Executive Turntable: Republic Taps SVP of Promotion; Downtown Makes Senior Moves
Republic Records promoted Lucas Romeo to svp, promotion, a move announced by Republic evp Gary Spangler.
Working out of New York, Romeo will oversee promotion efforts across multiple formats, leading the promotion team and helping break artists.
Regarding the promotion, Spangler said, “Lucas is the most forward-thinking modern promotion executive in the music business. He is constantly one step ahead of the competition. There’s no one I’d rather have at my side as we sail into uncharted waters.”
“I am grateful to Monte, Avery, and Gary for the opportunity to carry the flag into the next chapter of Republic. We will continue to be the most progressive promotion team as the music business evolves. I’m proud to build upon the diversity and excellence that is the Republic roster.” Romeo said of his promotion.
Romeo joined Republic in 2014 as regional Promotion manager in Nashville before moving back to New York to serve as vp of Top 40. He has been instrumental in Republic’s stronghold on the #1 Mediabase Marketshare position for the past 8 years, while also being recognized by Billboard in 2018 as a Rising Star for its “40 under 40” feature. He was also included in Variety‘s 2021 Hitmakers list. He also worked on successful campaigns for many Republic artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, The Weeknd, Jonas Brothers among many others. Prior to joining Republic, Romeo worked at Epic Records.
Downtown Music Services has announced a number of senior executive promotions within its US team.
Bruce Lampcov is promoted to the position of executive vice president & executive producer. Sean McGraw has been appointed to the newly created role of svp, catalogue management. Emily Stephenson will serve as vice president, business operations. Frank Pagano has been promoted to vp, global client services.
Sean McGraw and Frank Pagano are based in New York, Emily Stephenson will work out of Nashville and Bruce Lampcov will operate from the company’s office in Los Angeles. All four executives will report to Mike Smith, Global President of Downtown Music Services.
Of the promotions, Smith said, “I am delighted that at the end of a successful year for Downtown Music Services, I am able to announce new roles for some of Downtown’s longest serving employees. Emily, Sean, Frank and Bruce are hugely talented and dedicated people who have always enjoyed a close relationship with our songwriters and their catalogues. These positions reflect the tremendous contribution they have made to the company in recent years and underline our commitment to providing the best possible service to the songwriting community.”
Lampcoy will be focusing on securing new deals with active songwriters, catalogues and estates as well as bringing in new marketing and distribution opportunities on the master side of the business. He will be working closely with the global A&R team, overseeing operations in North America and also getting involved with downtown’s network of studios helping make new records.
McGraw will develop and manage executive relationships with the company’s legacy catalogues alongside cultivating long-lasting partnerships. He joined Downtown in 2007, before moving to Downtown affiliate Songtrust in 2018 as global head of Rights Management. Sean has over 20 years of experience in global music publishing administration, licensing and client relations.
Stephenson will provide Downtown with resources to make informed business decisions and improvements based on partner and client performance. She moved to NYC from Nashville in 2012 to run Publishing Operations at Downtown affiliate Songtrust. After returning to Nashville in 2019 where she will once again be based for the new role, Emily used her deep publishing expertise and passion for helping songwriters to co-head Downtown’s newest department, Global Client Services.
Since joining the company in 2009, Frank Pagano, who has more than 15 years of industry experience, has held a number of key positions in Rights Management, including tenures managing the Sync Licensing, Copyright and Royalties departments, before co-heading the Global Client Services dept.
ASM Global has named Alex Merchán as executive vice president of marketing as part of a plan to substantially increase the company’s programs benefitting its far-reaching venues across five continents.
In making the announcement, ASM President and CEO Ron Bension said, “There are tremendous opportunities for us to bring substantially increased value to our clients through strategic marketing initiatives. Alex is uniquely qualified to harness the power of the world’s largest live-event marketing platform to drive sales, revenues and awareness to our partner venues around the globe.”
“ASM’s multichannel digital platform leverages a global footprint and rich live-event data to create and power impactful marketing campaigns, drive guest engagement and grow ticket sales,” Merchán said, “Our global scope and expertise, technology infrastructure, and strategic partners provide an exciting foundation to leverage on the ground marketing activation with a robust integrated digital network and deliver engaged audiences across all our stadiums, arenas, convention centers and theaters.”
