Welcome to another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard's comprehensive(ish) roundup of promotions, hires, departures and firings — and everything in between — across music. While you're here, we also have a weekly interview series featuring a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we've lost over the year.
Label owned by HYBE WORSHIPER determined Kim Ju-young to replace the founder Min Hee Jin as CEO of imprint, home of K-pop girl group NewJeans. The decision was made Tuesday (August 27) by ADOR's board after a tumultuous several months of legal disputes, defamation claims and an earlier attempt by HYBE to fire the executive, who co-founded ADOR in 2021. ADOR said Min , a former creative director at SM Entertainment, would continue to produce music for NewJeans. In addition, ADOR said it would restructure to separate its management and production divisions. Most recently Kim served as the Head of HR at HYBE and was previously the Head of HR at South Korean video game publishing company Krafton. The move is the second major leadership change in a month for HYBE, which recently promoted Jason Jaesang Lee to CEO, replacing Jiwon Park in the top spot ahead of what it has since called its “HYBE 2.0” strategy ».
TikTok elevated Toyin Mustapha as head of music partnerships for the UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined the ByteDance-owned platform in late 2018 as director of music content and artist partnerships before moving to lead music promotion at SoundOn, TikTok's DIY distribution service. “I'm really looking forward to helping the incredible team continue to build on all of their great work driving music discovery and making TikTok a true home for artists at every stage as we support as much incredible homegrown talent as possible,” Mustapha said. in announcing his move. Back to SoundOn, Nichal Sethi climbed on his head SoundOn for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He joined the ByteDance family in 2022 from BMG, where he held a senior director-level position. Sethi remarked, “I've been lucky to work with some amazing artists and teams so far, and I look forward to working with many more in the future as we help more independent artists break through TikTok and beyond.”
Universal Music Group Nashville determined Derek Anderson as senior vice president of commerce. Anderson has more than 15 years of experience in the music industry and distribution, and in this new role, he oversees e-commerce, retail and streaming teams for the label group. Anderson's career includes time at Sony Music's RED Distribution, Kobalt/AWAL, The Orchard, Black River Entertainment and New West Records. “Having followed [UMGN’s] Dominating the industry from afar, I look forward to building on their great foundation and continuing to grow personally and collectively with the UMG team,” said Anderson. –Jessica Nicholson
Sony Music Publishing Australia employee Julian McGruther as senior A&R, a new position at the publisher. He will focus on strengthening the company's roster of local talent and will report directly to Craig Hawker, head of A&R/creative at Sony Music Publishing. McGruther comes from Mushroom Music, where in seven years he became creative director and worked with artists such as Amy Shark, Nat Dunn and Mona Khoshoi, among others.
The country's radio broadcasters revealed its elected members for the organization's 2024-2025 Board of Directors. Board officers for 2024-2025 are Kurt Johnson (Townsquare Media) as president, John Shomby (Country's Radio Coach) as vice president, and Beverlee Brannigan (Beverlee Brannigan LLC Creative Coaching) as secretary. Elected/appointed members of the new board are Emily Cohen Belote (Amazon Music), Justin Chase (Beasley Media Group), Mike Harris (UMG Nashville), Debra Herman (Apple/Shazam), Jennifer Johnson (Riser House Records), Ashley Morrison (iHeartMedia/WFUS), Jordan Pettit (Opry Entertainment Group), Greg Strassell (Hubbard), Allison Warren (Cumulus Nashville) and Kristen Williams (Warner Music Nashville), while those continuing their tenure are Chuck Aly (Country Aircheck) , George Couri (Triple 8 Management), Gator Harrison (iHeart Country), Steve Hodges (Sony Music Nashville), Clay Hunnicut (BMLG), Kenny Jay (Albright & O'Malley & Brenner), Jon Loba (BMG North America), Mike McVay ( McVay Media), RJ Meacham (Curb Records), Brent Michaels (KUZZ), Charlie Morgan (Apple Music), Rod Phillips (iHeart Country), Joel Raab (Joel Raab Country Radio & Media), Royce Risser (The Familie ), Tim Roberts (Audacy/WYCD) and Matt Sunshine (The Center for Sales Strategy). –JN
TABLE SHORTS: Former Warner Music executive Linda Walker will join the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) as the new chair of the UK organization, effective September 1. He succeeds Ben Drurywho served for 18 months in the role. Walker spent nearly 20 years at WMG, rising from account manager to senior vice president of advertising for the UK and Europe… Creator-run not-for-profit Artist Rights Alliance added songwriter and actor Dan Navarro on its board of directors and bolstered its music board with Aerosmith, Creed, Wolfgang Van Halen, Lauren Daigle, Jerry Flowers, Myles Kennedy and Sevendust. Founded in 2013, ARA's mission is to provide artists and allies with the resources, knowledge and tools to navigate the complex landscape of the music business. She launched her music board, along with the Artists' Bill of Rights, in the mid-2020s with names like Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris. The Board of Directors and the Council both provide advisory input and offer their opinion in advocating for legislation in favor of artists' rights.
Creator-centric marketing company QYOU Media employee Karen Chem as vp of communications. Kehm is charged with overseeing all marketing and communications efforts, along with B2B initiatives, at the company. Prior to QYOU, he held senior communications roles at influencer marketing firm BENlabs and AOL. “We are thrilled to welcome Karen to the team to help continue QYOU's forward momentum as we head into 2025,” said Glenn Ginsburg, president of QYOU Media. “We're excited to continue to shine a light on the innovative work we do in the influencer marketing space, leveraging the cultural edge to connect our client partners with their target audiences through socially relevant and authentic campaigns.”
Mike Lisanti recently left Prodigy Artists to launch MLennial, a new artist management company with clients including BARELY ALIVE, Kompany, MUZZ and SABAI. The Los Angeles-based manager previously served as managing director at Prodigy, where he was credited with helping revive the career of dubstep DJ/producer Crankdat.
ICYMI:
Celine Joshua
Former Universal Music executive and longtime music technology futurist Celine Joshua joined BMG for the newly created role of executive representative of global marketing… Dr. Kenji Kitatani it is Warner Music Japanthe first president in a decade… and Warner Music Brazil boarded Tatiana Cantinho and Mariana Frensel strengthen its genre-focused strategies and strengthen its market presence.
