Music Industry Moves: D’Anthony Bly Launches New Company, 11 11 Management (EXCLUSIVE)
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D’Anthony Bly, the longtime manager for Coi Leray, has launched a new management company with the goal of signing and developing fresh talent. The new company is called 11 11 Management and will retain Leray as a client.
Bly, better known as “D Bly,” grew up with Leray and dedicated himself to helping build her brand and repertoire which includes the platinum hit “Players,” and other successful singles such as “No More Parties”, “Big Purrd”, “Twinnem”, and “Blick Blick,” featuring Nicki Minaj.
Under Bly’s purview, Leray was featured in the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” soundtrack and also boasts partnerships with Meta, YSL, Marc Jacobs, Fendi and more. He is also working with Leray to build her production company, “Trendsetter Studios.”
Adds the Boston-born entrepreneur, “Everything about this is new. We aren’t following any formulas or algorithms, but we’re finding talent we believe in and taking it to the next level.”
“I wouldn’t want to be in this industry without D Bly,” said Leray in a statement. “He has opened so many doors for me and has been in my corner since the very start. He is truly a star quality manager. We are really here forever, this about longevity.”
Bly has also expressed his dedication to empowering women in music and creating “an environment where talent feels heard, respected and most importantly, safe,” according to the company’s official announcement.
Says Gina Greiss, 11 Management’s general manager, “Working with D Bly has given me the opportunity to experience the music industry in an innovative way. His ability to master any given task has changed the way we perceive entrepreneurship in music.”
+ Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global administration deal with Imagine Dragons.
The pop-rock band has a long list of No. 1 tracks, including the RIAA multi-diamond singles “Radioactive,” “Believer,” “Demons,” and “Thunder.” On signing with WCM, Imagine Dragons frontman, Dan Reynolds, shared: “Songwriting has always been at the heart of everything we do as a band. We’re excited to have great partners with our friends at Warner Chappell as we move into this next chapter.”
“For more than ten years, Imagine Dragons has not only reached but maintained global stardom and connected with fans on a universal level,” added Guy Moot, WCM co-chair and CEO, and Co-Chair and COO Carianne Marshall. “The band is the perfect example of what happens when you successfully work across genres and mediums to create a wide range of crossover hits. We’re lucky to be on this ride with them and excited for the journey ahead.”
Adds WCM VP of A&R, Jon Chen, “Imagine Dragons is in a league of their own when it comes to their songwriting instincts and skills. They’ve successfully built a diverse catalog that has defined an entire era of pop and alt-rock. We’re so proud that they’ve chosen us as their publishing partners and know [there are] many more No. 1 hits to come.”
(L-R): Ryan Press (President, North America, WCM), Dan Reynolds, Jon Chen (VP, A&R, WCM), Greg Sowders (SVP, A&R and Catalog, WCM)
+ Metallica’s All Within My Hands (AWMH) foundation, the workforce education initiative launched by the band in 2019 in conjunction with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), is celebrating its fifth anniversary with the addition of 11 new colleges to its existing 31-college roster.
Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) now directly supports 42 community colleges across 33 states in the U.S. to enhance their career and technical education programs. To date, Metallica and their foundation have invested over $6 million in the American workforce.
“The Metallica Scholars Initiative is so important to us because we are seeing results,” said Lars Ulrich, co-founder of Metallica. “Five years in, with the help of community colleges across the country, we are helping people fill these essential jobs which require skills and training. We are so proud and grateful that we can facilitate this program.”
The expansion will also include the addition of new programs, plus each new school will receive $100,000 to enhance the student experience as they receive career training for economic development. The 11 schools joining MSI this year are:
Aiken Technical College – Aiken, South Carolina
Central Wyoming College – Riverton, Wyoming
Columbia State Community College – Columbia, Tennessee
Front Range Community College – Westminster, Colorado
Itawamba Community College – Fulton, Mississippi
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College – Green Bay, Wisconsin
Oxnard College (Ventura County Community College District) – Oxnard, California
South Central College – North Mankato, Minnesota
South Louisiana Community College – Lafayette, Louisiana
Texas State Technical College – Waco, Texas
Western Dakota Technical College – Rapid City, South Dakota
+ The Oriel Co. has made two new hires to their operations and communications teams: Chrissy Borsellino, formerly of WMA digital agency, Right Angle and Big Picture, has joined as a senior director of communications; Kelli Wasilauski, formerly a VP at Adkins Publicity, has joined as the director of operations in Nashville.
