Hopeless Records
Elbows up for another Executive Turntable, Billboard’s weekly compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music business. There’s a full slate of news this week, so let’s get started.
Universal Music Canada promoted Amanda Kingsland to vp of A&R, co-leading the company’s A&R efforts with Shawn Marino, the vp of A&R operations. Together, they’ll lead UMC’s A&R teams — located in both Toronto and Montreal — to sign, develop, and break new Canadian artists. Kingsland, who joined UMC in 2021, revitalized the country music roster and multiple projects. Marino, a 30-year industry veteran, oversees 80A Studios, the label’s multi-room recording space, and The Academy, UMC’s event space. UMC’s artists include Josh Ross, Sofia Camara, Mae Martin, Owen Riegling and thiarajxtt, alongside recent signings AP Dhillon, Lindsay Ell, James Barker Band, Sebastian Gaskin, and TyriqueorDie. Julie Adam, president and CEO, praised Kingsland and Marino’s leadership, emphasizing their role in investing in artistic voices. “Music – and the artists who create it – are our driving force,” she said. “We focus our hustle, passion, care, creativity, and abundance of forward-thinking ideas on helping the artists we work with achieve personal, artistic, and commercial success. And at the centre of our mission to sign, develop, and break artists is our industry-leading A&R team.”
Hopeless Records announced key hires and promotions as it cements its position in the indie music industry. Ian Harrison is promoted to executive vp, focusing on business development and global growth. Erin Choi becomes general manager, overseeing global marketing and promotions after nearly two decades with the label. Christina Johns steps up as vp of operations, while Nonafaye Williams advances to senior director of product management. New additions include Jen Darmafall as director of marketing and Rheanna ‘Caedance’ Lauren as program director of the Hopeless Music Academy, which offers music education to under-resourced youth in Los Angeles. Founder Louis Posen praised the leadership team — Harrison, Choi, Johns, CFO Al Person, and evp of A&R Eric Tobin — as a passionate, “caring and talented executive team.” He also emphasized the label’s commitment to artist development, highlighting the Academy’s launch as a dream realized.
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Universal Music Greater China appointed Vivian Xu as chief operating officer, effective immediately. Based in Beijing, Xu will report directly to Timothy Xu, chairman and CEO. In her new role, she’ll collaborate with the senior leadership team to oversee daily operations and identify market expansion opportunities. Xu brings extensive experience from her previous roles at Columbia China, Sony Music Entertainment China, Motorola Solutions, Sony Ericsson and Schneider Electric China. Xu’s appointment is expected to enhance UMGC’s capabilities and strengthen its position in the Chinese music market. UMGC represents a diverse artist roster, including Li Nong Chen, Sunnee, Tanya Chua and Guo Ding. It has also partnered with Modern Sky, which features acts like New Pants and Tizzy T. Timothy Xu and Adam Granite, executive vp market development at UMG, praised her strategic insights and operational expertise.
MSG Entertainment and MSG Sports — friends call-em “the MSG family of companies” — appointed Doug Jossem as executive vp, global sports and entertainment partnerships. Reporting to Jamaal Lesane, chief operating officer of MSG Sports, Jossem will lead global partnership initiatives across MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment while supporting sales for MSG Networks. Jossem brings over 20 years of experience in media, advertising, and management, previously leading Walmart Connect’s largest business unit and holding key roles at Twitter, Vice, Comedy Central and CNN. Lesane highlighted MSG’s topline brands, expressing confidence in Jossem’s ability to create “innovative solutions that leverage the full depth and breadth of our portfolio to create unique platforms and unrivaled exposure for our partners.”
Nathaniel Brown, former PR head at Warner Bros. Discovery, joined TikTok as global head of corporate communications, reporting to Zenia Mucha. Based in New York, Brown previously held roles at 21st Century Fox, MTV Networks and SiriusXM. At Discovery, he managed PR during the 2022 merger and controversial decisions like shelving projects for tax write-offs. Brown left the company in January 2024. Now at TikTok, he faces significant challenges, including a potential U.S. ban on the app, set for April 5, after President Trump delayed the law earlier this year.
