Musical Chairs -- Week 17 2021

USA

Warner Music Group's Label and Artist Services division WEA has appointed Benjamin Blank to the newly created position of President of Media. In this role, Blank will lead WMG's newly formed digital advertising and creative content division. Based in Los Angeles, Blank will continue to report to WEA's President Maria Weaver. Blank's remit includes youth culture platform UPROXX, live music app Songkick and hip-hop media platform HipHopDX. Blank will have oversight of the creative teams as well as oversee advertising sales across all of WMG's owned media properties. The platforms will continue to operate separately from each other with journalistic independence and creative freedom. WMG said it collectively generates over 30 billion monthly video views through its premium YouTube channels, as well as streaming and social platforms. 

US songwriter Paul Williams is the inaugural honoree of the first ever SONA Warrior Award bestowed by Songwriters of North America (SONA). The virtual event will take place on May 23 and will feature tributes and performances dedicated to Williams, who is also Chairman and President of US rights society ASCAP. “The SONA Warrior Awards recognise individuals who have shown extraordinary leadership in the songwriting community,” said SONA Executive Director Michelle Lewis, who described Williams as "a generous and humble leader who often refers to other songwriter advocates as ‘warriors for the light'," and who "embodies the definition of what it means to be a warrior for music creators.”

Kobalt's Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Wright has left the music company he joined 13 years ago to launch a new creative start-up, according to a report from MBW. “For seven years I worked with Ryan as our CMO. He played a key part in the development of the Kobalt and AWAL brands. His passion for our mission is second to none and we will miss him," said Willard Ahdritz, founder and Chairman of Kobalt.

Los Angeles, CA-based independent music publisher Angry Mob Music Group has promoted Ralph Torrefranca (pictured, below) to Senior Director of A&R. Torrefranca, who joined the company in 2015, reports to Marc Caruso, CEO of Angry Mob. He will continue to oversee creative development of the Angry Mob’s diverse roster of songwriters, artists and producers. Angry Mob has also appointed Max Hirsh as Manager of A&R, reporting to Torrefranca.  


Gregory Morgado has been promoted to EVP/Deputy General Counsel at music rights society ASCAP. Based in New York, he reports to ASCAP General Counsel Clara Kim.

Sony Music Publishing has promoted Ian Holder from VP to Senior Vice President, Creative. Based in New York, he will be responsible for contributing to the company’s A&R initiatives throughout the US and will help lead its growing presence in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, Holder will continue discovering and attracting new talent, as well as advancing new opportunities for SMP’s songwriters.


Feed Media Group (FMG) has appointed Arturo Lovazanno as Curation Operations Manager. Lovazanno was most recently international Director of Marketing for Warner Bros. Records. FMG provides businesses licensed popular music to enhance customer experiences through its proprietary streaming platform.

Former Chief Communications Officer for the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) Brendan Daly has joined the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, DC as Vice President of Communications.

EUROPE

The European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) has appointed Yvonne Stausbøll (pictured, below) as its first Executive Director. Based in Brussels, she will be responsible for "the general management of EMMA and the organisation's engagement on policy issues within Europe and beyond." Stausbøll has worked for 25 years in public affairs in Brussels. She was head of the independent energy sector trade association UPEI, and since 2019 Yvonne has turned her focus to the music and culture sector, most recently working with Music Without Borders and Freemuse. Per Kviman, Chair of EMMA, said the appointment "is a significant step for EMMA" and that Stausbøll’s extensive experience "will help take our organisation forward, ensuring music managers have representation at the heart of European policy discussions and expanding our engagement with other music-based organisations.” EMMA brings together Music Managers Forums in Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK – with links to allied organisations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.


UNITED KINGDOM

Anton Partridge was appointed Director of Global Strategy for electronic music at Warner Music Group. Partridge is the founder of the ADA-distributed label Good Company (GDCO). Based in London, he reports to Warner Recorded Music President and CMO Eric Wong. He will be in charge of Warner’s worldwide electronic music strategy. 

LIVE, the trade body representing the UK's live music business, has appointed Chris Carey as its Chief Economist. Carey worked in the past for EMI, Universal Music and PRS For Music and had his own consultancy business, Media Insight Consulting. While working with LIVE, he will continue as Head Of International Marketing at TicketSwap. “Data and research has underpinned much of LIVE’s conversations with government – and its successes – to date, so the board is thrilled that Chris will be continuing this vital work in a more formal capacity,” said LIVE CEO Greg Parmley. 

GERMANY

Nils Ruzicka has joined the publishing team of Berlin-based independent music company Guesstimate as Senior A&R Manager. Ruzicka was in charge of publishing activities at Kontor Records, and is also a songwriter and producer (Zucchero, Michael Patrick Kelly, Tom Jones, Jason Derulo and Mousse T). He reports to Guesstimate Director of Publishing Jens-Markus Wegener. In addition to his role as A&R manager, Ruzicka will primarily be responsible for worldwide co-writing sessions with Anglo-American, Australian and South African management and publishers. At Guesstimate, Ann Sophie Ballé continues to be in charge of writers such as Charlott Boss, Megan Ashworth and YouNotUs, and will also look after the company's South-East Asian partners in Japan and South Korea and, as of July 1st, will be responsible for all creative cooperation partners in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. The majority of the local regular writers will continue to be looked after by A&R manager Patrick Liegl.

INDONESIA

Triari “Ari” Senawirawan has been appointed Managing Director of Warner Music Indonesia, replacing Toto Widjojo, who has been in the job since 2014. He reports to Simon Robson, president, international, Recorded Music at Warner Music Group. Senawirawan worked for Visa Indonesia, where he was in charge of marketing strategy and consumer digital engagement.

MALAYSIA

Kim Lim has been promoted to the position of Managing Director, Universal Music Malaysia. She was Senior Director of New Business and Artist Management & Head of Marketing and Sales. Based at UMM’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Lim will oversee Universal Music Group’s operations throughout Malaysia. She reports to Calvin Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Universal Music Southeast Asia & Senior Vice President, Asia.