Music Industry Moves: Emily Stephenson Named President of Downtown Music Publishing
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Downtown Music, the business and professional services division under Downtown Music Holdings, has announced the promotion of Emily Stephenson to president of publishing.
Based in Nashville, Stephenson most recently served as the division’s VP of business operations and during her 10-year tenure at the company has been responsible for all aspects of publishing administration and client services for Downtown’s songwriter and publishing clients, including Ryan Tedder, Big Yellow Dog, and the John Lennon Estate. In her new role, Stephenson will report to Downtown Music President Pieter van Rijn.
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Also announced today is the news that Mike Smith is departing Downtown after nearly three years as global president of Downtown Music Services. According to the announcement, Smith is leaving the company to pursue several personal projects and to focus on his ongoing charitable work, which includes board positions with Teenage Cancer Trust, EarthPercent, In Place of War, and the Creative Society.
Smith said, “It has been my pleasure and privilege to lead Downtown Music Services through a significant period of restructuring and realignment that has seen it become a global leader in artist services. I have been very fortunate during my time at the company to work with a team of highly passionate, creative and artist-focused people and with many inspiring artists, labels and music publishers. I look back on our many achievements during the last three years with pride. After nearly 40 years at the coal face of the UK music industry, I have decided to take some time away from the day-to-day business of music to refocus my energies into a number of personal, creative projects and to devote more of my time to the charitable work that is so close to my heart.”
Stephenson added.”Thanks to Mike’s fantastic leadership over the past three years, Downtown’s publishing divisions are in a great position to align our efforts and maximize revenue for our clients, whether they use Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust or Sheer. This unified approach means that Downtown can offer the industry’s leading publishing services both at scale and in-depth, working more closely with our current and future clients at every stage.”
Wednesday, March 29
YouTube and Google’s Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen will be honored with the Spirit of Life award by City of Hope with a gala dinner on Oct. 18 at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
The award is presented by City of Hope’s music, film and entertainment industry group and honors the philanthropic contributions of industry champs including past honorees Shelli and Irving Azoff, Clive Davis, Sir Lucian Grainge, Quincy Jones, Mo Ostin, Bob Pittman and Sylvia Rhone, among others.
“If you have the opportunity to give a gift back to the industry you love, with an organization like City of Hope, whose doctors and scientists’ passion for helping others is so extraordinary, it’s a no-brainer,” said Cohen. “My career has been shaped by a contrarian point of view. Open to making mistakes, making big bets, unpopular decisions and being comfortable with change; that is how culture shifts and how breakthroughs happen. To me, these are many of the same qualities that make City of Hope’s mission to transform the future of cancer care across all communities so impactful. I am honored to join this admirable group of Spirit of Life recipients and look forward to continuing the tradition of leaning on music to bring us together.”
Cohen’s time as a music exec spans management and leadership stints across independent and major labels like 300 Entertainment and Warner Music Group. He began his career as a road manager for Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.
“City of Hope is proud to honor the notable contributions of Lyor Cohen and celebrate 50 years of philanthropic partnership with the Music, Film and Entertainment Industry group,” said Robert Stone, City of Hope’s CEO. “This collection of industry leaders has made extraordinary contributions to our mission and continues to enhance our ability to deliver tomorrow’s breakthrough innovations today. We look forward to partnering with Lyor and the larger music community in the years ahead to develop new cures and save patient lives.”
+ Dice has appointed Katie Soo as its new chief business officer. Katie will be responsible for driving forward the ticketing platform’s strategic growth propositions and marketing, helping build the brand globally and supporting the company’s ambitions “to disrupt and lead a fairer live entertainment industry,” per the press release.
Soo last served as a chief marketing officer at the education and STEAM learning subscription platform, KiwiCo. Prior to that, she was senior VP of growth marketing at HBO Max. Her previous experience includes roles at Warner Bros. Digital Networks, DC Universe and Hulu.
She will be responsible for overseeing consumer marketing, B2B marketing, fan experience, brand and creative, new growth initiatives, social and communications teams globally at Dice.
+ In the wake of layoffs at Warner Music, the company’s U.K division has announced a series of changes. Effective May 9, Isabel Garvey – most recently managing director of Abbey Road Studios – will take up the newly created post of chief operating officer of Warner Music U.K., reporting to CEO Tony Harlow.
There will also be a leadership change at Parlophone Records, with Jennifer Ivory, currently senior VP at Warner Records U.K., taking over as managing director. As part of the changes, Parlophone co-presidents Nick Burgess, Mark Mitchell and general manager Jack Melhuish will exit the label. Also, Parlophone will join Warner Records U.K., Roadrunner, FFRR and Elektra Entertainment in a newly created coalition of labels overseen by Warner Records U.K. President Joe Kentish. Finally, Warner Music U.K. promotes Claire Coster to director of publicity, Colette Carey increases her purview as VP of artist relations, Jane Arthy is upped to senior VP of promotions, and Theresa Adebiyi joins as creative director.
