Universal Music Canada
Julie Adam was named executive vp/general manager at Universal Music Canada, where she will lead frontline operations, overseeing marketing, digital strategy, commercial affairs and brand partnership portfolios. Adam joins from Rogers Sports & Media, where she was most recently president of news & entertainment.
Alison Donald was promoted to head of global creative at Kobalt, where she will be based between London and Los Angeles. She previously oversaw A&R and creative in the U.K. and Europe for Kobalt Music Publishing as well as AWAL’s U.K. and Europe creative team prior to its sale.
Jennifer Blakeman joined Seeker Music as chief rights & royalties officer. She comes from boutique music publisher one77 Music, where she served as president/chief creative officer. In her new role, she will lead and oversee the expansion of Seeker’s rights management, administration and royalty platforms. Blakeman can be reached at blakeman@seekermusic.com.
Michael Allen was named vp of marketing strategy at Republic Records, where he will develop and execute campaigns for artists across pop and K-pop. The New York-based executive joined Republic in 2020 as a digital marketing consultant.
Gabe Fleet joined law firm Latham & Watkins as partner in the connectivity, privacy & information practice. Fleet, a prominent music licensing lawyer, joins from iHeartMedia, where he served as executive vp of business affairs and chief music licensing counsel. He anticipates being part of Latham’s New York office upon admission to the New York Bar; he is currently licensed to practice in Georgia and Alabama. He can be reached at Gabe.Fleet@lw.com.
Merlin announced several promotions. They include Ryan McWhinnie to vp of business and legal affairs, Shrina Patel to senior director of business and legal affairs, Chris Tarbet to senior director of commercial partnerships, Chaida Kapfunde to senior director of business and technology solutions, Pavan Vasdev to director of strategy & growth, Quentin Martins to senior manager of commercial partnerships and Grace Styles to senior finance assistant.
Big Machine Label Group promoted Courtney Daly, Bekah Digby and Marie Wapelhorst to director of streaming and Anna Scott Welch to manager of streaming. Sam Featherstone also joined the company as director of streaming; he was previously at Sony Music Entertainment, where he served as associate director of commercial partnerships. Daly can be reached at courtney.daly@bmlg.net, Digby can be reached at bekah.digby@bmlg.net, Featherstone can be reached at sam.featherstone@bmlg.net, Wapelhorst can be reached at marie.wapelhorst@bmlg.net and Scott Welch can be reached at annascott.welch@bmlg.net.
Red Street Records hired several new team members, including Brooklynn Gould-Bradbury as manager of publicity and communications, Dottie Chamberlain as executive assistant/operations manager and Riley Cooper as digital marketing coordinator. Gould-Bradbury joins from CMT and can be reached at brooklynn.g@redstreetrecords.com. Chamberlain joins from Universal Music Nashville, where she served as executive assistant to chairman/CEO Mike Dungan (for whom she worked for nearly three decades). She can be reached at Dottie.c@redstreetrecords.com. Cooper, who is coming off internships with companies including Sweet Talk Publicity and Triple 8 Management, can be reached at riley.c@redstreetrecords.com.
Universal Music Group senior vp of business and legal affairs Aaron Harrison was appointed to the SoundExchange board of directors; he replaces Sony Music’s Jeff Walker. Harrison also serves on the SoundExchange licensing committee.
Hannah Babitt, CEO/founder of Los Angeles-based boutique management company BABZ, announced the opening of BABZ Nashville. Babitt will oversee BABZ in both Los Angeles and Nashville, with Jacklyn Figueiredo and Eden Lytle based in Los Angeles.
Claudia Russo was named senior vp of corporate communications at UTA. She joins from Verizon Business Markets, where she served as head of communications. Beginning in the role immediately, she will relocate to Los Angeles from New York this summer.
Sweden-based label A-P Records rebranded to Overtone Studios and named producer/songwriter Rami Yacoub as director of music development, North America. Based in Los Angeles, he’ll help spearhead the company’s international expansion.
Adam Sachs was named senior vp of entertainment, comedy and podcasts programming at SiriusXM. The executive first joined the satellite broadcaster following its acquisition of Team Coco, where he served as president.
