Executive Turntable: Capitol hires Breaker of Artists, plus a Sony Music Video star joins WMA

It's time to drop the needle on the latest Executive Turntable, Billboard's comprehensive(ish) rundown of promotions, hires, departures and firings — and everything in between — across music.

Read on for good news and check too Bulletin boardthe annual list of the highest-paid music executives, plus our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive, the helpful calendar of notable events, and have you ever wanted to see tchotchkes inside an executive's office while reading their in-depth answers to the most important questions facing the biz? From Desk Of is probably your jam.

Capitol Records determined Justin Grant as senior vice president and head of urban digital — putting him in charge of digital marketing efforts for R&B and hip-hop artists across Capitol, Motown and Priority Records. Grant spent a decade at Atlantic Records, moving from intern to VP of digital marketing and sports partnerships, where he worked with artists such as Cardi B, Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak Black and NBA YoungBoy. In addition, the Capitol was promoted Dante Smith on his head Motown digital. Smith will manage digital campaigns, direct-to-consumer efforts and brand development for the branded label. Since joining Capitol in 2020, Smith has collaborated with artists such as Ice Spice, Quavo, Lil Yachty and Kali Uchis. Grant will be based in New York, while Smith will work out of Capitol headquarters in Hollywood. Commenting on both executives, Capitol Music Group president and CEO Tom March said Grant “knows what it takes to break artists” and is “highly respected and great at what he does.” while Smith has “delivered brilliant marketing campaigns for a number of years now for artists across the roster”.

Creative agency WMA appointed Sony Music veteran Mike O'Keefe as global vice president of creative, effective immediately. With three decades of experience, O'Keefe joins a creative and strategic consulting role and will help oversee larger 360 creative projects at WMA. O'Keefe began his career in the early 1990s with Conspiracy Films and Oil Factory before joining Sony Music in 1995. At Sony, he worked on notable projects such as Jamiroquai's groundbreaking video “Virtual Insanity” and later became the label's creative representative. He has collaborated with artists such as One Direction, Kasabian, Little Mix and Calvin Harris. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023, WMA has delivered award-winning campaigns for clients including Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Dolly Parton and Spotify, among others. Worldwide Founder and CEO Seb Weller expressed pride in WMA's ten-year journey and said he was excited to work with O'Keefe again, while Global Vice President Crystina Cinti called it exciting to “work with such a legend “, adding, “Mike's credibility and experience in the industry is tremendous, and he is with us at an important time.”

Recipe songs are promoted Rachel Wynne to senior A&R manager. Throughout her seven-plus years with the label, Wein has been instrumental in expanding Prescription's Nashville roster to more than 30 songwriters, artists and producers, contributing to the label's broader network of 150 acts. In her elevated role, Wein will continue to manage artists and songwriters, including Morgan Nagler, known for co-writing the Grammy-nominated hit “Kyoto” with Phoebe Bridgers. Under Wein's leadership, Nagler has collaborated with mxmtoon, Astrid S, Maddie Zahm and others. Wayne was also instrumental in the development of emerging acts such as JORDY, Greyson Chance and Parson James, while overseeing top producers such as Sean Small (Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson) and Spellz (Wizkid, Burna Boy). Wein joined Prescription Songs in 2017 as the first hire in its Nashville office. Outside of music, Wein actively supports community initiatives, serving on leadership boards for the Family Alliance in Music and the Salt Lick Incubator. She also mentors LGBTQ+ youth through Youth Villages and was awarded the Marchetti Impact Award for her efforts at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Katie Fagan, head of A&R for Prescription Songs, praised Wein as “an integral part of our growth as a team here in Nashville and I look forward to seeing her win big in the years to come,” while Wein expressed her excitement about continuing to cooperate with the “simply unparalleled” company.

Universal Music Group Nashville are promoted Damon Moberly in the role of senior promotion representative. Moberly has been with the record label group for more than 25 years, most recently as senior vice president and head of the radio promotion team for the Mercury Nashville imprint. Moberly began his country radio promotion career with work on Shania Twain's release Come up album and has since helped the careers of artists such as Jamey Johnson, Terri Clark, Chris Stapleton and The War and Treaty, in addition to working on special projects such as an Eagles single on country radio and the hit “Man of Constant Sorrow” from the O brother, where art thou? movie soundtrack. –Jessica Nicholson

NASHVILLE NOTES: Concord was named Anke Becker as vice president of IT. Becker will be based in Concord's London office and report to Jonathan Eby, Concord's senior vice president, information and technology services. Becker previously spent a decade at BMG, where she led the creation of BMG's exclusive customer portal… Gabbmanufacturers of child-safe technology and the Gabb music streaming service, hired Sidney Coury as its new digital operations coordinator. Earlier this year, Marco Vega joined the team as music coordinator. Coury previously worked at Olivia Management, while Vega has worked at Universal Music Publishing Group and Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy. The hiring coincides with the opening of Gabb Music's new office on Music Row in Nashville (1030 16^u Ave S), and the recent move of Gabb HQ to an expanded facility in Lehi, Utah.