Candice Watkins, senior vp of marketing at Big Loud Records and a fixture on various Billboard power lists, confirmed she is leaving the Nashville label after a six-and-a-half year run. Prior to joining BLR, the USC alum clocked a couple years as senior director of marketing and artist development at Universal Music Group. The news was first covered by HITS, which reported “big plans on the horizon” for the executive.
Red Street Records hired Jason McArthur as the label’s vice president of Christian A&R and publishing, to lead in developing and expanding the roster of Christian artists and songwriters at Red Street Records and Red Street Publishing. McArthur will oversee the label’s Christian roster, including Jason Crabb, Consumed By Fire, Cade Thompson and Iveth Luna, in addition to songwriters Brian White, the Ward Brothers and Crabb. McArthur previously served as vp of A&R at Sony Music Entertainment’s Provident Entertainment. –Jessica Nicholson
ATC Management expanded its U.S. team with new managers Dev Crawford and Jay Saunders. Based in Los Angeles, Crawford represents rapper Earl Sweatshirt and singer-songwriter Fana Hues, bringing extensive experience in hip-hop and R&B, including tour management for Snoh Aalegra and NxWorries. Saunders will lead ATC’s Nashville expansion, specializing in Americana, folk and all things roots. He previously worked with Marty Diamond and Mark Williams at Concord and now represents artists like John Vincent III and Kacy Hill. Both managers will continue signing new clients, joining a roster that includes Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and The Smile. They’ll work closely with Jackson Perry, head of management in North America, and can be reached at dev@atcmanagement.com and jay@atcmanagement.com.
Warner Music France launched Adore Music, a dance label led by Romain Pasquier, a 17-year WMG veteran. The label aims to showcase both emerging and established dance artists, leveraging Warner Music’s global resources to support talent in France and beyond. Pasquier, the managing director who’ll keep his senior role at label and artist services division WEA, is committed to honoring France’s electronic music legacy while nurturing the next generation. He is joined by Adrien Morin-Guardia, A&R and head of marketing, and Nicolas Klersky, A&R. Adore Music’s first release, “Need You the Most” by house duo Ofenbach, debuted on March 21. Parlez-vous français? Check out Billboard France‘s story on the launch.
Infamous promoted Jelani Wright to vp of festivals & events for North America. In his new role, Wright will oversee creator and publicity campaigns for North American music festivals, including CRSSD Festival, Lightning in a Bottle and its producer Do Lab, HARD Summer, Hangout Festival, Sand In My Boots, ARC Festival, Splash House, M3F Festival, and Electric Forest. Wright will also handle campaigns for international festivals including Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, Montreal’s Igloofest and Turin’s KappaFutur Festival. Wright started at Infamous as a publicist in the festival division in 2020 after graduating from the agency’s Fellowship program, an initiative that helps BIPOC candidates break into the music industry. Wright will report to Infamous COO Maxfield Frieser, who says that “Jelani’s passion, leadership, and innovative approach to earned media have been instrumental in evolving our festival campaigns and helping grow the division.” –Katie Bain
“Single White Female” singer-songwriter Chely Wright announced her new role as senior vp of corporate social responsibility and new market growth at facilities management firm ISS. She’ll drive impact by fostering client and community partnerships and empowering ISS’ 320,000+ employees. Wright’s initiatives will strengthen client relationships and celebrate internal culture, focusing on partnerships that unite corporate entities and community organizations. Wright was the first country artist to come out as gay in 2010 — read about her career transition in Stephen Daw’s new profile.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Matthew Miller, a veteran country music manager, joined talent agency The Familie, bringing artists William Beckmann and LEW. With 20-plus years of experience at WME, Red Light and more, Miller praised The Familie’s collaborative culture, while evp Royce Risser highlighted his expertise and artist-focused management approach … Monti Smith joined King Pen Music as creative coordinator after interning at the publishing company. He will work closely with CEO Kelly King and Amanda Roach, creative manager.
