Jo Charrington has been named co-president at EMI Records alongside Rebecca Allen, effective immediately. With the appointment, Capitol UK’s roster and team are merging with the wider EMI family, giving Capitol artists access to EMI’s teams and expertise.
Charrington, who has been at Capitol for nine years and who became sole president of the label earlier this year, has overseen the success of Sam Smith and worked with emerging artists including Aitch, Mae Muller and Zoe Wees. According to a press release, the course of her career has seen her sign and/or A&R 30 platinum or multi-platinum albums.
Following her first job at London Records, Charrington spent five years in artist management before moving into A&R. She eventually landed at Universal Music in 2011, where she served as vp, A&R – initially for London Records and then Capitol Records when it launched as a U.K. label in 2013.
“I’m honoured to be joining Becky, and the outstanding EMI team at what is an incredibly exciting time for the label,” said Charrington in a statement. “It really does feel like the stars have aligned for us both. For a label steeped in history and culture, our ambition and vision is simple. We want to develop and nurture the very best talent from across the world. Talent whose artistry will no doubt write the next chapter of EMI’s legacy as the UK’s most celebrated record label.”
Added Allen, “I’m delighted to begin this journey with Jo and to welcome the brilliant Capitol team to EMI. Jo is someone who I have always admired and respected, both as a friend and as an outstanding executive. We’ve built a fantastic relationship over the years and we will be running a label that is both innovative and forward thinking with our artists and their music always at the heart.”
Capitol Records UK will continue as a division of EMI label group, alongside Motown UK.
Ray Alba and Nathan Sheppard were both named senior vp, marketing at Capitol Records. In the roles, Alba and Sheppard will co-lead the label’s marketing department out of Capitol’s Hollywood office.
Alba arrives at Capitol from Epic Records, where he served as senior vp, publicity. During his time at Epic, he played a key role in recent projects including Future’s High Off Life album and 21 Savage’s Savage Mode II. Prior to Epic, Alba was vp, publicity/head, urban publicity at Interscope Geffen A&M Records from 2015 through 2018, where he developed and executed publicity and creative marketing campaigns for Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Rae Sremmurd and DaBaby.
Sheppard comes from YouTube Music, where he was a senior label relations manager on the West Coast. He joined YouTube in 2015 and eventually managed all label business across several key label and artist partners, including new release setup, artist marketing campaigns, brand partnerships, event management, YouTube Originals and product education. Heh worked on projects including Paul McCartney’s Live From Grand Central Station, Katy Perry’s Witness Worldwide 4-day live stream, Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Prom exclusive YouTube film and Billie Eilish’s Artist Spotlight Story.
“Ray and Nathan both share the Artists-First ethos that lies at the very heart of the new CMG, and they bring a wealth of perspective and experience to their new positions,” said Capitol Music Group president Arjun Pulijal in a statement. “They have each conceived and executed some of the most innovative campaigns for artists and projects that the industry has seen in recent years, and I couldn’t be happier that they’ll be devoting their abilities and energies to Capitol Records and its diverse roster of developing talent and global superstars.”
SoundExchange named Tommy Korpinen as chief business development officer to lead the expansion of the organization’s digital footprint and business partnerships.
Before joining SoundExchange, Korpinen served as vp, global business development & digital strategy at Sony Music Entertainment in New York, where he managed several existing and emerging distribution partnership opportunities for the company. He’s also held leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks Animation and Warner Music Group.
The Los Angeles-based Korpinen will report to SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe, who said that Korpinen’s “expertise in multiple forms of media, new business identification, and partnership development will help us fulfill our mission of supporting creators and building a fairer, simpler, and more efficient music industry for our growing creator community.”
“I look forward to working with the incredible SoundExchange team as we look to build new partnerships and tools for the industry,” added Korpinen. “Ultimately, this work will help continue to build a vibrant community of creators that will inspire new listeners, steadfast fans, and other creatives, alike.”
Virgin Music Label and Artist Services announced the appointment of Armando Rodriguez as general manager of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services U.S. Latin. Effective immediately, the L.A.-based executive will report directly to Victor González, president of Virgin Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula. In his new role, Rodriguez will oversee all operations for Virgin Music US Latin, “providing premium services to independent labels and artists, inspired by the spirit and philosophy of the historic Virgin Records label,” according to the company.
