Brian Wilson He has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Epic Records for Sony Music. He previously served as vp finance, a position he had held since 2014.
During his eight-year career on the label, Wilson has played a significant role in the financial analysis, negotiation, and project budgeting for artists such as Camila Cabello, DJ Khaled, Future, Meghan Trainor, Travis Scott, and 21 Savage. She will now be responsible for overseeing all of the label’s finances and launch planning, while continuing to lead the budget for Epic’s roster.
Wilson launched his career in the music industry at BMG, where he began working in the company’s international royalty department in 1998. He also worked in various business units within Sony Music and previously served as director of global finance at the parent company.
“Brian has been an invaluable resource at Epic for nearly a decade,” said Epic Records President and CEO. Sylvia Rhone, to whom Wilson will report. “We have come to trust his instincts not only on business and financial issues, but also on the complex tasks involved in running one of the world’s most successful and innovative record labels.”
Live streaming ticket company StageIt has designated Stephen White as CEO. White succeeds StageIt founder Evan Lowenstein, who will pass to the position of executive president.
White brings colleague of a lifetime Vadim Brenner StageIt as product manager. The company has also hired Jay Hung as a senior vp engineer, Tanner Wyer like vp business development and Nicki Gilbert as senior director of artist relations. Elizabeth Moody, a partner and chair of the new media practice at the Granderson Des Rochers law firm, has been hired as the company’s licensing representative.
White previously served as CEO on the Dubset Media Holdings rights management platform. Before that, he was president of the data services company Gracenote. He worked with Brenner at both companies.
The new hires come during a huge increase in StageIt’s business, which claims a 5,000% increase in shows and revenue during the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement announcing new team members, Lowenstein noted that the company has paid more than $ 4 million in revenue to artists in the past 90 days.
One of the first participants in the live streaming space, StageIt was founded in 2009 and launched its first products in 2011.
35-year industry veteran King ted He has joined Madison Square Garden Entertainment as President, Creative Content, and Studio Productions. He will report to the CEO and CEO of MSG Entertainment. James Dolan.
In his new role, which he assumed on June 22, King will head MSG Sphere Studios, which develops content for MSG Sphere, a large-scale venue that will offer “fully immersive” experiences combining technology and “multi-sensory storytelling.” . “King will oversee a comprehensive content roster for MSG Sphere and other business clients, while collaborating with MSG Sphere Construction and MSG Ventures, the team behind MSG Sphere technologies, in developing” tools that facilitate the creative process, helping Artists, creators and educators maximize the immersive capabilities of MSG Sphere. “
Additionally, King will be tasked with designing immersive experiences for MSG Sphere that cover all areas of the venue, including its fully programmable LED exterior and main atrium.
The first MSG Sphere is currently under construction in Las Vegas, while there are also plans to build the first overseas location in London. MSG Entertainment is also opening a 48,5000 square foot space at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles, which will be used by MSG Sphere Studios, MSG Ventures and other MSG Entertainment employees. Among other things, the space will feature a 10,500-square-foot sound stage that is currently being transformed into a full-service studio with production, editing, camera testing, and recording space.
King has more than three decades of experience designing, developing and producing immersive themed entertainment projects around the world. He recently served as a senior show producer at Paramount Pictures Themed Entertainment, where he directed the creative development of shows and attractions for multiple international projects. Simultaneously, he served as director of Ted King Entertainment, which he founded in 2009, and as executive producer at Granaroli Design & Entertainment.
Throughout his career, King’s projects have included Warner Bros. World Theme Park in Abu Dhabi, where he oversaw the development, production, and installation of all of the park’s music and soundtrack content. He has also worked on creative development and production of attractions including Paramount’s “Star Trek the Experience” in Las Vegas; “The Funtastick World of Hanna Barbera” for Universal Studios Florida; “Jurassic Park, The Ride” for Universal Studios Hollywood; and “Caesar’s Magical Empire” at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. He also composed and produced songs for the live show “EFX” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and conceived, co-wrote, and directed the SeaWorld Orlando fireworks show “Mystify”.
GESAC, the commercial body representing European rights societies, has chosen SACEM CEO Jean-Noël Tronc as chairman of the board for a period of two years. Tronc succeeds outgoing president José Jorge Letria.
“For the authors, composers and music publishers that GESAC is fighting for, the COVID crisis strikes twice: they have lost massive direct income from the closure, they will lose significant copyright income in 2021, due to the delayed impact of 2020 losses for users of his works, be they shops, the media, live concerts, cinemas, physical sales or exhibitions, “Tronc said in a statement.
He added: “We have to rethink the EU’s priorities and make culture and creation a vivid priority for recovery plans and the agenda of the Commission, Parliament and EU governments.”
In addition to SACEM, Tronc previously served as President and CEO of Canal + Overseas, CEO of Orange France and as Senior Advisor to the French Prime Minister.
Three new vice presidents were also elected to the GESAC board: Victor Finn, CEO of the Irish authors’ society IMRO; András Szinger, CEO of the Hungarian authors’ society Artisjus; and Harald Heker, CEO of the German authors’ society GEMA.
The new board will also be made up of Gaetano Blandini, CEO of SIAE (Italy); Karsten Dyhrberg Nielsen, CEO of STIM (Sweden); Gernot Graninger, CEO of AKM / Austromechana (Austria); José Jorge Letria, CEO of SPA (Portugal) and Carine Libert, CEO of SABAM (Belgium).
Warner Chappell Music has made two new additions to its Latino timing team: Catalina Ibañez Genoni, who joins as synchronization and A&R manager outside of Chile, and Juan Arbeláez, who joins as a synchronization and licensing supervisor in Colombia.
Genoni hails from IberoAmericana Radio Chile, where she worked in communications and strategic marketing for seven years. Arbeláez previously held roles at the Downtown Group of Colombia, where he developed emerging artists in Medellín.
In addition to new hires, WCM Latin recently promoted Daniela Navarette as a timing manager at the company’s Miami office.
The Bitfury Surround music and entertainment blockchain ecosystem has taken advantage Fabian Alsultany as director of business development, North America. Alsultany will work with the Berlin-based Surround team to help lay the groundwork for the company’s new approach to managing music rights and creativity in the United States and Canada.
“Our platform will significantly change the way artists and their teams are paid,” Alsultany said in a statement. “The market for music, videos, tickets, stems, digital collectibles and digital assets is receiving a significant improvement. Bitfury Surround will enable the creative forces of the entertainment industry to maximize revenue and ensure payment distribution in an innovative way. “
A 25-year veteran of the music industry, Alsultany recently served as director of business development for the RChain Cooperative blockchain platform, where he worked on the development of music technologies related to streaming, micropayments, and digital identity. He previously worked as a vp programmer for Wanderlust Festivals, where he was Senior Business Advisor for a Major Lazer concert in Cuba that drew 450,000 attendees. Additionally, he served as A&R director at Palm Pictures and founded and produced the 2012 Tadasana Yoga and Music Festival in Santa Monica. He has also traveled and recorded as a DJ and musician.
Ingrooves Music Group has named Haluk Cerahman Ingrooves Turkey’s national manager, a move that follows the company’s recent opening of offices in Brazil, Japan and South Korea and a greater presence in Australia / New Zealand and the Nordic countries. Cerahman will work from the Universal Music Group offices in Istanbul.
Cerahman comes from Fizy, a digital platform owned by Turkish mobile operator Turkcell, where he served as content manager. He previously worked as a consultant for various digital service companies.