Brandon Holman joined Amber Health to lead industry relations. Previously, he was vp of marketing and wellness at Guin Records and co-founded The Lazuli Collective, an experiential wellness agency. Earlier in his career, Holman made stops at UnitedMasters and TikTok in various marketing and label partnerships roles. Amber Health, established in 2020, styles itself as the only full-service mental health and wellness solution for the music industry, focusing on supporting artists, tours, events and music companies. In 2023, Holman penned a guest column on how Guin prioritizes artists’ well-being, empowering them to create and share their music in a sustainable way.
The Circuit Group formed a joint venture with James Ahearn, founder of Buena Artists & Projects, to expand its global artist management team. Ahearn brings his roster, including Sparrow & Barbossa, Two Friends and Stevie Appleton/Collect 200. Ahearn praised The Circuit Group’s innovative approach and expressed excitement about launching his own division within the company. Dean Wilson, CEO of The Circuit Group, highlighted Ahearn’s impressive track record in artist management, adding, “his ability to identify and develop artists, foster impactful partnerships and navigate both the major label system and independent space makes him a perfect fit.”
Viamedia, the independent digital and linear advertising rep firm, acquired digital advertising company LocalFactor. LocalFactor’s founder and CEO, Evan Rutchik, will become Viamedia’s president and chief strategy officer, reporting to CEO David Solomon. Rutchik will drive Viamedia’s strategic vision, oversee LocalFactor’s operations, and join Viamedia’s board.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Billboard welcomed Delisa Shannon as its new shortform content director. She joined from Rolling Stone and started this week in the New York office. Also, new staff writer Mackenzie Cummings-Grady will officially join the team on April 1, based in NYC … The Hollywood Reporter made three key editorial changes: Beatrice Verhoeven dropped the “deputy” from her title and is now “just” awards editor, longtime contributor Brande Victorian joined as the deputy awards editor, and senior awards editor Steven Zeitchik is now senior editor of technology and politics.
ICYMI:
Fernando Cabral
Fernando Cabral de Mello was appointed CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Brazil as part of a new organizational structure … Avex appointed S10 founder Brandon Silverstein as CEO of its new Avex Music Group to enhance its U.S. presence and promote Avex artists globally … and longtime music manager Andrew Goldstone joined the team at Milk & Honey as head of electronic music. [Keep Reading]
Last Week’s Turntable: Dizzying Changes Made at Spinnin’ Records
Louis Posen launched a label on a dare. It was 1993 and he was directing a music video for Guttermouth when the band threw down the gauntlet, challenging him to put out a 7″ single. Posen cheerfully admits he had no business plan and zero funding. The guiding principle, he says, was “surround ourselves with good people, and we’ll be fine.”
More than fine, in fact: That label, Hopeless Records, has gone on to work with more than 200 artists — including Avenged Sevenfold, All Time Low, The Wonder Years, Taking Back Sunday and Yellowcard — that span from punk to ska, metal to emo. All told, the roster has sold more than 15 million albums. And now, Posen is celebrating the label’s 30th anniversary at A2IM’s Indie Week in New York (June 10-13), where he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award Monday (June 10) at the organization’s 2024 Libera Awards.
While Posen’s decision to cannonball into the deep end of the label world might seem recklessly spur-of-the-moment, he now believes it was almost preordained. “We have all these moments in our lives that lead us to something,” he explains. One came in the fifth grade when a friend’s mom’s boyfriend took Posen and others to see the L.A. punk group X at the Reseda Country Club. “That was the first time I saw mohawks, stage diving, slam dancing,” Posen remembers. “And I was like, ‘Wow, this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.’”
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To celebrate Hopeless Records’ 30th anniversary, the label put together a traveling exhibit full of memorabilia commemorating key moments in its history. It will be open during Indie Week this week, before heading on to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. Posen and Ian Harrison, the label’s GM, spoke about Hopeless Records’ origins, the challenges of condensing 30 years of activity into a single exhibit and the value of the independent sector.
Hopeless Records
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What led you to start a label?
Posen: I was in film school at Cal State Northridge and I directed a music video for NOFX. The opener for the show we shot at was Guttermouth, who asked me to do a music video for them. And then while shooting that video, the band dared me to put out a 7″ record for them.