Previously, Rodriguez held the position of senior vice president, commercial partnerships & e-commerce for all labels under Universal Music Latin Entertainment in the U.S., where he led the commercial campaign strategy for artists including J. Balvin, Karol G, Alejandro Fernández and Luis Fonsi, among others.
Additionally, Manuel Valverde has joined the Virgin Music Label & Artist Services Mexico team as director, business development and marketing.
In the new role, Valverde’s core functions include adding artists to Virgin Music Mexico’s roster, as well as “collaborating with independent artists and labels, in conjunction with external partners to ensure audience growth,” according to a statement. He will supervise the execution of progressive marketing strategies and campaigns for Virgin Music labels and artists in the region.
Based in Mexico City, Valverde previously worked at companies such as ONErpm, TikTok and Kuaishou Tech.
Virgin Music Latin America also launched operations in Chile and Argentina earlier this year with Diana Silva as head, A&R for Virgin Music Label and Artist Services Chile and Guido Filippelli leading that department in Argentina.
“The incorporation of Armando Rodriguez, Manuel Valverde, Diana Silva and Guido Filippelli into the executive team of Virgin Music Label and Artist Services in Latin America consolidates and boosts our structure to fulfill the mission of service to independent artists and labels in the region,” said González. “We are dedicated to supporting the best in Latin talent both locally, regionally and to reach new audiences around the world.” – Griselda Flores
Ross Greening was promoted to senior vp, European regional administration and global copyright/society relations at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). He was previously vp, regional European administration.
Greening’s expanded responsibilities will include leadership of UMP’s global copyright functions and collecting society engagement strategies. He’ll continue leading UMP’s European administration organization, including operational management of the company’s digital licensing vehicle, DEAL.
Based in London, Greening will jointly report to UMPG executive vp, global administration John Reston and UMP Europe general manager Simon Baker.
Tra’Von Williams joined Joie Manda’s newly-launched indie label Encore Recordings as vp and head, streaming. He’ll report to Encore general manager Ned Monahan.
Before joining Encore, Williams was director, hip-hop and R&B streaming at Epic Records, where he worked with artists including 21 Savage, French Montana, BEAM and Young T & Bugsey. Prior to that, he was director, streaming for the Atlanta-based record label Since The 80s.
Encore was launched in November and is based out of Los Angeles.
Swiss music fintech company Utopia Music hired Jonathan Abon as vp product, distribution services and Jordan Gremli as vp product, creator services.
In their new roles, Abon and Gremli will build upon Utopia’s data platform, which currently boasts 213 billion music consumption data points, “to scale ‘Fair Pay for Every Play’ throughout the global Music ecosystem,” according to a press release.
“Utopia’s uniqueness stems from its Music and Tech DNA and our ability to deliver innovative solutions at scale,” said Utopia Music chief product officer Nicholas Goubert, whom Abon and Gremli will report to. “Jonathan and Jordan are highly experienced in their respective fields and their blended experience will enhance our ability to deliver cutting-edge products for our customers, and further position Utopia as the number one Growth Partner for the entire Music Industry.”
The Chicago-based Abon, who has over 20 years of experience in technology-based products, will help mature the product management organization of Utopia’s distribution services business unit. He joins Utopia from location platform company HERE Technologies, where he was vp, product management, platform organization. He’s also held roles at tech companies Saggezza and Tellabs.
Gremli, based in Berlin, will lead the product organization for Utopia’s creator services business unit. He joins Utopia from DICE, where he served as vp, artist development. Before that, he spent eight years at Spotify, where he launched and managed the Fans First program and played a pivotal role in the launch of the first iteration of Spotify for Artists. He also worked as head, content & artist programming at Sofar Sounds and program director at SiriusXM.
Grandstand Media hired Jessica Puchili in the newly created position of director, tours and festivals.
