Joe Gallo has been promoted to general manager of Columbia Records following his stint as the label’s executive vice president/head of sales. During his decade-plus tenure at the label, Gallo has led campaigns for Adele, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Polo G, blink-182, Tyler, The Creator and Rosalía, among others.
Working out of Columbia’s New York offices, Gallo will continue to work across the entire roster and will oversee label operations in his new role. He was previously upped from senior VP to his former role in 2022.
“Spending the last ten years in a commercial role allowed me to work with teams across the label and its storied roster,” said Gallo in a statement. “I’m excited for the opportunity to expand upon Columbia’s foundation and be a part of its future. I want to continue to raise the bar of success for our artists and am proud to work alongside the best team in the business. I’m grateful for the guidance, trust and support that Ron Perry and Jen Mallory entrust in me and consider it a privilege to call this place home.”
+ Merlin has announced its new Board Members — a set of industry leaders from the independent music industry in 12 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania — in alignment with the new year.
The Merlin Board is elected from and by its membership, which represents tens of thousands of independent record labels, distributors, and rightsholders from around the world. In a press release, the company explained nearly half of the Board Members have been elected or appointed for their first term, with 10 members returning to serve another term.
Newly elected to the Board are: Golda Bitterli, VP of Sales, Revelator (Israel); Jeffrey Chiang, Director of Global Business, Fluxus (South Korea); Fer Isella, Founder and CEO, limbo music (Spain); Irina Lipczyk-Kolakovska, Digital Distribution Lead, e-muzyka (Poland); Simon Wheeler, Director of Global Commercial Strategy, Beggars (UK); and Megan Jasper, CEO, Sub Pop (US).
Board Advisors appointed this year are Jennifer Newman Sharpe, General Counsel, Exceleration, and Dorothee Imhoff, CCO, FUGA.
Returning to the Merlin Board are: Pascal Bittard, Founder and CEO, IDOL (France); Marie Clausen, Managing Director North America, Ninja Tune (US); Tom Deakin, Head of EMEA, AudioSalad (UK); Chris Maund, COO, Mushroom Music (Australia); Carlos Mills, Founder, Mills Records (Brazil); Louis Posen, President & Executive Director, Hopeless Records (US); Michael Ugwu, CEO, Freeme Digital (Nigeria); Darius Van Arman, Co-CEO, Secretly (US); Horst Weidenmueller, CEO & Owner, !K7 (Germany); and Justin West, President & CEO, Secret City (Canada).
Darius Van Arman was reappointed as Chairperson by the Board for a second term.
+ Prajin Parlay Inc., the management company led by George Prajin, has announced the signing of Código FN, a Mexican norteño group. They join artists including Peso Pluma, Santa Fe Klan, Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Double P, Dareyes de la Sierra and more. Prajin Parlay Inc. also works in partnership with Peso Pluma’s record label Double P Records.
The five-member group comprised of Ernesto Tito León, Danny León, Ramiro Luna, Martín Parra and Manuel Villalpando, has a 15-year legacy and boasts a catalog that blends Latin American rhythms into into the traditional norteño genre. Some of their most successful singles include “Billetes Verdes,” “Ando Bien Al Tiro,” “Soy El Ratón” and “Mood Malando.”
+ Gibson Brands, Inc., the world’s most iconic instrument brand, today announced that it has confirmed Luke Ericson to the role of chief operating officer, reporting to Cesar Gueikian, president, and CEO of Gibson Brands.
Acting as Interim COO since May 2023, Luke has reorganized the business with the creation of the COO office around manufacturing, planning and supply chain, and enterprise solutions, globally.
“I am excited to confirm Luke as our permanent Chief Operating Officer,” said Gueikian. “Luke’s overall experience as an operations expert, successfully serving in multiple leadership roles, uniquely positions him to drive operational excellence for Gibson. I have full confidence in Luke’s ability to lead our office of the COO, and Gibson, into the future.”
Luke joined Gibson from the global private equity firm KKR, where he was an operating partner. During his time at KKR, he partnered closely with the management teams at KKR Investments to develop and execute growth strategies.
+ Genesis Garcia, formerly associate director of publicity at RCA Records, has joined public relations company Orienteer. She brings rapper Teezo Touchdown to the Orienteer roster.
Before her two-and-a-half-year stint at RCA, Garcia worked as a manager in media and artist relations at Def Jam Recordings. She has worked on campaigns for Grammy-nominated artists Steve Lacy and Victoria Monet.
