Executive Turntable: DiMA Gets Rushing; Luminate Focuses on Indie Retail; Palm Tree Guys Hire COO
It’s time for another spindle around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Earlier this week, UMG announced a “strategic organizational redesign” that has so far resulted in several top executives — and many others — losing their jobs across the label group, though the scope of the headcount reduction is still unclear. Billboard’s Dan Rys is following closely here.
The Digital Media Association (DiMA) hired seasoned legal exec Colin Rushing to the newly crafted position of executive vp and general counsel at the music streaming trade group. Rushing previously spent nearly 14 years at SoundExchange, where he rose from senior counsel to chief legal officer during a consequential tenure — his job was to lead rate-setting efforts before the Copyright Royalty Board — that made him a fixture on Billboard‘s annual list of top music lawyers. Since leaving SX in September 2021, he has taught at Belmont University and acted as director of the Copyright Society of the South.
“[Rushing] brings all his invaluable expertise of US copyright law and a reputation for achieving consensus solutions,” said DiMA President and CEO Graham Davies. “Colin’s knowledge of the US licensing system combined with his passion for championing streaming will be hugely valuable. His appointment underlines our work on a global basis, where we seek maintain and develop environments that ensure our members can continue to innovate and contribute to the music growth success story.”
Meanwhile…
Kelly Rich exited her role as COO at Nashville-based Red Street Records. Rich initially joined Red Street as a consultant in 2022 and was named COO later that year. Rich previously served as country lead at Amazon Music. Rich’s career also includes time as Big Machine Label Group’s senior vp of sales, marketing and interactive, as well as time stints at UMG Nashville, DreamWorks, Arista Nashville, BMG and more. Elsewhere at Red Street, Sally Allgeier has been promoted to national director of country promotion, while Jess Loper has joined as vp of A&R and publishing for Red Street Christian. Loper previously served as vp of brand management for Toby Mac’s Gotee Records and Publishing. Amanda Roach also joins Red Street Records as manager of country A&R and Publishing. Roach was previously catalog manager and A&R coordinator at Warner Chappell Music. –Jessica Nicholson
Luminate, which feeds data to the Billboard charts, is turning to music analytics executive Chris Muratore to cement relations with the indie music retail sector ahead of the launch of its new data platform later this year. Muratore joined Luminate earlier this month as director of partnerships, with a clear focus on working with various stakeholders to ensure physical sales data collection is accurate. The 30-year industry veteran most recently co-founded Border City Media, the tech startup behind music consumption data tool BuzzAngle Music. Prior to Border City Media, Muratore spent 18 years in various executive roles at SoundScan/Nielsen Music, where he oversaw all data relationships and analytics for the company and, notably, was a trusted analytical source for countless media outlets including this one. Muratore is reachable at [email protected]. FYI: Luminate is an independently operated company owned by PME TopCo, a joint venture between Penski Media Corporation and Eldridge. Billboard is an independently operated company owned by PME Holdings, a subsidiary of PME TopCo.
Damaris Rex-Taylor has been promoted from general manager to managing director at RCA Records UK. Rex-Taylor joined the Sony Music UK label in 2019 as director of marketing before rising to GM two years later, and during her tenure has spearheaded various marketing and promotional strategies and led campaigns for Tyla, Travis Scott, Miley Cyrus and other roster artists. The recent Oxford grad has past stops at Chrysalis and Parlophone, and proudly moonlights as co-chair and a founding member of Sony Music UK’s Social Justice Fund supporting anti-racist initiatives. “We’re delighted for Damaris to step into her new role,” said Stacey Tang and Glyn Aikins, co-presidents of RCA UK. “She’s an innovative leader, holds a wealth of knowledge and has a tremendous understanding of creative strategy, instinctively knowing how best to support all our artists. Since joining RCA she’s shaped the incredible team we have, and we’re excited to see her take the label into a new era.”