CD Babya division of Downtown Music, was appointed Jean Misler as senior vice president of marketing. Based in New York, Mischler will oversee marketing for CD Baby and its direct-to-creator services, including Soundrop and CD Baby Stages. Reporting to CD Baby president Molly Neuman, he will lead initiatives to help independent artists grow their fan base and global exposure. Mischler previously served as vice president of growth marketing at Sofar Sounds, where she grew ticket sales and revenue through social media, email and partnerships. Neuman noted Mischler's nearly 20 years of experience, saying “her approach to marketing and deep understanding of the independent music landscape will be instrumental as we expand CD Baby's reach to independent artists around the world.”

Believe introduced a new global music strategy led by Romain Vivienglobal head of music and president for Europe. The strategy is focused on enhancing artist development and creating more value for artists and labels at all stages of their careers. As head of Europe, Vivien oversees operations in France, the UK and Germany — and works with teams in 50 markets to design and implement strategies that accelerate Believe's “Art Services” businesses, supporting digital artists in 14 + countries. He will also work to strengthen Believe's Label & Artist Solutions offering by aligning distribution, marketing, digital promotion and publishing services. Denis Ladegaillerie, founder and CEO of Believe, praised Vivien's leadership in scaling the company's global presence. “He has been instrumental in building our musical vision across the group,” he said. “He continually guides his teams to innovate and push barriers to enable new talent to emerge in hip-hop, pop, electronic music and more – while maintaining an impeccable delivery of premium services to our top artists and labels.”

RADIO, RADIO: Juan Navarro he was promoted to its general manager of revenue Entravision Communicationsreplacing Karl Mayerwho was fired after challenges related to the loss of Meta's Authorized Sales Partner program. Despite that setback, Entravision reported a 12% increase in net income for the second quarter of 2024. Navarro brings more than 20 years of media experience to his new role, having previously served as executive of local sales and integrated marketing solutions and as regional vice president of integrated marketing solutions… iHeartMedia department and district president Tom McConnell is retiring after nearly 30 years with the company, leading to a reshuffle of executives. Eddie Martinicurrently president of the Houston region, will become division president for the four major Texas markets (San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Houston), as well as New Orleans and Baton Rouge. John Karpinskievp of strategic partnerships, will assume the role of division president for markets in the Carolinas, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Memphis and Kentucky.

JET management added the veteran manager Elena Aubrey in her group. Awbrey's career began in Live Nation's touring department before moving into management, working with Motley Crüe and discovering Mannequin Pussy. He later managed Miguel at Atom Factory, guiding his Grammy-nominated albums. At Career Artist Management and Roc Nation, he developed artists such as Chika, a 2020 XXL freshman and Grammy nominee for Best New Artist. Awbrey, who also founded Moonshot Management, was named one of Billboard's Changemakers for 2020. Founded in 2020 by John Scholz and Tyler Goldberg, JET's roster features top talent including Justice, Suki Waterhouse, LP Giobbi, Madeon , Sam Gellaitry and Girl Talk. JET also works with Firebird, a next generation music company.

Granderson Des Rochers determined Joey Seiler as a senior consultant in her New Media practice. Seiler, an experienced music licensing attorney, joins from Block, where he led TIDAL's licensing team. With over a decade of experience, he has worked with record labels, digital service providers and creatives to license music for innovative business models. His career includes roles at Empire and Loeb & Loeb, representing a range of clients from startups to multi-platinum artists.

ICYMI:

David Gray appointed UK managing director Universal Music Publishing Groupsucceeding Mike McCormackwho is stepping down from the role after nearly nine years at the helm to start a new consultancy and joint venture with UMPG… and Warner Music Japan appointed longtime Universal Music executive Takeshi Okada as the company's new president and CEO. [KEEP READING]

Last week's turntable: CFO of Sphere Sheds