Litmus Music has acquired country superstar Keith Urban’s master recordings catalog, which includes ten multi-platinum, platinum or gold certified studio albums and a greatest hits compilation. As part of the deal Litmus will continue to collaborate in close partnership with Urban and his management team Borman Entertainment as Urban continues work in the studio finishing his next album, due in 2023.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal is the first for Litmus, which was co-founded by former Warner Bros. Records president Dan McCarroll and former Universal/ Warner Chappell exec Hank Forsyth and launched earlier this year with $500 million from Carlyle Global Credit.
“What makes this such a great fit for me, is the genuine passion and respect Dan, Hank and the team at Litmus have for this music,” said Urban. “In working with them, I feel that same collaborative spirit that’s always inspired me as an artist.”
+ Capitol Music Group has promoted Jessica Eason, Zoe Gillespie, Katie Haffenden, Chris Kershaw, Byron Miller and Alex Williams to VP positions in the company’s marketing department.
“Each of these individuals exemplifies the culture we’re building at CMG; one of innovative and strategic thinking combined with hard work, a passion for music and a belief in our artists that is inspiring and unwavering,” commented CMG President Arjun Pulijal.
Eason has been tapped as VP of marketing for Capitol Records, where she will lead efforts for the label’s roster (Doechii, Queen Naija, Toosii, Kay Flock and BlueBucksClan). She first joined CMG in 2018 as director of marketing, working with artists spanning the Capitol Records and Motown Records rosters. Eason will report to Capitol Records’ senior VP of marketing, Ray Alba. Meanwhile, Gillespie will lead CMG’s brand partnerships and strategy as the department’s new VP. She will be responsible for partnerships, securing national and global brand campaigns for artists, as well as supporting artist initiatives across the company’s portfolio of labels. She was previously promoted to director of brand partnerships at Capitol Records in 2018 and reports to Pulijal.
As the new VP of international marketing for CMG, Haffenden will work on global campaigns for artists such as Halsey, Maggie Rogers, Troye Sivan and Diddy, among others. Haffenden joined CMG in October of last year, after having spent five years at Warner Records as senior director of international marketing. She reports to CMG senior VP of global marketing, Kieran Thurgood. Capitol Records has also bumped Kershaw, who started at Capitol Records in 2018, to VP of marketing where he will be involved in executing artist campaigns. Kershaw reports to Capitol Records’ senior VP of marketing, Nathan Sheppard.
Additionally, Miller moves to VP of commercial marketing and streaming strategy (Urban) for CMG, where he will execute streaming and editorial responsibilities for artists spanning the company’s portfolio of labels. He initially joined CMG in 2017 as manager of artist marketing and reports to CMG’s exec VP of global commercial marketing and strategy, Mike Sherwood. Williams, who joined CMG earlier this year, closes the list as the company’s new VP of gaming strategy and business development. He is responsible for building artist partnerships with publishers as well as expanding the company’s presence in gaming and ESPORTS, with plans for original content across platforms like Twitch and Discord already in place. Williams reports to CMG senior VP of digital strategy and business development, Nic Osborne.
Eason, Gillespie, Kershaw and Miller are all based in Hollywood, while Williams works out of Atlanta.
+ Indie publishing powerhouse Reservoir has signed songwriter-producer Leroy Clampitt to a long-term deal for his future works. Clampitt cowrote Justin Bieber’s “Company, Dua Lipa’s “Genesis,” Jennifer Lopez’s “On My Way (Marry Me)” and executive produced and co-wrote songs for Ashe’s sophomore album “Rae” and multiple songs for Madison Beer and Sabrina Carpenter.
+ Universal Music Group has expanded its digital strategy team with the promotion of Kristen Bender, to senior VP of digital innovation strategy and business development, and the hiring of Alvaro Galbete-Velilla as senior VP of new business.
In her elevated role, Bender will continue to implement digital business partnerships with UMG operating units and will direct the company’s engagement with entrepreneurs from all over the world. Galbete-Velilla will be focused on developing opportunities for UMG in the Web3 and Metaverse sectors, as well as other emerging areas of digital business development.