I went out and bought a book on how to run an independent record label. I tried to follow what it said, along with calling Fat Mike from NOFX because he had a record label. The first 7″ came out in December 1993, with the first song being called “Hopeless.” And that was where the name of the label was born.
I was still in college directing music videos at the time. It was really a one-off dare. Another group that I was doing a music video for was Schlong — a band with the drummer from Operation Ivy. While we were filming that video, the guys said, “Hey, we want to cover the whole West Side Story soundtrack and call it Punk Side Story. Would you put it out on this new label you started?” I said, “Let’s do it.” Things were so spontaneous back then.
What was the response to those early releases?
Posen: Guttermouth had a following. I was able to sell that first pressing of 500 or 1,000 records fairly quickly. The book also had distributors and their phone numbers so I called all of them. Some were willing to take the 7″, and then the rest I would sell at local Southern California retail stores. I would go drop them off on consignment and then come back a week later, see what sold and get paid.
The third release was all the music videos that I had directed along with videos from some of my friends who were directors. We put it on a VHS cassette and called that Cinema Beer-té, a play on “cinéma vérité.” After that, I decided to do the label full-time.
So you got the hang of things pretty quickly.
Posen: We’re still getting the hang of it; 30 years later, the best part about this industry is that it’s always changing and you always have to be learning. Those who feel like they know it usually get stuck and hit a ceiling. We need to be humble enough to learn from our successes, but more so learn from our mistakes and keep getting better every day. That’s been our philosophy and hopefully has been a part of why we’ve been able to survive for 30 years.
Hopeless Records
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How did you approach distilling three decades of history into a single exhibit?
Harrison: We’re pretty fortunate to have too much stuff — we could do two or three more exhibits if anyone was interested in that level of detail. We took a lot of inspiration from the Punk Rock Museum in Vegas, how they displayed the history of our world. We put our own tweaks on it.
We spent maybe two months going through stuff before we started building anything. And that was really just trying to get a sense of what we had, what we could get from artists, and what was important to tell the story. We have access to certain items that are interesting, but we also have big moments at the label that we want to make sure are represented, and sometimes those don’t always line up. It took maybe four months altogether. One thing we took away from this experience was feeling like we should do a better job archiving stuff in the future, both digitally and physically.
Posen: I always keep something next to my desk that reminds me of the beginning so I don’t forget where we came from. I kept the original Guttermouth 24-track two-inch tape in my office. Ian also spent some time — very kind of him — going through my garage with me to find all kinds of stuff that no one had looked at in 30 years.
The idea from the beginning was for it to be mobile, so we could go from museum to museum. Ian came up with the idea of putting these items in road cases, which was really cool because it has a music connection. You’ve got these music road cases like an artist would have on tour, but with the glass fronts like what you would see on the wall of a well-known museum.
How often did you have to ask artists for items?
Harrison: About 25% of the good stuff I’d say comes from artists. Avenged Sevenfold’s guitar that they used to record Waking the Fallen, that came from the producer actually who still had it. Neck Deep gave us a guitar. The Wonder Years gave us these two amazing lyric books with original song titles that had changed, early album plans, a pros and cons list about conversations with the label. That’s gold.
A lot of the good stuff came from artists, which is really nice and also requires us to have good relationships with them. That’s another bright spot for the label — we generally have pretty good relationships with these artists over time.
Posen: The third way we got stuff was becoming an expert at searching eBay, finding old T-shirts and things that we don’t have any stock of anymore. We used to put out these parody shirts that look like Rolling Rock, but they said “punk rock.” We found those on eBay.
Harrison: For maybe a month my house looked like a crazy person’s house. We just had the weirdest-looking packages coming every day. I bought a lot of posters that came in like these insane packages.
Hopeless Records
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Are there any items in the exhibit that are especially meaningful for you?
Harrison: For me, it would be The Greatest Generation workbook from around when The Wonder Years put out that album. That’s one of the top records in the company’s history. I remember us putting out that record and going through the whole process. To see the inner workings of that record as it was developing, to me that’s the coolest thing. And then I also threw in my own gold record from All Time Low when they first got a single plaque.