+ Grimes worked with a series of digital artists to create an augmented reality experience for her recent Ultra Miami performance and is launching an online platform called Elf.Tech which will explore avatars, experiences, digital collectibles, and other projects. Grimes also partnered with Zora, a platform to mint NFTs, to put out “Grimes Gen 1 Avatars.” The free Avatar is a seven-day open edition that unlocks new in-app experiences, and access to exclusive music and Grimes’ IP to create user-generated content.
+ Audiomack has upped Charlotte Bwana to VP of marketing and brand strategy, where she’ll be responsible for the execution of brand strategies and promotional initiatives across Africa.
Bwana most recently launched “Keep The Beat Going,” a campaign geared toward empowering creatives and inspiring listeners to engage with new music from across Africa. The campaign features chart-topping artists from the continent such as Burna Boy, Asake, Uncle Waffles, Stonebwoy, Black Sherif, Kidi and many more. Also under Bwana’s leadership, Audiomack Africa and MTV have partnered up to create playlists and editorial opportunities that combine programs that transfer across both platforms.
Tuesday, March 28
Music-rights investment company MusicBird has acquired the catalog of Scottish singer-songwriter-producer Midge Ure, the company announced Monday. MusicBird has acquired the writer’s share, master recording and neighboring rights income on more than 300 songs across Ure’s solo career and his work with Ultravox, Visage, the Rich Kids, Slik and more.
The 1984 single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” which Ure produced and co-wrote with Bob Geldof — and ranks as the second-highest selling single in U.K. chart history — was a charity release and is not included in the acquisition. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Over the course of nearly 50 years, Ure has been singer-guitarist in such bands as Ultravox, Slik, Rich Kids and a guitarist in Thin Lizzy and Visage, among multiple solo projects. He produced, co-wrote and performed on such hits as Ultravox’s “Vienna” and “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes,” Visage’s “Fade to Grey” and his own U.K. No. 1 hit “If I Was.”
Ure said, “It is a significant moment for me as an artist and songwriter to see my songs find a new home at MusicBird with people who are genuinely passionate about music. I think this team will take the songs to new audiences and I am excited to be working with them on that!”
+ Primary Wave Music has acquired the artist royalties of Bob Burns, drummer and founding member of the iconic southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The multi-million-dollar deal encompasses all recordings from the band’s debut album, “Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd,” as well as their sophomore effort, “Second Helping.”
+ Spotify has announced a donation to Vibrate Space, a non-profit organization helping young Ghanaian music entrepreneurs.
Vibrate Space, which is operated by Surf Ghana in Accra, is a community recording studio and music business programme, offering education, mentorship and space to young Ghanaian artists, so that they can create, connect and collaborate. The donation is from the streaming giant’s Creator Equity Fund to support emerging artists in Ghana and will be administered over multiple years.
Vibrate plans to use the additional funding for artist support include a festival at the space, to be held at the end of the year, supporting artists to put on their own events and establishing a youth hostel. The organization is also looking to establish an artist-in-residency and exchange program, as well as a women’s program aimed at supporting women’s growth in the industry. They also intend to expand their educational offerings, by extending their highly successful monthly masterclasses for another two years and introducing a three-month instrument-learning program. Spotify first partnered with Vibrate in September 2022 with a donation that facilitated the launch of the studio. Over the past six months, Vibrate has registered over 200 studio bookings, and hosted many more creators for events and classes.
Speaking about the partnership, Phiona Okumu, Head of Music for Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) said, “Since Spotify’s arrival in Africa five years ago, we have worked to identify opportunities to support artists in ways that speak directly to each of our markets. The partnership with Vibrate allows us to continue supporting emerging artists and cultural entrepreneurs in Ghana in addition to the on-platform work we are doing in the country.”
+ Benefiting Global Citizen, the New York Classic Fishing Tournament will return on May 11 and launch from the North Cove Marina FiDi in New York City. The 3rd annual event will be hosted by Bob McLynn (Crush Music) and Mark Weiss (237). This year’s advisory board includes: Dan Kruchkow (Crush Music), Elliot Resnik (Masur Griffitts Avidor LLP), Bobby Cory (CAA), Joey Krutel (Producer), and Chris Stadler (CVC Capital Partners). All proceeds will go to Global Citizen. For more information about the New York Classic Fishing Tournament see https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/info/nyfishingclassic/
+ The popular podcast “How Long Gone,” which boasts more than 500,000 monthly listeners, has a new distribution partner and a soon-to-launch tour. The show, hosted by Chris Black and Jason Stewart, has joined the Talkhouse Podcast Network where it will continue to drop three episodes a week. Black and Stewart will also be taking their gabfest on the road with stops planned in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and London
Talkhouse’s roster of audio works include “Bjork: Sonic Symbolism,” “Jokermen” and Santigold’s “Noble Champions.”
Said Black and Stewart (pictured below): “We are very excited to partner with Talkhouse. They have a proven track record and great taste and will allow us to continue avoiding Patreon.”
+ Wise Music Group has signed a co-publishing agreement with the estate of the Indian composer Ravi Shankar. The publisher has also acquired Shankar’s archives containing unreleased recordings and unpublished compositions, along with the record label, East Meets West Music.
