Time for another quick spindle around Executive turntable, Billboard's comprehensive(ish) rundown of promotions, hires, departures and firings — and everything in between — across music. Have you ever wondered, “who is the most influential music lawyer?” Here's your chance to vote Advertising signThe Top Music Lawyers Power Players' Choice Award, honoring the lawyer whose industry peers believe has had the greatest impact in the past year.
Erica Bellarosa is Atlantic Recordsnew head of business affairs and general counsel, effective February 26. Based in New York and reporting to Atlantic Music Group President & CEO Julie Greenwald and Atlantic Records President & CEO Craig Kallman, Bellarosa is a 19-year veteran of the label's history and most recently held the position of evp business & legal affairs . In her elevated role, the Yeshiva University alum will head the company's corporate/legal affairs and contract management departments. The promotion comes on the heels of former general counsel Michael Kushner moving to parent Warner Music Group as its senior vice president, associate general counsel of operations and legal affairs after 25 years with Atlantic. Greenwald and Kallman said, “At Atlantic, we nurture executive development as much as artist development, so it's been wonderful to watch Erica develop into a leading force over the past two decades. An invaluable asset to our team and a passionate supporter of our artists, she has a deep understanding of the music and legal landscape, along with excellent negotiation skills.
Global talent agency Wasserman Music welcomed four new executives to its ranks. They are: Josh Dick, a New York-based vice president who brings more than 20 years of experience and several clients, including Flatbush Zombies. In Nashville, Jonathan Insogna also joins as vice president. The 17-year WME veteran has a client list that includes Morgan Wade, Yola, Cam Whitcomb and Drew Erwin. Londoner Rebecca Prochnik is on board as a director and will represent artists such as AJ Tracey, Black Lips, Calibre, Ghetts, Paranoid London and more. After all, Gideon “Shay” Royale joins as a director based in New York. A former financial consultant, he will lead the agency's growth in the Afro-music space and oversee a roster that includes Victony, Black Sherif, Gabzy, Blxckie, melvitto and WurlD. “Their unique backgrounds and experience will help accelerate Wasserman Music's growth in global territories, emerging genres and innovative new ways to serve our valued customers around the world,” commented Lee Anderson, evp and CEO.
A2IM The president and CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess has announced that the indie trade organization's longest serving staff member, Cheryl Cohen, will be leaving later this year. Cohen joined A2IM in 2010 as chief operating officer and rose to head of strategic planning, her current role. Her responsibilities include program curator for Indie Week, which has doubled its programming under her watch, as well as handling the organization's mentoring program, co-signing grants, and did we mention she's the current acting CFO? In a candid manner, Cohen explained her reasoning for taking her professional life in a different direction. “As I turn 55, I look to the next chapter of life with deep gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead,” he said. “It's not a midlife crisis, but rather, in the words of Chip Conley, a midlife chrysalis. I am creating an opportunity to transition into a new career where I can serve other communities and passions in my life and hopefully continue to make a positive impact.” Cohen's last day will be Friday, August 2.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum promoted five staff members. Grace Cavanaugh has been promoted to director of event and catering services. Cavanaugh has more than 15 years of experience in the events industry and joined the museum in 2015. Kelsey Reiner has been appointed deputy director of event sales. Prior to joining the museum, Reiner worked as an event sales manager at Loveless Café/Loveless Events. Daniel Lonow has been promoted to director of the Haley Gallery. it has been in the museum for nine years. Elec Horvathwho joined the museum in 2000, has been promoted to associate director of collection access. Michael McCall, a 17-year veteran of the museum, was promoted to associate editorial director. In this role, she will help manage the development of written content for the museum's exhibitions, books, public programs, website, social media and educational materials. He previously served as senior museum writer-editor and has curated more than 20 exhibitions, hosted numerous museum programs, as well as co-curated the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Country Music. –Jessica Nicholson
Create a music group surnames Carl LeGrette to senior vice president of A&R and music publishing at the label, effective immediately. Since interning at CMG in 2018, LeGrett has quickly established himself as a trusted partner to up-and-coming songwriters and producers, with a client role that has worked on dozens of hits by Ice Spice, Lil Durk, Megan Thee Stallion and Bad Bunny, among many others. Founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss said that “LeGrett's deep entrepreneurial spirit led him to identify a need in the market, and his steadfast determination helped him earn the trust of music's most prolific producers and songwriters. His ability to think outside the box and discover untapped talent and trends has made him a true leader and we look forward to his continued success here at Create Music Group.”