Posen: I mentioned we did the Punk Side Story that covered the whole West Side Story soundtrack. We actually got a letter from Leonard Bernstein‘s daughter — he’s the composer. She said, “This is an amazing version of my dad’s work and we’re not going to sue you.” It’s handwritten on her stationery. That’s an amazing piece.
And we have a letter from the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, who’s an icon in California, recognizing our charitable work with Sub City. Our belief that the artists’ voices can do more than make musicians rich and famous, that’s still the fabric and foundation of what we do every day.
What advice would you give to someone who aspires to start a label now and have it last 30 years?
Posen: I’m always hesitant to give advice because every individual is different. But there are definitely philosophies that I have that I like to share. We have a list of principles on the Hopeless site. If you’re just doing this for your own benefit, I think that’s not sustainable or rewarding over a long period of time. And it’s not about whatever the quick, easy path is. It’s about doing things the right way, treating people the right way. Those principles aren’t necessarily in fashion now, but we think those are universal and everlasting. And my biggest one is probably to still surround yourself with great people. This is really a team sport.
How do you feel about the health of the independent label landscape?
Posen: We’re a big believer that the independent music sector is an amazing place to build your career and create social mobility. This community does that. It’s an amazing environment to get started. Most independent labels don’t require you to have a Harvard degree, or any degree. It’s all about how hard you work — and how much you care. This community is what gave us the environment to start and thrive. And so we want to make sure this community stays strong and grows for the next generation of labels and other music businesses.
Ian made a list while he’s been putting this together — all of our albums that have reached 100,000 copies sold in the U.S. You only get a gold record at 500,000 or a platinum one at 1 million. We’ve got a few of those, which is awesome. But what’s actually more exciting is we have 33 albums that have hit over 100,000. To me, that symbolizes what we do and what independent music is all about. It’s not about superstars necessarily. It’s mostly about great music and art and allowing these artists to make a living doing what they do.
Louis Posen, founder of California-based label Hopeless Records, is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 A2IM Libera Awards. The awards, the world’s largest celebration of independent music, is set to take place on Monday, June 10 at Gotham Hall in New York. The gala dinner and concert event, featuring performances from a diverse range of artists, is open to the public.
As a board member for the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) and Merlin and a two-time board member for A2IM, Posen has stood at the forefront of advocacy efforts within the United States and internationally.
“Louis’s dedication to nurturing artists and leveraging music for social change underscores his commitment to our industry and epitomizes the power of combining passion with purpose,” Dr. Richard James Burgess, MBE, president/CEO of A2IM, said in a statement. “Louis is a vital advocate for independent music, vigorously championing the causes he believes in. We salute Louis for his continued commitment to the independent sector and to community empowerment.”
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“What an unbelievable honor to be in the same company as some of my mentors and favorite labels,” Posen said in a statement. “… Thank you to the entire independent music community. Especially A2IM, whose amazing work promoting and protecting the value of independent music has created an industry environment where independent artists and companies like Hopeless can thrive.”
Previous A2IM Lifetime Achievement winners include Martin Mills (Beggars Group), Tom Silverman (Tommy Boy Records), Bruce Iglauer (Alligator Records), Patricia Chin (VP Records), Mike Curb (Curb Records), Ani DiFranco (Righteous Babe Records), Brett Gurewitz (Epitaph/ANTI-), Jonathan Poneman (Sub Pop), Seymour Stein (Sire Records) and Al Bell, Estelle Axton, Jim Stewart, and Deanie Parker (Stax Records).
This year, Hopeless Records celebrates its 30 year anniversary. Over the last three decades, it has grown from a bedroom label into one of the most successful companies in independent music, with more than 400 releases and millions of records sold.
Founded by Posen as an excuse to release a seven-inch by the band Guttermouth, the label spent much of the ’90s catering to pop-punk and ska fans with a short roster that included 88 Fingers Louie, Dillinger Four and Mustard Plug. As mainstream tastes shifted, so did the label, signing such acts as Avenged Sevenfold, All Time Low, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years and illuminati hotties.
This year’s Libera Awards will recognize achievements across 38 categories, including three new ones: publisher of the year, distributor of the year and best record from games and interactive media.
Tickets start at $299 for a single balcony ticket. They can be purchased here.
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