Merchán, the former executive vice president of marketing for Live Nation’s Clubs & Theaters division will responsible for all marketing, data analytics, digital, creative and communications efforts for the company worldwide and oversees strategic development across company divisions, supporting all marketing and sales efforts across global partnerships, customer experience, data analytics, revenue growth, new venue partners, food and beverage, content and programming.
“We are thrilled to have Ben join us at Provident,” said Blaine Barcus, senior vice president of A&R. “His diverse background as an artist, worship leader, songwriter, and producer will be a huge benefit to our A&R team and the creatives he will serve/support. Most of all, Ben is a person who loves artists and understands their hearts.”
In 2017, Cantelon and his family relocated from the UK to Nashville to pursue songwriting and producing, where he signed a publishing deal with Capitol CMG.
Pex announced Chris McMurtry as vice president of product. Chris will play an instrumental part in the development of Attribution Engine, leading their data efforts to support their vision of attribution for all. Chris has more than 15 years of experience as a leader in the music technology space, and deep industry knowledge as an accomplished composer and musician.
McMurtry previously worked for Exactuals, where he served as the head of Music Product. During his tenure, he led the design and launch of RAI, a software development kit and open API that leverages machine learning to correct and enhance song and recording metadata.
Named one of Billboard’s “2019 Digital Power Players,” McMurtry’s company Dart Music, acquired by Exactuals in 2018, was the first automated digital distribution platform specifically designed to handle the complex metadata of genres such as classical music.
“Years ago I sat down to write my personal mission of what I wanted my life’s work to be about. That which tied my passion for music, data, and product experience with the values of transparency, honesty, and beauty. I wrote ‘data should never get in the way of attribution or payment,’” McMurtry said. “I still remember where I was the first time I read the white paper on Attribution Engine. It was the first time I had heard of Pex and I knew instantly this is where I belong. They have the same vision!”
Independent music distributor Symphonic Distribution has hired their new vp of product, Ali Lieberman. She brings over a decade of industry experience to the table having served creators, labels and publishers by leading business process and product management at digital rights organization SoundExchange where she was also product manager of Music Data Exchange. Having led the company through operational and tech platform transitions, Lieberman’s extensive experience arrives just in time for Symphonic’s rapidly progressing tech developments.
“I’m thrilled to join the team at Symphonic and am very impressed with the high quality services they offer creators. I can’t wait to build some really cool products with talented people that will further the success of Symphonic and our artists,” Lieberman said of joining Symphonic.
Veteran agent Adam Brill has joined Wasserman Music as vp, fairs & festivals. He joins a growing department that recently added Shannon Casey as svp, and has also welcomed Mike Sosin as a newly promoted agent.
Brill was previously an agent at CAA for six years and worked at UTA and APA earlier in his career. He has represented and developed successful artists including Conan Gray, Tate McRae, Zara Larsson, Imagine Dragons and more. He has also consulted for Atlantic Records, bringing attention to signing prospective young talent. Brill is based in Los Angeles for the role.
Of joining Wasserman, Brill said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Wasserman family. Their success as a company is reinforced by their entrepreneurial and innovative mindset. I am excited to help build a division that will further benefit all Wasserman clients.”
Evp and managing executive Marty Diamond said, “We’re very excited to have Adam join our team at Wasserman. His extensive artist development track record fits perfectly with our ethos, and he brings valuable perspective and experience to the important space of fair and festival bookings.”
Sosin has also joined Wasserman’s Fairs & Festivals department as an agent. Sosin was promoted to the role after five years as coordinator for Wasserman svp Trey Many. He previously worked in radio promotion at Bloodshot Records and as an artist manager. Sosin is also based in Los Angeles.
Of Sosin’s new role, Many said, “Mike is a close friend, a valuable colleague, and an amazing human being. I’m thrilled that he’s now growing into this new role, and his extensive knowledge and bright spirit will continue to enhance our agency.”
Big Loud Records announced the advancement of Camille Kenny to senior director, A&R.
“As an integral member of our A&R team, Camille [Kenny] continues to lead with an unwavering passion for identifying hit songs and talent,” said Patch Culbertson, senior vice president, general manager. “Her devotion to artist development is tangible across every project she touches. In addition to her creative prowess, she is instrumental in measuring and disseminating actionable intel across our company.”
