Executive Turntable: The Syndicate Names Graham Rothenberg Partner; Spotify Hires Artist Partnerships Lead for Country

Graham Rothenberg was named partner at entertainment marketing agency The Syndicate, with his title elevated to president & general manager. Rothenberg, who has been with the company for 18 years, has served as general manager since 2018. He will now lead the agency alongside partners Jon Landman, Tracey Zucatti and Chris Elles. During his tenure, he has been a key force in campaigns including the Interpol “Big Shot City” exhibit and Panic! At The Disco’s crop circle tour announcement.

“I’ve known Graham for over 20 years and have watched him grow from College Radio Music Director (WICB) to College Radio Promoter at The Syndicate to becoming our General Manager and now being elevated as our President and a Partner of the company,” said managing partner/CEO Landman in a statement. “Graham’s leadership and creativity have been instrumental in advancing our organization to new levels while staying true to the grassroots connection to music and artists on which we founded the company. As we enter our 25th year of The Syndicate, we can’t wait for what’s on the horizon.”

Rothenberg added, “It’s an immense honor to be named Partner at The Syndicate, a company I’ve been privileged to grow with over the past 18 years. Starting as a college radio promoter back in 2004, I’ve been able to watch The Syndicate evolve into the unique agency it’s become today. I’m extremely excited to work even more closely with Jon, Tracey, and Chris while continuing to lead our incredible staff in moving culture forward and helping our clients achieve their most creative goals.”

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Jackie Augustus joined Spotify to lead country and folk artist partnerships for the streamer. Augustus, who was named to Billboard‘s Country Power Players list in 2022, most recently served as strategic partner manager of music at Instagram.

Chris Schuler was named vp of promotion at Capitol Records Nashville where he will lead the promotion team previously headed up by Bobby Young. He most recently served as vp of promotion at Arista Nashville. Schuler can be reached at chris.schuler@umusic.com.

Sherry Lansing was designated chairman of the board on Universal Music Group‘s board of directors, effective Jan. 10. Lansing, a retired film studio executive who previously served as CEO at Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox, succeeds Judy Craymer, who retired from the position to focus on her film and theater production projects.

Wasserman Music added six agents to its team: Jake Bernstein, Ollie Seaman, Juan Toro, Natalka Dudynsky, Jesse Fayne and Matt Malcolm. Bernstein and Seaman work with electronic artists, Toro works in the Latin music space, Dudynsky books casinos and performing arts centers, Fayne handles international festivals and Malcolm’s purview is country and Americana fairs & festivals. Bernstein joins from UTA, Seaman joins from Earth Agency, Toro represents artists including Wisin y Yandel and Lunay, Dudynsky comes from ICM Partners, Fayne joins from WME and Malcolm has worked at WME, Quay Entertainment and CUE Audio.

Primary Wave Music promoted Catie Monck, Samantha Rhulen and Lexi Todd. Monck and Rhulen are now senior vps in publicity and business & legal affairs, respectively, elevated from vps. Todd, who was previously director of business & legal affairs, is now a vp in that department. All three are based in New York. Monck will continue leading the Primary Wave publicity department, managing and overseeing all corporate and artist publicity. Rhulen will continue playing a key role in overseeing the company’s catalogs while handling acquisitions and supervising asset management and exploitation as well as content development and branding initiatives related to catalogs. Todd will expand beyond business and legal affairs to include business development and operations responsibilities. They can be reached at cmonck@primarywave.com, srhulen@primarywave.com and atodd@primarywave.com.

Jitze de Raaff was appointed president of CTM Entertainment, effective Jan. 1. He was previously managing director of CTM Publishing and Music in the Benelux region. De Raaff, also co-shareholder of the company, will now be responsible for all other CTM activities in addition to music. He will additionally play a bigger role in the company’s international expansion alongside CTM CEO André de Raaff. He can be reached at Jitze.deRaaff@ctm.nl.

Sam Booth was hired as director of sustainability at AEG Europe, where he will offer strategic direction, expertise and support to the company’s business units as they continue to transition to “net zero” and strategize around the climate emergency’s impact on the company’s operations.

BMG appointed Stefan Lehmkuhl programmer for Berlin’s historic 1,700-seat Theater des Westens, which the company announced it had leased for two years last September. Lemkuhl has curated and produced music events including Melt Festival and Lollapalooza Berlin for two decades. He will be joined by event producer Parker “Pansy” Tilghman.

Randy Reyes was promoted to senior director of rhythmic promotion at Atlantic Records. Reyes has worked in rhythmic and pop mix show promotion at the label for the past nine years.

AEG Presents appointed Rick Johnson as senior vp of ticketing & revenue. He will oversee the department under the company’s global touring division. Prior to joining AEG, he frequently advised AEG subsidiary AXS. Based in Los Angeles, Johnson will report to president of global touring and talent Gary Gersh. He can be reached at rjohnson@aegpresents.com.

Tvg hospitality, founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, named Jayne Davis COO and Katie Millar gm of the Orion Amphitheater. The New York-based Davis arrives from OTG Management, where she served as senior vp of operations development, while Millar previously served as manager at Paramount Fine Foods Centre & Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Lee Laborde joined AEG Presents UK as senior vp in the promoting division. He will lead the company’s promotion team and develop long-term strategy for the division, reporting to AEG Presents UK CEO Steve Homer. Laborde joins from Live Nation.

James Ainscough was appointed to the role of CEO at the Royal Albert Hall, where he will lead the execution of the venue’s post-pandemic business plan; he previously worked at the Hall from 2008 to 2017 as director of finance and administration and then as COO. He joins in late spring 2023 from the charity Help Musicians, where he currently serves as CEO. Ainscough replaces Craig Hassall, who stepped down from the CEO role last month. COO Dan Freeman will continue serving as interim CEO until Ainscough officially joins.

Mandy McCormack was named executive vp/marketing & partner strategy for Trisha Yearwood, Inc. In her enhanced role as part of Yearwood’s management team, McCormack will manage brand partnerships, oversee marketing plans, seek out new business ventures and provide strategic consultation in all aspects of the country star’s business. McCormack most recently served as senior vp of radio promotion & marketing/artist strategy at Garth Brooks’ Pearl Records and Team TY (Trisha Yearwood). McCormack can be reached at mandy@trishayearwoodinc.com.

Tristra Newyear Yeager was named chief strategy officer at music/tech PR firm Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), while Travis Feaster was named new business manager at the company. Newyear Yeager, who has been with RPS for 17 years, was previously director of strategy and will now oversee PR and client services and guide strategic planning at the firm. Feaster was most recently national sales manager at Boutique Amps Distribution.

The executive committee of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) unanimously elected Michael Lau of Imachew Music and Middle Foot Music as national chair for 2023-24. In the role, Lau, who was also re-elected to a second two-year term as president of the AIMP New York chapter, will work with the executive committee to lead the coordination of efforts between all four chapters.

Music venue and hospitality company Notes Live hired Brian Harrah as CMO, a newly-created role. Harrah will oversee and manage the development of the brand awareness, marketing, ticketing and booking operations for all of the company’s venues and restaurants and will be intimately involved in negotiating with promoter partners when it comes to possible calendar bookings in the venue properties. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Harrah will report to Notes Live CEO and chairman JW Roth. Harrah can be reached at bharrah@noteslive.vip.

Jayne Hamblin was named manager of management and records at Creative Nation, where she will oversee the day-to-day responsibilities for Creative Nation’s artist clients while serving as a liaison between them and outside partners. Hamblin can be reached at jayne@creativenationmusic.com.