+ TuneCore, owned by Paris-based Believe, has named Akhila Shankar as the company’s new head of TuneCore, South Asia. Shankar will report to Tash Shah, TuneCore’s VP of international, as well as Vivek Raina, managing director, Believe India.
As head of TuneCore, South Asia, Shankar (based in Mumbai) will be responsible for growing and managing the company’s artist roster in the region and providing support through localization efforts, partnership opportunities, and the development of innovative marketing campaigns on behalf of TuneCore and its artists.
Previously, Shankar served as director of international at Luminary, where she led the company’s expansion and subscription growth in international markets, increasing Luminary’s native footprint from 11 to 60 global markets. Shankar’s appointment follows the departure of former Head of TuneCore, South Asia, Heena Kriplani who is leaving the company to relocate overseas.
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Tom Sansone has been named SoundCloud‘s new chief financial officer/chief operating officer, it was announced Tuesday by CEO Eliah Seton.
“Tom is a proven global executive with a highly differentiated and relevant skill set that includes accelerating business transformation, establishing operational and financial discipline and executing strategic alternatives,” said Seton in a statement. “Now that we are a profitable growth company and in control of our own destiny, Tom will be a key partner in helping us realize SoundCloud’s unique opportunity and industry-changing vision.”
Sansone brings more than 20 years of global financial and operational experience. For the last seven years, Sansone served as CFO of Kobalt Music Group where he was a key architect of the company’s restructuring and profitable growth and capital planning. Before that, Sansone was COO and CFO of Gilt Groupe.
Sansone will now help drive the execution of SoundCloud’s operational rigor, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, in addition to assuming responsibility for its financial performance and capital structuring. He will report directly to Seton.
Added Sansone, “I am passionate about helping businesses realize their potential and am incredibly excited about the opportunities for SoundCloud. The evolution of the business has been exciting to see and the company remains one of the most trusted brands for creators and super fans of music discovery. I’m looking forward to working with an incredible leadership team and Board to execute on the strategy to empower artists and fans to share and connect through music and to build on our strong financial footing.”
+ Alfredo Delgadillo has been appointed president and CEO of Universal Music México.
Previously Universal Music México’s managing director, Delgadillo will assume responsibility over Universal Music Group’s regional Mexican label, Fonovisa-Disa. The Mexico City-based executive will continue to report directly to Jesús López, chairman/CEO, Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula.
“We are in a unique moment of growth for Latin music and Regional Mexican music, so this new responsibility comes with an even stronger commitment to continue growing the success and reach of our artists both in Mexico and around the world, alongside growing our live and management businesses,” Delgadillo said in a statement. “Now with the addition of the Fonovisa-Disa labels, I am looking forward to working closely with its leader Antonio Silva, for whom I have absolute respect and their entire team, to ensure that the legacy of Fonovisa-Disa, as the symbol and leader of Regional Mexican music, continues to grow and expand to the rest of the world.”
After a 10-year run with EMI Music México, Delgadillo returned to Universal in 2013 (when UMG acquired EMI) as general manager of Universal Music México, and in 2017 was promoted to managing director.
+ France-headquartered streaming service Deezer has tapped Ivana Kirkbride as its new chief commercial officer.
As the company continues to expand its presence globally, Kirkbride — who has previously held positions at Google, Verizon Communications and Meta Platforms — will spearhead Deezer’s global partnership businesses and manage the company’s global partnership organizations across Europe, Latin America and North America. The company has already launched partnerships with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
Kirkbride will report to Stephane Rougeot, deputy chief executive of Deezer.
+ The Familie, a sports and music agency, is headed to Nashville with a pair of new hires.
Royce Risser, who was previously executive VP of promotion at Universal Music Group, will be the agency’s head of Nashville and executive VP of country music, as Chase Berlin joins the team as an artist manager. Risser will be overseeing and executing Nashville office operations, in addition to leading the development of The Familie’s new country division. The Familie’s roster currently includes artists like Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, Jaden Hossler, Games We Play and sombr.
As The Familie’s first artist manager in Nashville, Berlin will work under Risser to sign and develop promising country artists and build out the genre’s division for The Familie. Upon moving to Nashville, Berlin began his music industry career at WME (William Morris Endeavor) where he worked as an assistant before joining The AMG (The Artist Management Group) as an artist manager, working with artists like Kat & Alex and Jordan James.