zoe.gillespie@umusic.com, Haffenden can be reached at kate.haffenden@umusic.com, Kershaw can be reached at chris.kershaw@umusic.com, Miller can be reached at byron.miller@umusic.com and Williams can be reached at alex.williams5@umusic.com.
Kurt Deutsch was named senior vp at Warner Music Entertainment & Theatrical Ventures, a newly created role. Deutsch will oversee the development of new theatrical productions and investments while continuing to be a connector with songwriters, artists and catalogs via collaborations with Warner Chappell Music and the various Warner Music Group (WMG) labels. He will continue to work closely with songwriters he has signed or re-signed to Warner Chappell, including Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, Joe Iconis, Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, Alan Menken, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eddie Perfect and Shaina Taub. Deutsch, who has been with WMG since 2017, will continue to be based in New York and report to Warner Music Entertainment (WME) president Charles Cohen. The theatrical music label he founded, Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight, will continue as part of WMG’s portfolio of labels.
Universal Music Group (UMG) hired Alvaro Galbete-Velilla as senior vp of new business, a new role that will see him develop opportunities in the Web3 and metaverse sectors as well as other emerging areas of digital development for the label. He joins the company from SoundCloud, where he was director of business development. UMG also promoted Kristen Bender to senior vp of digital innovation strategy & business development; she will continue to play an important role in implementing digital business partnerships with UMG operating units and directing UMG’s engagement with entrepreneurs worldwide. Her previous title was senior vp of business development & strategy. Both executives are based in Los Angeles.
Rachel Chernoff was named senior vp of data science & analytics at Sony Music Entertainment (SME), a newly created role; she was previously senior vp of partner development at the company. Based in New York, Chernoff will lead a newly formed team that brings together the global digital business (GDB) group’s strategic analytics and data science functions to continue growing SME’s data capabilities across the globe. Chernoff will work in partnership with the SME partner development, global product and sales & analytics teams to enhance and develop analytic- and science-based tools, techniques and expertise supporting the needs of Sony Music’s labels and businesses around the world. She will also lead the evolution of SME’s data capabilities with external partners globally. She reports to Dennis Kooker, president of global digital business at SME.
BMG appointed Pierrot Raschdorff as senior director of global diversity, equity and inclusion out of Berlin. In the role, Raschdorff will be responsible for developing and accelerating BMG’s global DE&I goals, working with international teams across the company’s 12 core music markets. He joins from Penguin Random House — also a division of BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann — in Germany.
Beau Benton was promoted to senior vp of media & operations at Republic Records. Benton, who will oversee operations for Republic in Los Angeles in the new role alongside co-president Wendy Goldstein, will continue handling media strategy and orchestrating campaigns for Republic artists. He will also serve as the liaison for internal Los Angeles team communication overall.
Karl Skoog joined Amuse as CMO, tasking him with leading the Swedish music company’s marketing and communications teams with a focus on global growth. Skoog was previously CMO at both Fotografiska and NGO The Swedish Brain Foundation. He has also worked at Tele2 and EMI Music Publishing. Skoog can be reached at karl@amuse.io.
Range Media Partners hired Jared Cotter as vp of A&R and Federico Morris as director of A&R. Both will join vp of A&R Sam Drake in supporting Range Music’s management talent, label joint venture with Capitol Music Group/Virgin Music & Artist Label Services and Range Music Publishing. Colter arrives from his multi-faceted entertainment company The Heavy Group. He will continue to manage Bazzi and co-manage clients Rose Betts, Ben Kessler, Boston & Pat, Veyah and Jay Sean with Jeremy Skaller while working to expand Range’s roster of artists on the label side. Morris most recently served as publishing A&R and manager at Electric Feel Entertainment. Cotter can be reached at jcotter@rangemp.com and Morris can be reached at fmorris@rangemp.com.
PPL named Titania Altius as head of member services and Dan Millington as senior vp/head of client services. Altius will oversee the delivery of the member services team’s operational activity and build and foster productive working relationships with PPL’s key stakeholders and industry partners around the world to develop the organization’s neighboring rights collections and distribution service. Millington will lead PPL’s member relationship management and recruitment to its international collections service. Both Altius and Millington will report to chief membership & people officer Kate Reilly. Altius can be reached at titania.altius@ppluk.com and Millington can be reached at daniel.millington@ppluk.com.
Naomi Asher was named vp of songwriter services and neighbouring rights at Sony Music Publishing UK. In her new role, Asher will be the go-to contact for SMP UK’s catalog songwriters and clients and will be tasked with expanding opportunities and driving success for their songs both locally and internationally. She will also continue overseeing the company’s neighbouring rights division. She will remain in the company’s London office, reporting to SMP UK co-managing directors David Ventura and Tim Major.
Rhea Ghosh was promoted to chief marketing officer at copyright protection service Cosynd, where she will lead all marketing and communications initiatives and consumer brand strategy. She will also head up Cosynd’s advocacy efforts with its partner network, which includes CD Baby, A2IM, the Mechanical Licensing Collective, Repost by SoundCloud, Symphonic Distribution, BookBaby, DiscMakers, AdRev, Soundrop and BeatStars. She joined the company in 2020. Ghosh can be reached at rhea.ghosh@cosynd.com.
Artist manager Keith Hagan joined MNRK Music Group, bringing his clients The Afghan Whigs, Robert Finley, Cymande, Ondara, The Whitmore Sisters and The Mastersons to the company. Hagan will be based in New York, reporting to MNRK president & CEO Chris Taylor. He most recently founded and led Skylark Artist Management. Hagan can be reached at khagan@mnrk.com.