Beginning as A&R Coordinator in 2018 and quickly rose to A&R Manager. Over the last three years, she has stewarded artist and songwriter development, provided actionable intelligence through A&R research, and delivered key releases from Morgan Wallen, Chris Lane, MacKenzie Porter and more. She’ll be responsible for scouting, signing and leading A&R on behalf of designated Big Loud Records artists.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of the Big Loud family. The camaraderie and innovation within this company are unparalleled,” Kenny said of her promotion. “I am lucky to support our amazing artists and to collaborate with some of the best creative minds in the business each day. Thank you so much to Patch Culbertson and the Partners – Seth England, Joey Moi, and Craig Wiseman – for your mentorship and belief in me. I am excited to take on this new role and continue to dig in with our hardworking team.”
Republic Records promoted Gina Abatangelo to vp of brand partnerships, announced by evp of brand partnerships Kerri Mackar. She will based at Republic’s New York headquarters.
Abatangelo will continue to secure and execute a wide range of brand deals for roster artists and led key experiential activations. She most recently served as senior director, Brand Partnerships, facilitating impactful collaborations such as Postmates (Kid Cudi, The Weeknd), James Blake and Cadillac, YSL Beauty (Julia Michaels, Kiana Ledé) and more. During her time at Republic, Ms. Abatangelo has significantly increased music video product placement deals – securing integrations with brands such as Frito-Lay, Google Assistant, Beats, OMEGA, Levi’s, Urban Outfitters, Aperol, Chime Banking App, Vespa, and more. Additionally, she managed strategic development and execution of label events around the GRAMMY Awards, MTV VMAs and Coachella.
Regarding the promotion, Mackar said, “Gina has played an integral role in transforming Republic’s brand partnerships team, taking our collaborations and events to the next level through natural leadership, resourceful innovation, and meticulous execution. Gina’s dedication and commitment to connecting our talent with unique opportunities and developing ideas with thought and precision have earned her the trust of our artists and brand partners, as well as our colleagues. I’ve had the honor of watching Gina’s career grow from our time together at Rolling Stone through the last four years at Republic and can’t wait to see her flourish in this new role.”
Prior to joining Republic team in 2017, Abatangelo spent five years at Rolling Stone in marketing.
Arista Records announced the appointment of Mark Neiter as vp, promotion. Neiter will be based in Los Angeles reporting to Nick Petropoulos, svp, Promotion.
In this role, Neiter will work closely with Petropoulos in all areas of promotion across genres and oversee Arista’s promotion staff throughout the US.
Of the appointment, Petropoulos said, “Mark immediately made his presence felt upon joining Arista. His expertise and relationships across all formats have already helped elevate our team and contributed to the growth of our artists at radio. “
Mark spent most of his career as vp, Top 40, Promotion for Interscope Geffen A&M. Before that, he held promotion positions at American Recordings and Reprise Records. He has been involved in successful radio campaigns for artists such as, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons and more.
ICE has announced that Peter de Mönnink will take the helm as CEO, effective starting March 2022. Peter brings a wealth of experience to the position from running several large media companies, with a proven track record of delivering new online products and services.
For 3 years, de Mönnink was CEO of the Dutch media company Talpa Network, overseeing a diverse range of audio, video, E-commerce and magazine services. Prior to this, he was CEO of TalpaTV and Talpa Media Services, which owns some of the Netherlands‘ most popular TV and radio stations. Before joining Talpa, Peter held CEO roles at Sanoma Media Netherlands and Belgium (now DPG Media). This was preceded by several international leadership positions within Reed Elsevier (now RELX).
De Mönnink will take over from current CEO, Thorsten Sauer, who has led ICE since 2018 and has been instrumental in its recent success.
Music Row Moves
Round Hill Records added head of catalog Brian Hay, who is relocating to Nashville from Los Angeles. Hill was previously Rhino senior vp commerce, consumption and new business … UTA Nashville hired four new booking agents: music agents Emily LaRose, Marissa Smith and Elisa Vazzana, and comedy agent Amy Lynch. LaRose, Smith and Lynch previously held WME agent positions, while Vazzana spent 14 years at CAA. Also joining UTA are senior human resources business partner Brandi Brammer, formerly WME vp HR, and music brand partnerships agent Emily Wright, who transitioned from CAA.