Galbete-Velilla, who has two decades of music and tech experience, joins UMG from Soundcloud, where he most recently served as director of business development. Bender joined UMG’s digital strategy team in 2019 as senior VP of business development and strategy, where she has been responsible for partnership opportunities in the social media space and leading digital business implementation with UMG’s label groups.
Both Galbete-Velilla and Bender are based in Santa Monica and report to Michael Nash, executive VP/chief digital officer.
+ Veteran executive and artist manager Keith Hagan has joined forces with MNRK Management. He brings artists the Afghan Whigs, Robert Finley, Cymande, Ondara, the Whitmore Sisters and the Mastersons into the company with him. He will remain based in New York and will report to MNRK’s President and CEO, Chris Taylor. Most recently, Hagan founded and helmed Skylark Artist Management. He was the co-owner of SKH Music for over a decade, where he worked closely with Kenny Rogers, Toto and Paul Weller, among others. Hagan previously held executive positions at PFA Media, and Mammoth Records and began his career at Arista Records.
Taylor says, “We are so excited to welcome Keith to the MNRK family. He has an incredible wealth of experience and an amazing roster that is going blossom under the MNRK umbrella.”
+ Music and media company 88rising has named Sameen Singh as chief strategy officer & chief digital officer.
Singh will spearhead global strategy, orchestrate partnerships, power digital business development, and shepherd inorganic growth; he will report directly to founder-CEO Sean Miyashiro. Singh recently spent two years at Create Music Group in the role of Chief Strategy Officer, and previously led strategy and operations for European-based festival and concerts aggregator Superstruct. He launched his career on Wall Street as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley before becoming an investor at private equity giant Providence Equity Partners.
+ Sean Warner has been promoted to president of Universal Music Australia and New Zealand, effective January 1, 2023. Warner will succeed George Ash, who earlier this week announced his intention to retire from his position at UMA to focus on new projects.
Having joined UMA in 2007 as national sales manager, Warner has become an active member of the company’s senior management team and most recently served as senior VP of commercial, where he was responsible for commercial growth and digital development. He has also spearheaded commercial strategy in Southeast Asia, launching Bravado’s merchandise and licensing operations in Australia and New Zealand regions, and helped develop UMA’s eCommerce business.
“Sean’s deep understanding of the Australian market combined with his operational experience and the respect he has earned from his UMG colleagues and artists—both domestic and international—makes him the ideal executive to take on the role of President,” commented Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG. “I’m confident he will expand our track record of creative and commercial success in a market that so culturally important.”
+ AEG Presents UK has named Chris Wareing senior VP for global touring along with his longtime colleague Paris Harding, who joins as a promoter. Both join AEG from SJM Concerts.
AEG Presents UK CEO Steve Homer says: “Having worked alongside Chris for a number of years and admired his presence from afar, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have him join our team. He’ll be working closely with myself and my colleague [AEG global touring and talent president] Gary Gersh at an international level, to drive our footprint in these important genres forward. It’s rare to come across talent at the level he and Paris exhibit and I couldn’t think of a better way to close out a stellar year.”
+ Sony Music Publishing UK announced the promotion of Naomi Asher to VP of songwriter services and neighbouring rights. In her elevated role, Asher will serve as the go-to contact for SMP UK’s catalogue songwriters and clients and will be responsible for expanding opportunities and driving success for their songs both locally and internationally. Asher will remain based in the company’s London office, reporting to SMP UK Co-Managing Directors David Ventura and Tim Major.
Asher joined SMP in 2020, and was previously director and president of Wixen Music UK Ltd.
+ BMG has appointed Pierrot Raschdorff as senior director of global diversity, equity and inclusion. Based in Berlin, Raschdorff will report directly to Dominique Casimir, BMG’s chief content officer. In his new role, Raschdorff will be responsible for further developing the company’s global DE&I goals and will work closely with BMG’s international teams across its 12 music markets.
Casimir added: “At BMG, we celebrate the power of diversity and recognize our responsibility to make a difference and contribute. Pierrot will take an important key role in further developing and accelerating BMG’s diversity and inclusion strategies. I am delighted to have him on board!”
Read More About:
Source: Read Full Article