Kate Loesch was named senior director of creative at Kobalt. The Los Angeles-based executive will sign artists and writers and with the global creative roster at Kobalt. She arrives at the company from Capitol Records, where she served as director of A&R.
CAA promoted Kate Arenson and Ron Jordan to agents in the music touring department. Jordan will continue working with ARDN, Jean Deaux and tobi lou, among others. (via THR)
Glenn Briffa was named CFO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, effective immediately; he’s served as interim CFO since July. His responsibilities include overseeing the organization’s financial, information technology and office administration functions.
Arno Van Berkel was appointed managing director at Fruits Music, a music and tech company specializing in music playlist promotion. He started his new role on Jan. 23. Van Berkel — who joins Fruits Music from Warner Chappell Music, Benelux, where he served as managing director for 15 years — will be based at the company’s headquarters in Oosterhout, Netherlands and report to Fruits Music founder & CEO Stef Van Vugt.
Centricity Music hired three new employees: Tyler Osswald as digital marketing manager, Sarah Shinn as marketing manager of radio and Camy McCardle as senior manager of finance/business affairs.
Violinist/composer Curtis Stewart has been named artistic director at the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), effective immediately. Stewart will overlap with outgoing artistic director Derek Bermel, who is concluding his 10-year tenure but will remain on ACO’s board of directors. In the position, Stewart will be tasked with conceiving, curating, selecting and programming ACO performances, readings, recordings and other programs. He is also responsible for creating programming that expresses the ACO vision, developing and maintaining relationships with individual and institutional artistic partners and setting the artistic strategy for the organization in partnership with ACO president Melissa Ngan. He will additionally work with ACO director of artist equity Garrett McQueen to offer artistic oversight to the organization’s EarShot composer advancement initiatives. Stewart can be reached at curtis@americancomposers.org.
Full Coverage Communications named Melissa O’Toole as director and Avery Robinson as senior publicist in Los Angeles. O’Toole has worked at companies including 42West, Scoop Marketing and ID PR along with several talent agencies and record labels. Robinson joins from BECK Media & Marketing. The company also announced the signing of several new clients, including Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Kid Harpoon, The Kid LAROI, Little big Town, Michael Buble, Ozuna and TXT.
JKBX, a start-up offering retail investors fractional shares in thousands of hit songs, said Friday (Dec. 16) it has hired executives from Spotify, NTWRK, Comcast and others as it builds out its executive team and aims for a mid-2023 launch.
Pronounced “jukebox,” the new investment platform founded and led by former Warner Music Group chief innovation officer Scott Cohen hired Whitney-Gayle Benta to be its chief music officer from Spotify, where she was global head of artist & talent relations, and Jason Brown as chief marketing officer from the livestream commerce platform NTWRK. Brown previously held top marketing roles at Foot Locker and PepsiCo.
JKBX is part Robinhood, the popular online brokerage, and part Spotify. Cohen says it will offer bite-sized investment stakes in hundreds of thousands of No. 1 songs by current artists and back catalogs belonging to rock legends for a price starting at around $10.
While several start-ups offering fractional share investing in music copyrights have launched in recent years, JKBX aims to differentiate itself with its scale, as well as by packaging the investments in SEC-registered entities and creating a platform welcoming of investors confused by blockchain and NFT jargon, says Cohen.
“This is about the interest in owning a real asset that is something you love, a piece of music,” he says. “This is a wide-open market now because retail investors have never had an opportunity to get involved. We’re creating a new asset class, building something at scale and … I think it’s going to explode.”
Cohen declined to name any of the artists or songs to which JKBX has acquired rights. But Benta, who was featured on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list this year, brings numerous artist relationships with her. In her previous role, Benta curated events including Spotify’s presence at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, which featured Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa and Post Malone.
Building out the technology supporting the platform will be Matt Brown, JKBX’s new chief technology officer, who previously co-founded the web3 startup Arthur, and worked at the hedge fund Citadel and the Blockchain company Ripple; and Madhav Gopal, who worked in cybersecurity operations at Comcast Cable and now serves as JKBX’s chief information security officer. Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay joins JKBX as its chief communications and public affairs officer, having previously helmed public policy communications at Robinhood.
JKBX is structuring its offerings by putting the rights it buys into special purpose vehicles — such as an LLC — and registering them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a step that adds an extra layer of protection for rights holders, investors and the company.
Investors can then buy and trade stakes in those entities, with the share price being determined by the song’s valuation. The entities will gain value as they are streamed, synched and played, with that revenue being paid out intermittently to investors and other JKBX partners.
JKBX is still hammering out the technology and mechanisms that will be used for its public offerings, but the company is following all existing securities laws, Cohen says.
“We believe that everything should have this regulatory wrapper because this isn’t the first time for me,” says Cohen, who founded The Orchard with Richard Gottehrer in 1997, just a few years before the dotcom bubble burst in early 2000. “There were a lot of companies that IPO’d with these silly business models and they all disappeared. But what remained was people doing business by the fundamentals leveraging the technology of the day.”
“We will use blockchain technology, but as far as the consumer knows you want to buy royalty streams, click buy, enter how much and it goes into your account,” Cohen adds.
The company has not yet picked a date for its 2023 launch, but it is “fully capitalized,” says Cohen, who is bullish about the promise of the fractional shares market.
“This is the only area where I see explosive growth. I don’t see explosive growth from VR, AR, blockchain and NFTs, gaming,” Cohen says. “We’re not substituting anything the way albums replaced singles, or cassettes replaced albums. We’re not replacing anything. We are building an entire asset on top of it. We [fractional shares investing platforms] can add billions and billions of dollars to the ecosystem.”