Latest Music Industry Hires: UMPG Brazil, Yamaha, Primary Wave, Hallwood, Arista, More

In one of late March’s music industry hires and promotions, Didi Purcell (pictured) was tapped to handle artist and label partnerships at Stem. Photo Credit: Stem Disintermedia

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of March 28th, 2024.If you have a job shuffle to share, we’re all ears. Send us a note to [email protected]. If you’d like to post a job on our Job Board, just send us a request to [email protected]. And, keep track of all the latest music industry hires here.

UMPG BrazilUniversal Music Publishing Group Brazil has named 11-year higher-up Adriana Ramos MD.

Yamaha Corporation of AmericaLongtime Yamaha sales exec Paul Furtkamp is set to retire on July 1st, and on April 1st, eight-year team member Julian Williams will take his place leading the commercial audio and NEXO sales team.

Additionally, David Venus, who last October succeeded Williams as western regional manager for commercial audio and NEXO, has officially been promoted to the post.

Primary WavePrimary Wave has brought on former SixtyFour Music senior music supervisor Julianne Wilson as senior director of creative sync. Meanwhile, over eight-year employee Peter Kurczaba has been elevated to the same role, and four-year team member Derek Pierce has been boosted to director of creative sync.

Hallwood MediaClose to eight-year Interscope Geffen A&M urban A&R exec Roderick “PushaRod” Bullock has joined Hallwood as VP of A&R/management.

AristaSony Music’s Arista Records has promoted Kathryn Sullivan McDonald from senior marketing director to VP of marketing.

Austrian AudioBernd Gossi, who joined Austrian Audio in September of 2020, has become manager of artist relations and PR.

SplashFormer SoundCloud chief content officer Tracy Chan has signed on as CEO of Amazon-backed AI music platform Splash.

iHeartMediaAnthony Fuscaldo, who exited iHeartMedia in 2017, has rejoined the company in Philadelphia as SVP of sales.

StemStem Disintermedia has hired Didi Purcell (previously with TikTok’s SoundOn) to spearhead artist and label partnership initiatives. Additionally, Nima Khalilian (formerly with UMG’s Interscope) has come aboard as head of international for artist and label strategy.

TBA AgencyTBA has revealed three promotions: New York City-based Katie Nowak is now VP of marketing and partnerships, Los Angeles-based Corynne Fernandez is director of marketing and artist development, and nearly two-year team member Ashley Torres is marketing and partnerships coordinator.

Plus, San Francisco-based creative consultancy firm Department of Culture & Technology “is partnering with TBA.” The Department’s founders, Jack Pitney and Kosta Elchev, are expected to “work hand in hand with TBA” to drive “innovative, creative opportunities for the roster.”

SONGS FoundationThe NMPA’s nine-year-old SONGS Foundation (“Supporting Our Next Generation of Songwriters”) has announced a new board, adding songwriters Pasek and Paul (Kobalt), Dan Wilson (UMPG), The Matrix’s Lauren Christy (Reservoir), Allison Russell (Concord), Jordan Reynolds (Warner Chappell), Gaby Moreno (Peermusic), and Cam (SMP).

On the executive side, the NMPA also revealed SONGS Foundation board additions of Sony Music Publishing head Jon Platt, Warner Chappell COO Carianne Marshall, Reservoir founder Golnar Khosrowshahi, Peermusic COO Kathy Spanberger, BMG general counsel Keith Hauprich, Concord chief publishing officer Jim Selby, Kobalt creative head Alison Donald, and UMPG co-head of A&R Jennifer Knoepfle.

Neste Live!Live Nation’s Neste Live! has upped Madison House vet Andrew Fortin to VP of fairs and festivals, almost 10-year corporate talent buyer Jill Kopecky to VP of corporate and private events, and Last Best Entertainment owner Annette St. Onge to operations director.

Sounds of SavingSOS has hired Anjali Ramasunder as executive director and added musicians Sharon van Etten, Nick Hakim, and Taja Cheek (known professionally as L’Rain) to its advisory board.

Additionally, the non-profit has added to its main board Buzz1441 co-founder Perry Bashkoff, Saatchi & Saatchi chief data and AI officer Das Dasgupta, Roku legal exec Mariana D’Andrea, Goldman global chief brand officer Arianna Orpello Lewko, AllTrack chief revenue officer Brian Mullaney, Netflix vet Erica Sewell, and Format Entertainment music supervisor Martin Mycoo.

National Opera StudioCoach, pianist, and conductor Eric Melear will begin as artistic director for London’s National Opera Studio in July.

Warner Chappell Music ChinaWarner Chappell China has named Lisa Li (formerly Warner Bros. Discovery’s business-development head in China) MD and appointed Universal Music Publishing China vet Mar Ma as an A&R director.

Warner Records13-year Warner Records team member Josh Reich has been elevated to SVP of top-40 promotion.

Range Media PartnersRange has officially opened its Nashville office, which will be led by Red Light vet Shawn McSpadden, Brigade Media Capital founder William Lowery, and co-founding managing partner Jack Minihan.

SM EntertainmentSM has promoted COO Tak Young-jun to co-CEO.

ConcordConcord has enlisted Soundly owner Stephanie Hudacek to serve as president of Rounder Records.

The SoCal SoundLongtime DJ Matt Pinfield has joined The SoCal Sound (88.5 FM) as the afternoon drive host.