Warner Music Nashville promoted Kristen Williams to senior vp of radio and commercial partnerships. Williams has helmed the radio division since 2010 but now will add the commercial partnerships team — which works on retail, catalog and direct-to-consumer efforts — to her dailies. WMN co-president Ben Kline said “this set-up positions us to work in a more sophisticated way while continuing to super serve our artist community and partners in this ever-changing, dynamic business environment.”
Jared Fox was promoted to senior vp across two divisions at SiriusXM: artist and industry relations, where he oversees talent bookings, and content marketing and partnerships, where he and his team manage and maintain relationships with existing talent partners. All told, Fox oversees a staff of over 40 at the satellite radio company. Recent wins on the artist relations front include Green Day rocking Irving Plaza and Maluma’s recent concert in Vegas ahead of the Super Bowl. As for partnerships, team Fox has a talent list that boasts Carrie Underwood, LL Cool J, Kelly Clarkson and more. Fox joined SiriusXM in 2013, following stints at Vevo, Atom Factory and Epic, and was most recently vp of artist and industry relations. He reports to Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer.
Meanwhile, SiriusXM president Scott Greenstein announced two big additions to its podcast leadership team this week. Sarah van Mosel, a former executive at Sirius subsidiary Stitcher, returns in the newly-created position of senior vp of podcast strategy. In this role, van Mosel will focus on podcast acquisitions and new talent development. Working closely with Sarah will be Adam Sachs, who’ll zero in on podcast programming and production as SiriusXM’s senior vp or podcast content. Colin Anderson stays on and will continue to report to Sachs, “making an all-star podcast production team,” said Greenstein, also SiriusXM’s chief content officer. “With this new team structure, we are now set up to take full advantage of the podcast opportunity ahead of us. I’m excited for what this team is capable of.”
Mom+Pop Music elevated Jackie Vanzura to director of digital, reporting to svp and head of digital Lindsay Schapiro. Vanzura joined the NYC-based indie label two years ago as a digital marketing manager leading strategy for roster artists, including SEB, Magdalena Bay and Odie Leigh. On tap for Vanzura is spearheading digital strategy for MGMT’s new album, Loss Of Life. Prior to Mom+Pop, Vanzura worked at WMA. “Jackie is a talented member of the Mom+Pop team,” said Schapiro. “Her creativity combined with her passion for music and her digital know-how contributes to our success. We are thrilled to see her growing into this new role.”
NASHVILLE NOTES: Hill Entertainment Group welcomed Machaela Nesler-Scibilia as analytics & digital coordinator and Gipson Clark as touring & operations coordinator, with both reporting to president and CEO Greg Hill … Trevor Provost is the new marketing manager at Severance Records, the recently launched rock label co-founded by Mike Easterlin and Steve “Stevo” Robertson as part of a joint venture with Big Loud Rock. Provost was previously in the management department at SMACKSongs … Three Riser House promotion executives were elevated to new positions. Jeff Davis rose to vp of promotion from East Coast regional promotion director, Roger Fregoso was upped to national director of promotion from senior director of West Coast, and Nathan Cruise climbed to senior regional director of promotion from Central regional promotion director.
Palm Tree Crew Management co-founders Myles Shear and Kygo welcomed Parker Aimers as the artist management division’s chief operating officer and head of artist management. Based in Miami’s Sunset Harbor, Aimers will focus on A&R, touring and digital opportunities across Palm Tree’s roster, including Griffin, Sam Feldt, Forester, Petey Martin and others. He joins Palm Tree from Toronto’s Northside Artists, where he worked extensively with Loud Luxury, Bebe Rexha and Kane Brown. Kygo’s Palm Tree umbrella includes this management arm, which works closely with Live Nation, and Palm Tree Records, a global joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment.