Wasilauski has worked on notable campaigns including Billy Ray Cyrus’ record-breaking “Old Town Road (Remix)” with Lil Nas X, Tanya Tucker’s Grammy award-winning “While I’m Livin’” and the Judd’s “Dream Chasers” Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit.
Borsellino has worked with clients from diverse industries including music, entertainment, non-profit, tech, consumer goods, and lifestyle including Method Man, Macklemore, Ingrid Michaelson, Big Freedia, Blxst and the Aces, among many others.
+ AMR Songs (AMR), the global independent music publishing, rights management, and catalog marketing company founded by Tamara Conniff, has launched a new Christian division.
They have also acquired hundreds of songs by top artists and songwriters in the genre, including Christian rock band Sanctus Real, Phil Wickham, Christy Nockels and Nathan Nockels, hip-hop artist and songwriter Kevin “KB” Burgess and Ryan Stevenson.
+ Audiomack and Atlanta-based record label and management company Love Renaissance (LVRN) have joined forces to discover and develop emerging musicians. Effective immediately, LVRN will leverage Audiomack’s proprietary ArtistRank system to identify artists that are building a lasting fanbase and help them maximize their engagement.
ArtistRank provides detailed data on fan demographics and predictive data that analyzes the artist’s potential trajectory for additional growth. Audiomack has leveraged ArtistRank to identify and amplify a host of acts on its service, including Asake, 1Da Banton, and Byron Messia.
“LVRN’s pulse on the culture and emphasis on the global music scene aligns perfectly with the foundational pillars of Audiomack,” said Ryan Philip, manager, music and data partnerships at Audiomack. “Powered by ArtistRank, this partnership will shed light on artists worldwide building loyal, dedicated fanbases.”
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Audiomack,” said Tunde Balogun, LVRN co-founder and president. “Last year, LVRN set out to discover and nurture talent from all over the world. We’ve been fortunate to manage successful campaigns with global acts like Davido and SPINALL, so we knew there was more we could do to achieve our goal on the label side. This partnership is a significant step forward for LVRN, and we can’t wait to see what kind of talent we’ll uncover together.”
+ Four months after its acquisition by Universal Music Group (UMG), Hyperion Records is offering its 43-year-old catalog of recordings on all streaming platforms.
Two hundred albums were released on streaming today, with subsequent collections to follow every two weeks from September 15, 2023. Hyperion is set on releasing all 2,000 of its recordings by spring 2024. The first slate of releases “[represents] the story of the label, celebrating the qualities that have made British label Hyperion a beacon of classical excellence over the past four decades,” according to a press release.
These include Arcangelo, Mahan Esfahani, Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Sir Stephen Hough, Alina Ibragimova, Steven Isserlis, Steven Osborne, Polyphony, Howard Shelley, Takács Quartet among many others.
“We searched for and found a long-term home that is committed to our values, artists, recordings and editorial style and we are delighted that our entire back catalog, as well as new and future releases, will be available on streaming platforms in the coming months,” says Simon Perry, managing director of Hyperion and son of label founder Ted Perry. “These first 200 albums tell our story, and we look forward to presenting all our work from the past four decades to a new global streaming audience artist-by-artist, series-by-series. Each had their challenges and now they come together to tell a narrative, hopefully a powerful one, of what can happen when you make space for musicians to thrive: it’s why Hyperion has worked.”
+ Artist manager Max Gredinger has been named partner at Foundations Artist Management, joining the company’s founder/partner Steve Bursky, and partners Brian Winton and Drew Simmons.
Formerly executive VP, Gredinger has been with Foundations since 2012, where he manages Laufey, mxmtoon, Ricky Montgomery, and rainbolt. Foundations Artist Management has seen recent success with artists Noah Kahan, Gabe Simon, Dayglow, and Foy Vance.
Adds Gredinger, “I’m immensely grateful for Steve, Brian, and Drew, and the Foundations team for their years of collaboration, friendship, and mentorship. I’m thrilled to enter into partnership with some of the most forward-thinking and thoughtful executives in the business.”
“Max is a brilliant executive with the unique ability to spot, nurture, and develop remarkably gifted creatives into successful global brands,” said Bursky. “His unwavering character and drive has made him an incredible partner to his clients, his colleagues, and to the industry at large. It has been a career highlight working alongside Max over the last 11 years, and Brian, Drew and I couldn’t be happier to have him join us as partner.”
