Executive Turntable: Concord Restructures International Publishing; UMPG Names Latin A&R/Synch Lead

Concord is reorganizing the executive structure of its international music publishing business. President of international publishing John Minch will step back from his day-to-day management of international publishing operations to refocus his efforts on the rights held by Concord and to advocate for Concord’s songwriters and composers; his new title is executive director of publishing. Elsewhere, Jeff Van Driel will move from Concord’s Nashville headquarters to its London office as general manager of international operations, making him responsible for Minch’s music publishing operations duties as well as the European operations of all of Concord’s businesses; his previous title was general manager of global administration. Minch will continue reporting to chief publishing officer Jim Selby while Van Driel will report to COO Vic Zaraya.

Ana Rosa Santiago was promoted to senior vp of Latin music at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). The Miami-based executive will lead UMPG Latin A&R and sync, including overseeing creative strategy, signing and developing Latin talent, creating cross-border opportunities for songwriters, and licensing and promoting UMPG’s Latin American catalog.

Ben Patterson was named president of artist & label services at Downtown Music, a newly-coined division designed to navigate independent artists and labels through the complexities of the modern music industry. The artist & label services division was spawned from Downtown’s distribution arm, DashGo, which was founded by Patterson in 2004 and acquired by Downtown in 2019; it will roll up the repertoire of artists and labels previously served by DashGo and Downtown Music Services. Prior to his promotion, Patterson was COO of Downtown Music Services. In his new role, he will continue growing the scope of services to new genres and markets and provide high-touch support for marquee artists and labels.

Heath Johns was promoted to president of Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia at BMG. Johns was BMG’s first employee in Australia when the company launched there in 2016. He can be reached at heath.johns@bmg.com.

Gabriela (Gaby) Gonzalez was promoted to senior vp of international affairs and Latin membership at ASCAP. In her new role, she will work with Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking societies in Europe and Latin America and continue her leadership role on ASCAP’s Latin membership team. Gonzalez can be reached at ggonzalez@ascap.com.

Leroy Harris was promoted to head of marketing at Spotify in the United Kingdom and Ireland; he was previously artist marketing lead.

Universal Music Group (UMG) promoted Corey Williams to vp of business & legal affairs, rights & clearances for Republic Records, Def Jam Recordings and Island Records; he was previously senior director of business & legal affairs for UMG. In his new role, he will provide an expanded focus on rights and clearances as well as shared services across Republic, Def Jam and Island. He will remain based in New York and continue reporting to Antoinette Trotman, who serves as senior vp of business & legal affairs, rights & clearances for Republic Records, Def Jam Recordings and Island Records.

SoundExchange hired three new team members: Kathleen Strouse as senior vp of operations, Doug Cohn as vp of artist and label relations and Amanda Carmichael as vp of international. Strouse previously served as senior vp/head of global data management and strategy at Warner Music Group; Cohn comes from Cumulus Media, where he was senior vp of music & entertainment; and Carmichael was previously head of international at Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL). Strouse will oversee SoundExchange’s end-to-end royalty processing and business intelligence and customer services teams. Carmichael will oversee foreign neighboring rights collections, operational processes and data exchanges with collective management organizations, while also advising SoundExchange executives on general international policy considerations affecting the organization.

Piero Giramonti was named president at Sumerian Records. He arrives at the label from Capitol Music Group, where he relaunched Harvest Records and signed and developed artists including Death Grips and Glass Animals; he later took over Caroline (now Virgin), with which Sumerian recently pacted for distribution services. He will oversee all label operations and report to Sumerian Group owner/CEO Ash Avildsen.

BBR Music Group announced the retirements of general manager Rick Shedd and vp of radio syndication & group strategy Renee Leymon. Shedd served as the label group’s general manager for over 20 years while Leymon has been with the company for nearly a decade. Shedd can now be reached at Summerrick606@gmail.com and Leymon can be reached at calebsmeme1@aol.com. (Music Row)

Also at BBR Music Group, Shelley Hargis was promoted to vp of radio syndication and group strategy; she was previously vp of radio syndication and group strategy at Broken Bow Records. In her new role, she will be responsible for all nationally syndicated campaigns and group strategy/promotion for BBR Music Group’s entire roster. Hargis can be reached at shelley@bbrmusicgroup.com.

Alex Flores was named executive vp of music at Hello Sunshine, as the Reese Witherspoon-founded company expands to music. Flores will build and oversee the company’s music department while spearheading strategic initiatives in the music space. She reports to Hello Sunshine COO Liz Jenkins. Flores joins the company from BMI, where she was senior vp of creative worldwide.

Elice Cuff-Campbell was hired as senior director of media relations, Nashville at BMI. She will work closely with Nashville creative vp Clay Bradley and lead communications efforts for BMI’s Nashville and Austin offices. Cuff-Campbell will also oversee media relations for BMI Nashville’s events, including showcases, awards shows and festivals. She reports to BMI senior vp of corporate communications & marketing Liz Fischer. Cuff-Campbell joins BMI from publicity firm The Green Room and can be reached at ecuff@bmi.com.

Leslie DiPiero was named president of Jonas Group Publishing, where she will sign and develop songwriters and producers while nurturing the company’s current writers and catalog. The Nashville-based executive will also expand the company’s overall Nashville footprint with catalog acquisitions, recordings and synch opportunities. DiPiero officially joins the company on May 31; she was previously general manager at Tree Vibez Music. She can be reached at leslie.dipiero@jonasgroup.com.

Dorian Yoanidis was promoted to CFO and COO at entertainment business management firm FBMM, where he was previously vp of operations. In the new roles, he will be responsible for all aspects of FBMM’s business operations.

Stephen King was appointed managing director of Web3 media company Public Pressure’s new London-based music division, Public Pressure Music. The division will oversee all activities related to music, IP management and content acquisitions related to Public Pressure’s NFT marketplace. King will work with Public Pressure co-founder/president Sergio Mottola on the company’s strategic growth plans; with CEO Giulia Maresca on music acquisition and development; and with chief creative officer Francesca Versace on developing music and fashion content for the platform. He joins the company from Believe, where he served as managing director in the United Kingdom. King can be reached at stephen.king@publicpressure.io.

Streaming service and download platform Qobuz launched in Canada and announced that the company’s managing director in the United States, Dan Mackta, is now managing director, North America and Northern Europe. Canada marks Qobuz’s 26th country. Mackta can be reached at dan.mackta@qobuz.com.

Meredith Shea was named chief membership, impact and industry officer at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she will report to CEO Bill Kramer. In the newly-created role, Shea will bring together the Academy teams who lead the strategy and execution of the Academy’s new member cultivation and outreach, awards administration, rules and regulations, membership branch structural changes, member and industry engagement, film festival and international strategies, talent development programs and industry DEAI and sustainability efforts. Shea previously served as director of industry relations at social impact collective ARRAY.

Thomas Sharp Maxwell was promoted to general manager, United States at global artist and label services company IDOL, where he will lead the growth of its operations across North America by recruiting new talent to IDOL’s United States team and developing its local roster. Maxwell was previously senior director of label development and A&R. He can be reached at thomas.maxwell@idol.io.