Throughout his career, Shankar helmed traditional ragas, chamber works, concertos, symphonic scores, and film soundtracks. The archives contain renditions from numerous artists including Ravi’s daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones, as well as George Harrison, Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, Zubin Mehta, Sting, Ray Charles, and Phil Collins, as well as Indian collaborators Ali Akbar Khan and Alla Rakha.
The holdings comprise hand-engraved scores and handwritten compositions; more than 1,500 audio recordings; 2,100 video recordings; 600 films; over 5,000 photographs; and 20 significant instruments custom-made for Shankar, along with stage wardrobe, correspondence, posters, clippings, and awards.
Anoushka Shankar, who recently signed a publishing deal with Chester Music (part of Wise Music Group), oversees Ravi Shankar’s musical holdings with her mother Sukanya.
+ Independent music technology and services company Symphonic has announced an official partnership with Boston-based company Formless, Inc. Integrating Formless’ SHARE Protocol, Symphonic uses blockchain technology and operates as an engine for Web3 applications and digital content streaming services. The SHARE Protocol will initially roll out to a select group of Symphonic clients who specifically express interest in Web3 as well as the willingness to explore innovative release tools. Artists using the technology can control the access terms to their music, including the streaming price, and receive payments instantly while splitting royalty revenues with collaborators and their audiences.
“Formless has developed intuitive, dynamic, and highly innovative technology rooted in pragmatic control-based tools for artists,” says Nick Gordon, Chief Partnership Officer for Symphonic.
Monday, March 27
Warner Chappell Music has renewed its global publishing deal with producer Marco “MAG” Borrero. A frequent Bad Bunny collaborator, MAG produced 15 of the 23 tracks on the blockbuster album “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which led to his 2022 Variety Hitmakers honor and his No. 1 position on Billboard’s Year-End Hot Latin Song Producers chart. “Un Verano Sin Ti” became the first all-Spanish album to top the year-end Billboard 200 chart as well as earn a nomination for Album of the Year Grammy award.
The Brooklyn-born, Puerto Rican-Dominican producer was mentored by Max Martin — the most successful songwriter-producer of the past 25 years — and over the course of his career has also collaborated with Rauw Alejandro, Arcángel, Bebe Rexha, Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato.
MAG said: “Guy, Ryan, Katy and the whole Warner Chappell team have been incredibly supportive over the past few years and I’m excited to continue building on our partnership.”
+ Cutting Edge Media Music, a financing and investment company specializing in music for film, television, video games and other media, has acquired the entire music catalog of the U.K.-based media company First Score Music Ltd.
The acquisition gives CEMM full master and publishing rights to over 75 scores, including films by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s Imaginarium Productions, which is in production on an animated version of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” Also included in the acquisition is the film score for the upcoming Imaginarium/Searchlight film “Next Goal Wins,” with a score by Academy Award and Emmy-winner Michael Giacchino (“Up,” “The Incredibles,” “The Batman”), and directed by Academy Award-winner Taika Waititi (“JoJo Rabbit,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”).
The acquired catalog also includes film scores by world class composers such as Carter Burwell, Christophe Beck, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Volker Bertelmann, John Debney, Benjamin Wallfisch, Andrew Lockington, David Newman, Rachel Portman, Mychael Danna, Craig Armstrong, David Buckley and Harald Kloser.
“Imaginarium has a great creative and commercial relationship with Cutting Edge,” said Imaginarium’s Cavendish. Serkis added, “It is incredibly important for us to have partners in the musical sphere who are as knowledgeable, creative and clever as Cutting Edge’s Philip Moross and Tara Finnegan.”
CEMM was represented in the transaction by Tim Hegarty, the head of mergers and acquisitions for parent company Cutting Edge Group.
+ ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams announced organization’s 12 writer and 12 publisher members elected to serve on its board of directors for a two-year term beginning April 1, 2023.
In addition to Williams, the writer members who were re-elected in the at-large field are: composer/songwriter Jon Batiste; composer Richard Bellis; composer Bruce Broughton; songwriter/producer Desmond Child; composer Sharon Farber; Writer Vice Chair composer Dan Foliart; songwriter/composer Michelle Lewis; composer/producer Marcus Miller; songwriter Jimmy Webb; and composer Doug Wood. Composer Alex Shapiro was re-elected in the Symphonic and Concert field.
Newly elected as a publisher director is Jon Singer, Spirit Music. The publisher directors re-elected in the at-large field are: Peter Brodsky, Sony Music Publishing; Bob Bruderman, Kobalt; Marti Cuevas, Mayimba Music; Keith Hauprich, BMG US; Dean Kay, Lichelle Music Company; Evan Lamberg, Universal Music Publishing Group; Leeds Levy, Leeds Music; Carianne Marshall, Warner Chappell Music; Mary Megan Peer, peermusic; and Publisher Vice Chair Irwin Z. Robinson, Cromwell Music, Inc. James M. Kendrick, European American Music, was re-elected in the Symphonic and Concert field.
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