Tuesday, July 25
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the trade organization representing over 600 independent record labels, has announced its 2023 Board of Directors, its new Executive Committee, and Advisory Board Members.
Leading the Executive Committee is Heather Johnson (Director of Label Operations at FIXT) as Chair, Victor Zaraya (COO of Concord) will serve as Treasurer, and Tony Alexander (President and Managing Director of Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)) takes on the position of Secretary. The newly elected Board Members include Tony Alexander (MIME), Nabil Ayers (President of Beggars Group), Hays Rudolph (General Counsel and VP of Business and Legal Affairs at Secretly), and Zena White (COO of Partisan Records).
The organization is also welcoming Advisory Board Members Kristin Epstein (Operations Director of Screenwave Media), Steve Kline (President/COO of Better Noise Music), Jennifer Newman Sharpe (General Counsel and Head of Business & Legal Affairs of Exceleration Music), Elliott Peters (SVP, Global Business of Empire), Jason Peterson (CEO of Cinq Music/GoDigital Media Group), and Reed Watson (Co-owner of Single Lock Records) will lend their expertise and counsel to the organization.
+ The Beatport Group is opening applications for grants to its second annual Diversity + Parity Fund. The investment initiative is designed to support organizations that focus on underrepresented groups and promote diversity within the music industry. The fund will offer financial support, editorial exposure, and marketing across Beatport’s social media platforms to help organizations increase their impact and reach a wider audience.
“We believe in the power of music to unite people from all backgrounds, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the music industry reflects the diversity of the world we live in,” said Sofia Ilyas, Chief Community Officer of the Beatport Group. “Through the Diversity + Parity Fund, we are committed to accelerating change and creating a more inclusive and equitable music industry for everyone.”
Last year the company distributed $100,000 to three inspiring organizations – Lady Of The House, Future Female Sounds and #FORTHEMUSIC.
This year the company has increased the fund by 50% to $150,000, establishing two separate kinds of grants: one for smaller organizations ($3,000 to $15,000 USD) and one for larger organizations ($15,001 to $30,000 USD).
The application process will open on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 12pm GMT and close on August 22, 2023 at 12pm GMT. For more details and submission guidelines, please visit: www.beatportal.com/fund
+ AWAL has appointed Norva Denton as Senior Vice President, Head of Urban Music. Based in AWAL’s Los Angeles office, Denton will join the company’s A&R team, reporting to President Pete Giberga, where he’ll bolster and develop the label’s urban music roster via strategic signings and an artist development-focused mindset.
Giberga says: “We couldn’t be happier to have Norva join us at AWAL. His depth of A&R experience, track record and reach is a very exciting addition for our company and our business in general. His infectious energy on top of that is just a bonus.”
Denton previously served as SVP of A&R at Warner Records where he signed and/or worked closely with such artists as YFN Lucci, Wale, Taykeith, Chika, 2KBABY, and more. He also executive produced Wale’s 2019 Gold-certified album, “Wow…That’s Crazy” and Freddie Gibbs’ 2022 album “$oul $old $eparately.” Prior to Warner, he worked for eight years in artist development at Motown and Island Def Jam.
+ Independent publishing company Prescription Songs and its label counterpart Amigo Records have named Diana Sanders as Senior Vice President, Business Affairs. Prior to joining in November 2022, Diana was a partner at Russ August & Kabat LLP and co-chair of its Music Practice Group.
“We are so lucky as a company to have hired Diana Sanders,” shares Prescription Songs & Amigo Records’ General Manager Ashlee Gibbs. “In the short time she’s been with us, Diana has become an essential part of the executive team and has contributed to the company’s everyday success and growth. Her attention to detail is exceptional and dedication to our roster and staff is unmatched. We sincerely look forward to her future at Prescription!”
+ Sony Music UK announced that Negla Abdela has been promoted to Managing Director at Ministry of Sound. She joined in 2015 as Social Media Manager before being promoted to Head of Digital in 2018, then to General Manager in 2021. She has been responsible for managing the marketing and digital teams, working across the label’s diverse roster to deliver multi-platinum selling single and album campaigns.
Dipesh Parmar President, Columbia Records said: “I’m delighted for Negla to take on her new role at Ministry of Sound. She is a natural leader and her commitment over the last eight years has helped shape the label’s vision for artist signings and overall development.”
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