Puchli, who is based in Los Angeles, joins Grandstand after her tenure at promoter Goldenvoice, where she oversaw publicity and some promotions for club and theater events in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara as well as select regional festival properties. She will oversee the company’s press strategy, systems and utilization of new technology as it relates to tours and major festival properties.
Puchili got her start in the music industry running shows at night until she began working for Moss Jacobs at the Santa Barbara Bowl and eased her way into PR during the concert season. By 2014, Jessica was working on Moss’ team full time at Nederlander Concerts, directing press and promotions for Central Coast venues such as Vina Robles Amphitheatre and Santa Barbara Bowl.
In 2016, Puchili began working with Goldenvoice, where she kept Santa Barbara Bowl under her wing. During her tenure there, she quickly grew her role and began handling publicity for additional clubs and theatres, such as Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall and The Greek Theatre. Eventually, she was added to Goldenvoice’s festival team in 2018, handling such regional events as Just Like Heaven Festival, Smokin’ Grooves Festival, One Love Cali Reggae Festival and more. – Taylor Mims
Swiss ticket provider Ticketcorner AG named Oliver Niedermann the company’s new CEO. He’ll succeed Andreas Angehrn, who is slated to depart Ticketcorner at the end of June.
Niedermann has served as head, marketing at Swiss bank Raiffeisen Switzerland for the past 10 years. While there, he focused on the digital transformation of the bank’s marketing activities in B2C and B2B business, as well as in sponsoring and loyalty management. He has also held roles at sports and entertainment agencies including SUI AG and iSe – Hospitality AG.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, chair of the Ticketcorner board of directors and CEO of EVENTIM Management AG, said that Niedermann “brings with him the very best professional prerequisites to gain an even stronger foothold in the Swiss market and make our offer even more attractive to our customers.”
Of Angehrn, Schulenberg added, “Andreas not only enjoyed great success in positioning and developing Ticketcorner, he also brought significant impetus from Switzerland into our global group of companies with great innovative strength. We regret his decision to leave and would like to thank him for the excellent collaboration. “
Riot Fest welcomed Milwaukee music industry stalwart Marc Solheim as senior talent buyer.
Solheim was talent buyer for The Pabst Theater Group for the last 15 years, welcoming a wide variety of bands across every genre as well as some of the country’s most popular comedy acts.
“I am beyond excited to join the Riot Fest team. I have been a long time supporter and admirer of the whole experience. The world class treatment of artists and fans, the incredible line-ups year after year makes Riot Fest a can’t-miss event and I very much look forward to being a part of this world class organization,” Solheim tells Billboard.
Solheim previously worked as an independent concert promoter with nightclubs such as the Globe East, Mad Planet, the Miramar Theater and Modjeska Theater. He also managed actor Dustin Diamond at JFK Presents. Riot Fest takes place September 16-18 at Chicago’s Douglas Park and presents shows at venues across Chicago. – Dave Brooks
BBR Music Group added to its staff with the hire of Marissa Messer to director, digital marketing, as well as John Carroll to director, streaming and Hillary Borden to marketing manager.
Messer previously worked at Soles4Souls and for several digital agencies, working on social media for brands including Chrysler and GM. He also had a stint at HarperCollins Publishing.
Carroll previously served as associate director, A&R at Sony Music Nashville and also worked on Universal Music Group’s global streaming marketing team.
Borden previously worked as a producer for The Bobby Bones Show, booking artists and writing the weekend show’s Country Top 30. – Jessica Nicholson
Olivia Management founder/CEO Erin Olivia Anderson launched the women-led Americana/folk label, Olivia Records. The East Nashville-based company will offer distribution, marketing and other label services to artists, beginning with the release of CJ Temple’s debut album Smoke, as well as Madeleine Kelson’s solo debut While I Was Away and the sophomore album from Lauren Balthrop later this year.
Anderson launched Olivia Management in 2012 and has since helped guide the careers of artists including Jill Andrews, Amanda Shires, The Secret Sisters and more. Last year, Olivia Management added Alex Blue and Street Corner Symphony to the client roster. The company also hired Grace Carey Hill as a full-time tour/marketing assistant and promoted Mackenzie Fey to full-time tour/marketing coordinator. – Jessica Nicholson
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