Jaxsta
Music credits database Jaxsta is still Jaxsta, but the parent company housing it — along with social networking platform Vampr and online record store Vinyl.com — is now called Vinyl Group Ltd. The fine-print flip was announced on Tuesday (Dec. 5) following approval from shareholders at the publicly-listed company’s general meeting last month. “It’s a […]
SYDNEY, Australia — Josh Simons is the new CEO of Jaxsta.
The Vampr co-founder succeeds Beth Appleton, who steps down as CEO with immediate effect, reads a statement issued Thursday (June 29) to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Simons takes the reins at Jaxsta Limited, the world’s biggest database of official music credits, following the completion of the acquisition of Vampr on June 1, 2023, when he was named as chief strategy officer.
Going forward, he’ll continue in those duties in addition to his appointment as CEO.
“The board thanks Beth for her significant contribution to Jaxsta during a period of growth and change,” comments Jaxsta chair Linda Jenkinson. “We wish her all the best for her future.”
Appleton departs some 14 months after her own promotion from chief marketing officer to the top job.
Born in Britain and now based in Sydney, Australia, Appleton joined Jaxsta in July 2021 from major label-land, including stints with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and EMI. During her ten-year run with WMG, she earned a reputation as one of the best in the business, and plaudits in Billboard’s “Women In Music” feature.
“I will relish my time at Jaxsta and the initiatives that I drove,” she comments. “I wish Josh, and the incredible team, all the very best for the future. I’m proud to have been a part of the Jaxsta evolution, and look forward to watching the business continue on its mission.”
Jaxsta is Australia’s only ASX-listed music business.
The incoming chief executive takes the helm at a business that, currently, boasts more than 343 million official, deep-linked music credits across 107 million pages, sourced from over 359 data partners.
Last week, WiseTech founder and CEO Richard White became a substantial shareholder in the company as part of its A$3 million capital raise.
“I’ve been following Josh Simons for a number of years as the founder and CEO of Vampr,” White explains. “I have been impressed by his tenacity, focus, vision and particularly the ability to build a commercial model that grows and retains revenue and customers. Now that Vampr is a part of Jaxsta, Josh will, no doubt, contribute his drive, skills and experience to the larger business. I see his contribution will be able to create a clear path to revenue and profitability for Jaxsta.”
Simons co-founded Vampr in 2015 with Barry Palmer. Today, it’s recognized as the leading social-professional network for musicians, boasting 1.3 million users and facilitating over eight million connections.
“Jaxsta has a clear vision and product roadmap going into FY24, and that’s a credit to the Board, Beth and the team who have done a remarkable job,” Simons comments. “Revenue, cost efficiency and profitability remain the top priorities for Jaxsta and I look forward to building on the current momentum. We have the foundation for a transformational global music product as we continue to integrate Vampr into the business and scale the Vinyl.com platform.”
The changing of the guard closely follows Jaxsta’s Master of Metadata win at the Music Business Association’s Bizzy Awards 2023, and the launch of Vinyl.com, a new online store powered by Jaxsta’s official music credits. In April of this year, Jacqui Louez Schoorl announced her departure from Jaxsta, a decade after she founded the business.
Jaxsta is awarded Master of Metadata honors at the Music Business Association’s Bizzy Awards 2023, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
Based in Sydney, the official music credits database snags a category that recognizes companies that have made a significant impact in the area of data processing, credit clarification, streamlining or otherwise promoting clean data and best practices.
“We are exceptionally proud to be recognized by the Music Business Association for our excellence in metadata,” comments Jaxsta CEO Beth Appleton in a statement. “It is critical that the industry has one verified source of truth and that we continually value and insist on official credits,” she continues. “Only by doing this, can we ensure that creators are paid quickly, accurately and cost-effectively.”
Currently, Jaxsta’s data set includes over 55 million recordings and almost 15 million works which are matched, deep-linked and searchable by multiple industry identifiers, including ISRC, ISWC, Spotify IDs, UPCs and more.
This Music Biz honor, adds Michael Stone, Jaxsta CTO, “is a testament to the trust placed in Jaxsta by our label partners.”
Jaxsta’s victory closely follows the launch of Vinyl.com. A vinyl-hunter’s dream, the new online store is powered by Jaxsta’s official music credits and gives record buyers verified creative contributions metadata on every album, for a deep dive into artists, songwriters, producers, composers, engineers, musicians and any other contributors.
The vision for Vinyl, its creators say, is to offer quickly expand its offer beyond selling vinyl to include merchandise, tickets, digital collectibles and other “experiences that connect fans with creators.”
First announced and held in 2022, the Bizzy Awards also presents the Leading Light Award, the Agent of Change Award, the #NEXTGEN_NOW One To Watch Award and others.
Read more here.
It’s official: Tyler Johnson was the top producer on the planet in 2022, according to new data published by Jaxsta, the official music credits database.
Johnson, the studio whiz whose fingerprints are all over hits by Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Cam and others, is ranked No. 1 on Jaxsta’s list of 100 most successful producers.
The U.S. producer “had a stellar 2022,” the credits specialist notes, during which he was nominated for three Grammy Awards including album of the year for his production work on Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, plus song of the year and record of the year for “As It Was,” the monster hit from the same album.
Harry’s House and “As It Was” achieved the chart double on both sides of the Atlantic.
During Styles’ hot streak, the former One Direction singer hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated June 4, 2022), while Kid Harpoon and Johnson tied atop Hot 100 Producers, thanks to their work on the Englishman’s third studio album.
Meanwhile Tainy (Rosalía, Sean Paul, Dua Lipa) and Kid Harpoon (Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles, Maggie Rogers) complete the podium, respectively.
Following the outstanding success of Taylor Swift’s tenth and latest studio album, Midnights, an album whose tracks swamped the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, a record, the U.S. pop superstar comes in at No. 4 on the Jaxsta Honors List: Producers.
The top five is completed by Max Martin, the legendary Swedish record producer who kept the hits coming with his work alongside Pink, Lizzo and others.
“Congratulations to Tyler. His incredible achievements, and the achievements of all producers in the Top 100 and beyond resulted in 2022 being an amazing year for recorded music,” comments Jaxsta CEO Beth Appleton. “Jaxsta is proud to shine the light on all who create music, ensuring our official credits reflect accuracy and transparency. We will continue to use our unique database to highlight insights such as the Honors List.”
The tally is based on statistics provided by Jaxsta’s 340-plus official data partners (record labels, publishers, distributors, industry associations and charts providers) to pinpoint the world’s 100 most successful producers from January 2022 to December 2022.
Its rankings are based on a weighted algorithm that takes into account each producer’s chart performance, Spotify streams, Grammy wins and nominations, RIAA certifications, and other producer credits over the timeframe.
Jaxsta launched in open beta in 2019 and today boasts a growing database containing over 17 million producer credits.
Click here for the Jaxsta Honors List: Top 100 Producers of 2022.
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