LONDON – Matthias Hjelmstedtthe co-founder and former head of Utopia Music, left the company following an executive shake-up at the Swiss-based label earlier this year.
Hjelmstedt's departure from Utopia was announced in a memo to staff on Thursday (February 1) sent by the newly appointed CEO Michael Stabler and the board of directors.
The note, which was viewed by Advertising signreports that Hjelmstedt submitted his resignation after “lengthy discussions” with board members because he wanted to devote more time to pursuing “new projects and challenges.”
“The board and I are, as I'm sure you are, extremely grateful to Mattias for building and running this amazing company for significant periods of time,” Stebler, who represents the majority of its shareholders, told staff. Utopia Music.
Referring to the company's well-documented struggles in the past, which have included multiple rounds of job cuts, divestitures and ongoing legal action, Stebler said he was grateful for the “tough but necessary decisions” Hjelmstedt began implementing in late 2022 .
“I can say with absolute certainty that this was necessary for the survival of the company,” said Stebler, who has been at the helm of Utopia Music since mid-January.
In the memo, Hjelmstedt said the decision to step down from his roles with Utopia “was not taken lightly, but comes with a deep conviction that it is the right thing to do.”
He went on to say that he strongly believes the company “will continue to grow and succeed”, saying the new management team means the company, which is based in the Swiss city of Zug, is “in capable hands”.
“Moving forward, I'm excited to see how Utopia evolves and I'm cheering you all on, as I'll always be one of Utopia's biggest fans,” the co-founder told staff.
Swedish entrepreneur Hjelmstedt co-founded Utopia Music in 2016 with Thomas Gulberg and led the company through a period of intense overgrowth between 2020 and 2022, when it rapidly acquired 15 companies.
Acquisitions at the time included music technology company Musimap. Lyric Financial, a Nashville-based cash advance provider. and Proper Music Group, the UK's leading independent physical music distributor, providing distribution services for over 5,800 indie labels and service companies.
An equally rapid downsizing followed, starting with the elimination of around 230 jobs at the end of 2022 and the subsequent offloading of three Utopia businesses – Absolute Label Services, US-based music database platform ROSTR and UK-based publisher Sentric.
During this difficult period, Hjelmstedt served as interim CEO – taking over from Markku Mäkeläinen — and remained at the helm of the company until his appointment Alain Couttolenc as CEO last October. (Couttolenc switched roles to deputy chief executive earlier this year when Stebler was appointed to the top job).
Most recently, Hjelmstedt served as Utopia's executive chairman and, since December, served as a board member.
The company he co-founded, which counts the United Kingdom and the United States among its top earners, provides music companies with a range of product finance and technology services, including royalties tracking and processing, as well as its core physical distribution business in UK operating through Proper Music Group and Utopia Distribution Services (formerly Cinram Novum). The latter's clients include Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and [PIAS].
Talking to you Advertising sign In January in a rare interview, Hjelmstedt said the ethos behind Utopia Music, whose motto is “Fair pay for every play,” has always been to use technology to help artists, creators and rights holders receive higher returns.
“We never set out to disrupt or take over the industry,” Hjelmstedt said. “It's always been about helping the industry get better and grow.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/business-news/utopia-music-co-founder-mattias-hjelmstedt-exits-1235596130/
