This Week in Music Industry Jobs

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Dave Rocco joins UMG.
Universal Music Group has announced that Dave Rocco has been named to the newly created position of Executive Vice President of Creative.  He most recently served as Spotify’s Global Head of Artist and Label Marketing.  Based at UMG’s global headquarters in Santa Monica, Rocco will report to Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO.

Milk + Honey Management promotes Nic Warner.
Milk + Honey Management has appointed Nic Warner as General Manager.  He’ll now work with a roster of writers and producers, including Sir Nolan, David Hodges, Lil Aaron, Jamie Hartman and Andrew Cedar.  Warner will also provide creative support to Milk + Honey’s clients and managers across business and creative.  He has worked with Milk + Honey since the company’s inception in 2014.  Warner previously served at Ozone Entertainment.

New faces at Sony/ATV Nashville.
Sony/ATV Nashville has added four members to its A&R team.  Dane Schmidt joins Sony/ATV as Creative Director, Katie Kerkhover joins as Creative Manager, Stephen Denninger joins as Creative Coordinator, and Laura Castillo joins as A&R Assistant.  The four new additions will report to Senior Vice President Josh Van Valkenburg, who oversees the A&R team in Nashville.

Quboz poaches Miossec from Warner Music France.
Paris-based hi-res music streaming service Qobuz has appointed veteran executive Yann Miossec to the role of CEO.  The hiring comes ahead of the service’s planned US debut this summer.   Miossec previously served as Executive Vice President at Warner Music France.

Liz Morentin joins Paradigm Talent Agency.
Paradigm Talent Agency has hired Liz Morentin as Executive Vice President of Communications.  In the new role, she’ll manage external and internal communications of the company.  Morentin will also work to formulate strategies for media and corporate relations, social media, thought leadership, corporate entertaining, industry access, and advertising, among other areas.  Based in Paradigm’s Beverly Hills office, she’ll report to CEO Sam Gores.

Agnez Mo signs with 300 Entertainment.
Indonesian singer and songwriter Agnez Mo has signed to 300 Entertainment.  She has a fan base of over 35 million followers on social media platforms.  Johnny Wright manages Mo.  He has guided the careers of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson.  Mo has also worked with Timbaland and T.I. on her hit single, ‘Coke Bottle.’

A new deal for UMG with Chinese sensation Kris Wu.
Universal Music Group has signed an international deal with Chinese superstar Kris Wu.  Via a partnership with Universal Music China, UMG will release the singer’s work around the world, excluding Japan and Korea.  In the US, UMG will work with Interscope Geffen A&M to release the singer’s work.  In the UK, the label will release Wu’s work via Island Records.

Noteworthy promotions for Steve Markland and Corey Roberts.  Plus, Downtown poaches Andrew Gould from BMG.
Downtown Music Publishing has promoted Steve Markland to the roles of Senior Vice President of A&R in Nashville.  The promotion comes four years after Markland opened the company’s Music City division in 2014.  He won’t have any change in his job duties.  Instead, Markland’s new role sends a signal about the company’s development plans in Nashville.  Downtown Music Publishing has also named Corey Roberts as Vice President of A&R Research at its New York office.  In addition, Downtown has appointed Andrew Gould from BMG as Senior Vice President and Head of A&R of North America.  He previously served as Co-Head of A&R at BMG.

Lucas Romeo earns a promotion at Republic Records.
Republic Records has promoted Lucas Romeo to Vice President of Top 40.  He previously served as National Director.  Romeo has served at Republic for four years, joining from Epic Records as Mid-Atlantic Regional.  He has executed successful campaigns for The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Ariana Grande, and Hailee Steinfield.  Romeo will work out of the company’s global headquarters in New York.

A new role for Phil McIntyre at Roc Nation.
Roc Nation has appointed Phil McIntyre, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas’ longtime manager, as President of Management.  McIntyre’s company, Philymack, first partnered with Roc Nation in 2015.  He’ll now oversee a large client roster that includes Rihanna, J. Cole, and DJ Kahled, among other artists.  His clients at Philymack include Iggy Azalea and The Band Perry.  McIntyre also serves as Executive Producer of American Idol.

Jay Andino jumps aboard The Orchard.
The Orchard has named Jay Andino as Vice President of the company’s newly established Urban Division.  He previously worked at 300 Entertainment as Director of National Urban and Rhythm Promotions.  At The Orchard, Andino will seek and secure opportunities with key urban artists, labels, management companies, and other strategic partners.  Prior to 300, he worked on projects for Kendrick Lamar, Rae Sremmurd, Eminem, and others at Interscope Records.

Virgin EMI’s Rob Pascoe earns a promotion.
Virgin EMI has promoted Rob Pascoe, a well-liked promo and plugging executive, to the role of General Manager.  In his new role, Pascoe will continue his work with the promotions department.  His responsibilities will now include deal-making and strategy.  Pascoe will report to Virgin EMI President Ted Cockle.

Alessandro Martire signs with Ultra International Publishing.
Alessandro Martire has signed a new deal with Ultra International Publishing.  The 25-year-old Italian post-classical pianist and composer had studied at Music Academy Genoa.  Martire also studied a Masters class with Italian pianist and composer Giusto Franco.  His self-released compositions have been used in film, theatre, and advertising.

Harry Verwayen’s new appointment.
The Governing Board of the Europeana Foundation has appointed Harry Verwayen as the new Executive Director of the organization.  The decision came following a lengthy and rigorous selection process.  Verwayen will formally step up from his current role as Acting Executive Director on May 1st.  He has worked in academic publishing for more than a decade before joining Amsterdam think tank, Kennisland.

Richard Stumpf’s re-election.
Richard Stumpf has been elected for a second term as a National Trustee for the Recording Academy.  His work in his first term focused on advocacy and building bridges with the digital music community.  Stumpf’s lobbying work for more efficient systems and higher streaming rates paid off with a 43% increase in writer rates for on-demand streaming.

Jules Riley’s new role at iHeartMedia.
iHeartMedia has named Jules Riley as Senior Vice President of Programming for St. Louis.  She has over 15 years of experience in radio.  Riley’s previous roles include Operations Manager, Brand Manager, Program Director, On-air Personality, and Voice Talent.  In her new role, she’ll oversee all 7 stations in St. Louis.  Riley will report to Greg Chance, Region Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia St. Louis Region.

Nick Lehman’s new appointment.
ASCAP has announced the appointment of Nick Lehman as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Digital Officer.  He’ll oversee Strategy, Business Development, Product Development, and Administration Services at ASCAP.  Lehman will report directly to CEO Elizabeth Matthews.

Alex Hofman to help grow TuneMoji.
Former Musical.ly President Alex Hofmann has joined mobile startup Emoticast as a lead adviser.  Based in London, Emoticast is the parent company of TuneMoji, a mobile messaging platform for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Skype.  Hofmann will assist in growing TuneMoji’s community of creators and users.  He’ll also help forge new licensing partnerships with top music labels.  TuneMoji has existing global deals with Universal Music Group and Warner Music.  It also has agreements with publishers Sony/ATV, Warner Chappell, Universal Publishing and Impel/PRS.

Warner Music welcomes Danny Bess.
Warner Music Nashville has welcomed a new Vice President of Finance – Danny Bess.  He’ll oversee deal analysis and the execution of business strategy for its entire roster of artists.  Bess will also evaluate operations, systems and processes, increasing effectiveness, and control costs.  He’ll report directly to COO Matt Signore.