TABLE SHORTS: THE Collective Licensing of Mechanics announced six appointments to the organization's advisory committees, including three additions to the Dispute Resolution Committee (songwriter David “DQ” QuiñonesSpirit Music Group's Consuelo Sayago and Vidya Matthew Skiba), one on the Business Advisory Board (Concord Music Publishing's Lydia Kim) and two new faces (songwriter “Bruce” Wayne Nugent and Sony Music Publishing's Dale Esworthy) to the Unclaimed Rights Supervisory Committee. Committee terms last three years… Starting a music community We are a Giant added William Morris Endeavor co-head of Nashville Becky Gardenhire on its board of directors. He will act as a strategic advisor to WAG's founding director Andy Apple and his team in their efforts to expand the music platform's footprint in the ever-growing Nashville market. Gardenhire joins recently added AEG Presents executive David Rappaport on the board.
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Moonbug Entertainment hired a former Spotify executive Courtney Holt as the children's content factory's first global head of music and audio strategic initiatives. A spoke in the Candle Media wheel, Moondug creates and distributes your favorite kids' YouTube channels, namely Cocomelon and Blippi. Based in Los Angeles, Holt will focus on forging strategic partnerships with artists and building the company's music label. Holt joins Moonbug after five years as Spotify's head of speech partnerships, publishing and global markets. Prior to that he was at Maker Studios, where he worked with later Candle co-founder Kevin Mayer. Earlier in his career, Holt held positions at MySpace, MTV and UMG.
Thomas Jamois was appointed its managing director Wise Music France, where he will manage all office staff and the company's regional publishing houses, including Première Music, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Campbell Connelly, Les Editions Transatlantiques, Bleu Blanc Rouge, Choudens, Le Chant du Monde and Musique des Anges. Jamois arrives at Wise Music Group from Velvetica Music, an indie publishing company he founded in 2011. Prior to that, he was head of music publishing and synch at Naïve for seven years. “I am delighted that Thomas will be joining the Wise Music family and look forward to working with him to drive our French and Francophone businesses forward with continued catalog acquisitions and high-profile signings,” said Wise Music head Marcus Wise.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Complete marketing service FlyteVu most welcome Brooks Parker as vice president of business development and Purvi Patel as an account manager. Parker has over a decade of artist management experience and most recently worked in experiential marketing at Nashville-area agency Streamline. Patel was most recently president and head of partnerships at media agency Claima Stories, with previous stops at Alice's Table and Reebok, where she worked on influencer-focused strategies… Kings Hill Music twice named a Dove Award-winning recording artist Billy Gaines as director of A&R for the company. “I have a deep-seated desire to help artists use their gifts to fulfill their calling from God,” said Gaines, who is also signed to KHM… Brianna Galluccio joined One Country as director of promotion and partnerships… River House Artists are promoted Kayla Adkins to the publishing creative director from the creative manager.
The Core Entertainmentknown for a roster that includes clients Bailey Zimmerman and Nate Smith, was named Dan Dumtrow as general manager and Jamie Sudalter as senior director of A&R. Dymtrow most recently served as executive director at Maverick Music and head of music at tech startup Curio. Sudhalter most recently served as senior director of A&R at Mercury Records. Core Entertainment was founded by Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and Simon Tikhman in 2019 and focuses on cultivating talent in music, sports, film, television and technology. In 2023, The Core expanded beyond talent management into the label space with a partnership with UMG's Lucian Grainge. –JN
ASM Global determined Karin Sinclair as its new GM Södra Teatern, one of Sweden's oldest active theaters. Sinclair joins ASM from Scandic Hotels, where she was revenue manager for the Swedish chain's 85 hotels.
ICYMI:
Pulse Records employee Tim Glover as president of A&R. He was previously executive vice president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M, where he ran for the label's two men with Dreamville and LVRN… NTWRK acquires Complex from Buzzfeed, which bought the media company in 2021 for $300 million. Co-Founder/CEO of NTWRK Aaron Levant — who founded ComplexCon with Complex founder Marc Ecko in 2016 — will become CEO of the new company.
Last week's turntable: New CEO of Metallica's Vinyl Plants
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