First Artists Management hired Zoe Hart as agent in its London office and promoted Hailey Flame to agent in Los Angeles. Hart, who joins from Faber Music, can be reached at ZHart@firstartistsmgmt.com. Flame can be reached at Hflame@firstartistsmgmt.com.
Nigel Elderton was named chairman at music technology company Audoo, which is focused on improving accuracy, transparency and reporting in public performance royalty data collection and payment distribution.
Deezer named Maria Garrido chief marketing officer. Based in Paris, Garrido will lead the company’s marketing team and help further the development of the Deezer brand. She will report directly to CEO Jeronimo.
Ron Savage was named vp and executive director of the Berklee College of Music, where he previously served as dean of the college’s professional performance division and chair of the ensemble department; he also attended Berklee as a student. Savage will be responsible for oversight and direction of all academic programs, facilities, operations and faculty and staff for the college’s three divisions. He will additionally join the core leadership team at Berklee and help devise a strategy for the organization as a whole. He reports to executive vp and provost Dr. David Bogen. Savage can be reached at rsavage@berklee.edu.
Universal Music Canada promoted Craig “Big C” Mannix to vp of Black music. In the role, Mannix will continue leading UMC’s commitment to Black music with “an integrated approach to marketing and A&R,” according to a press release. His expanded purview includes an A&R remit to discover, sign and support Black music created by Canadians while continuing to lead the teams responsible for domestic international Black music marketing. He reports to Universal Music Canada chairman & CEO Jeffrey Remedios. Mannix can be reached at craig.Mannix@umusic.com.
ASM Global named Gary Jacobus president of business development. He will oversee the company’s plans to grow its sales efforts and strategies for securing new accounts across the Americas while providing support to ASM Global’s European and APAC business development teams. Jacobus can be reached at gjacobus@asmglobal.com.
Sound Royalties is expanding its West Coast team, tapping Andrew Stess and David Blutenthal of StessCo Consulting Group as new representatives for the music financing company in the western U.S. Out of Los Angeles, the pair will help songwriters, artists, rights holders and other music creatives seek out funding solutions to support their careers. Stess can be reached at andrew@stess.co.
iHeartMedia Los Angeles named Doug Hall regional digital program director for the iHeartMedia radio clusters in Los Angeles and San Francisco that encompass 14 stations. In the role, Hall will handle strategy, audience growth and maximizing iHeartMedia’s digital platforms in those markets while reporting to John Peake, senior vp of programming for iHeartMedia in Los Angeles. He was previously senior digital director on the national iHeartRadio team out of Nashville.
UTA promoted a slew of staff members in its music department, including Brennan Duffy, Noah Friedlander, Alana Gift, Akhil Hegde and Lauren Holland to manager and Mackenzie Coberley, Alexis Lesko, Gabriella Librizzi, Lauren McClusky and Hope Murray to coordinator.
Bailey Sattler and Stephanie Marlow formed another/side, a new creative and public relations agency. The company “will focus on where the underground and mainstream culture collide,” according to a press release. Sattler comes from Grandstand Media and Marlow built her own brand independently before joining forces with Sattler. The roster at launch includes Blessed, Circle Jerks, Cold Cave, Drab Majesty, Emma Ruth Rundle, Have A Nice Life, High Vis, Knocked Loose, Narrow Head, Power Trip, The Spits and Trust Records. Sattler can be reached at bailey@another-side.net and Marlow can be reached at stephanie@another-side.net.
Vickie Nauman, founder & CEO of music and tech consulting company CrossBorderWorks, joined the board of directors for Evan Bogart‘s Seeker Music, which boasts a portfolio of music publishing, master recordings and ancillary rights as well as a roster of songwriters, producers and artists.
Jessica Bonner was named vp of publicity at Milestone Publicity, where she was previously an account executive. In addition to continuing to serve clients, she will be more involved in an internal leadership role at the firm. Bonner can be reached at jbonner@milestonepublicity.com.
DJ and music journalist Dani Deahl was named head of communications and creator insights at BandLab Technologies. She will serve as a cultural liaison, highlighting the company’s impact on the music industry and surveying industry changes.
-
Pages