Round Room Live, which produces family shows like Blippi and the national tour of Shrek the Musical, hired Dina E. Meyers as svp of business development. In her new position, Meyers will be responsible for finding and securing fresh content and other revenue-making projects for the company. She joins Round Room Live after serving as head of new markets & business development for Lighthouse Immersive, the company behind the wildly popular “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibition. Prior to Lighthouse, she held roles at AEG Live and S2BN Entertainment, and she’ll continue to lead her own company, DEM Entertainment Consulting. “With her accomplishments ranging across innovative event production, key partnerships, sponsorship activations, and broad industry relationships, we’re excited to welcome Dina to the Round Room family,” said Round Room Live founder and co-president Stephen Shaw.
IDOL handed Mandy Freebairn the role of U.S. label and project manager as the European indie distributor works to rapidly develop its North American division. Based in New York, Freebairn will report to IDOL’s stateside general manager, Thomas Sharp Maxwell. Freebairn’s appointment coincides with the announcement of two North American label deals for the company, with Le Plan Recordings and Old Soul Music. She joins IDOL from Omnian Music Group, where she project managed releases from The Lemon Twigs, Widowspeak, Juan Wauters and others.
BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville announced a round of promotions and hirings. Dawn Ferris, who joined the company in 2010, was promoted to director of national promotion for Broken Bow Records. Ferris previously spent 12 years at Arista Records. Ellen (Mundy) Ford has been named manager of marketing, while Krista Hayes joins as manager of group strategy & syndication. Ford previously worked as a day-to-day manager for WORKS Entertainment and as the SE manager of radio promotion for Revival Music Group. Hayes comes to BBR from Cumulus Media, where she served three years as promotion and marketing director. –JN
James Fava joined global management company Three Six Zero as a partner. Fava will continue as director of his Australia-based management firm Intergalactic Fantastic Worldwide, where his artists include Dom Dolla, Anna Lunoe, Torren Foot and Airwolf. The partnership with Fava gives Three Six Zero an Aussie foothold to compliment its established offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. “James is a huge talent,” said Mark Gillespie, CEO and founder of Three Six Zero. “I am confident that his expertise will be a great asset for Three Six Zero as we continue to expand our business globally.”
London-based rights acquisition company Bella Figura Music hired Billy Millar as senior vp of creative and Chris Presland for the role of catalog project manager. Millar, formerly of BMG and Hipgnosis, will oversee global sync and creative opportunities for the company’s catalog, which includes David Gray’s label and albums. Presland, who arrives following an eight-year run at AWAL, will focus on delivering digital and vinyl reissue support for Gray’s recorded works. Since its launch a year ago, Bella Figura has made a number of high profile acquisitions from artists, writers and producers such as R3HAB, Jeff Silverman, Darrel Brown and Guy Chambers.
RADIO, RADIO: Bauer Media Audio UK appointed Robert D’Ovidio as its new director of music broadcast, on-demand and premium, effective immediately. He’ll work to build cross-brand partnerships and initiatives across Bauer brands and reports to chief content and music officer Ben Cooper … SBS chief financial officer José Molina has exited the Hispanic broadcaster. He first joined SBS in 2001 as director finance, eventually rising to svp of finance before leaving in 2015. After stomps at MundoMax and Univision, he returned to SBS as CFO in 2019.
Creator media company QYOU promoted Lexi St. John to evp of QYOU USA, Morgan Barclay to svp of strategy and Chris Smith to vp of QYOU Studios. QYOU Media USA promoted Kerri Ramgren to senior director of operations, Tim Isenberger to senior director of account management and planning, and Eric Frick to senior manager of business intelligence.
ICYMI:
Jeronimo Folgueira is out as CEO of music streaming service Deezer … Jay Beelin was promoted to vp of international touring at AEG … BMG elevated Marian Wolf to head up its massive North American publishing unit … and Paul Hourican announced he was leaving TikTok, where he served at global head of music operations.
Last Week’s Turntable: A Long Goodbye at A2IM
Marc Schneider
Billboard
