Fearless Records confirms two major appointments.
Jenny Reader will serve as President and Chief Creative Officer at Fearless Records. The sixteen-year veteran previously served as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management.

In addition, Andy Serrao will serve as President and Chief Talent Officer. The fifteen-year music veteran joined the company in January as Vice President of A&R.

Both will oversee all label operations as Co-Presidents.

Founder Bob Becker, who made the appointments, will move on to the role of Chairman Emeritus.

The label will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.

Sonos confirms a new hire.
Eddie Lazarus will serve as Chief Legal Officer at Sonos. He most recently served as General Counsel and Chief Strategy Officer for Tribune Media Company from 2013 to 2018. In his new role, Lazarus will oversee all legal, corporate governance, SEC reporting, government affairs, regulatory, and compliance activities across global operations. Based at the company’s HQ in Santa Barbara, he’ll report to CEO Patrick Spence.

Another Spotify executive jumps ship, this time to CMG.
In a newly created position, Amber Grimes will serve as Senior Vice President of Global Creative at Capitol Music Group (CMG). She previously served as Senior Manager of Urban Independent at Spotify. In her new role, Grimes will lead the company’s Innovation Team and Ten3 content creation department. She’ll also formulate and execute CMG’s global streaming strategy. Based in Hollywood, Grimes will report to Chairman and CEO Steve Barnett.

Pandora announces a new hire.
Akim Bryant will serve as Top 40 Coordinator of Curation Programming at Pandora per MBW. He previously served as Programmer at BET Soul. In his new role, Bryant will work closely with Tiana Lewis, Head of Pop Programming. Based in New York, he’ll also work with the curation team on Pop, R&B, and Hip-Hop programming under Alex White, Head of Curation Programming.

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Paradigm’s CODA opens a new division and makes a new hire.
Debbie Ward will serve as Head of Brand Partnerships, Sync, and Corporate at CODA. The move follows the launch of CODA Independent Sports. The company has partnered with Crockford Management and Independent Talent Group (ITG) to launch the sports agency. In her new role, Ward will collaborate with brands and talent to create content-rich, engaging, and groundbreaking solutions.

Partisan Records confirms a new hire.
In a newly created position, Sara Dempsey will serve as Director of Sales at Partison Records. The fourteen-year sales veteran previously served at ABKCO as Associate Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Dempsey has also served at Interscope, ADA, and The Orchard. In her new role, she’ll oversee the company’s sales and streaming strategy. Dempsey will report to Label Manager Andy Hsueh, and Global Managing Director Zena White.

Columbia names two co-heads.
Shawn Holiday and Phylicia Fant will serve as Co-heads of Urban Music at Columbia Records.

Holiday previously served as Senior Vice President of Urban A&R. He has played a key role in securing the company’s partnership with Empire, a hit Fox TV show. Holiday also brought T.I. to Columbia in 2014.

Fant joins from Warner Bros. Records, where she previously served as Senior Vice President of Publicity and Special Projects. She has worked on campaigns for Prince, Lil Pump, Meek Mill, and Drake, among others.

Qwire expands its board.
Qwire, a music-for-media tech company, has added two new members to its Board of Directors – Joy Marcus and Howard Applebaum.

Joy Marcus, a Venture Partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), has served at MTV, Time Warner, Daily Motion, and Condé Nast.

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Howard Applebaum serves as President of Nielsen Entertainment. He has previously served at Nielsen Business Media and Prometheus Global Media.

RAB unveils new board.
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) has unveiled its 2019 Board of Directors.

Susan Larkin, Entercom Regional Vice President, will serve as Chair.
Mike Hulvey, Neuhoff Communications Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will serve as Vice Chair.
Bill Hendrich, Cox Media Group Executive Vice President, will serve as Finance Chair.
Jeff Warshaw, Connoisseur Media CEO, will serve as Board Secretary.
Ginny Morris, Hubbard Radio Chair and CEO, will serve as Immediate Post Chair.
In addition, Duane Davis, All Pro Broadcasting Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been added to the board.

Big Loud ups three executives.
Tori Johnson has signed a multi-year agreement and will serve as Director of Creative and Digital at Big Loud.

Morgan Sweat has also signed a multi-year agreement and will serve as Senior Manager of Creative Media.

In addition, Nick Swift has signed a multi-year agreement and will serve as Creative Media Producer.

Jerry Duncan promotes a top executive.
Laura Prestage will now serve as Coordinator of Promotions at Jerry Duncan Promotions per All Access. She takes over for Lisa Smoot, who recently received a promotion from Director of Promotions to Vice President.

MSG confirms a promotion.
Geraldine Calpin will serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Madison Square Garden Company (MSG). She previously served at WeWork and Hilton Worldwide. In her new roles, she’ll set an overall marketing and digital vision to drive growth across the company’s portfolio.

Bandit Lites ups a team member.
Chas Albea will now serve as Equipment Coordinator at Bandit Lites in Nashville. He’ll plan, direct, and coordinate gear for preparation and distribution among productions. Albea first joined the company ten years ago.

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AEG poaches a former Live Nation executive.
Amir Mertaban has joined AEG Presents / L.A. Live as General Manager of the Microsoft Theater per Pollstar. He recently served at Live Nation as General Manager of the Fox Performing Arts Center and Riverside Municipal Auditorium.

Endeavor names a top executive.
Mark Shapiro will serve as President of Endeavor, the parent company of WME and IMG. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Live Nation. Shapiro first joined IMG as Chief Content Officer in 2014.

MPA Group names a new top boss.
Paul Clements will succeed Jane Dyball as CEO of the MPA Group, a UK music publishers trade association. He currently serves as Executive Director at PRS for Music. Clements will join the MPA Group in February.

WME has a new leader.
Ari Greenberg will serve as President of WME. He’ll oversee all operations across the company, including its offices in Beverly Hills, New York, Nashville, London, and Sydney. Greenberg first joined Endeavor in 1995. He oversaw the talent agency’s merger with the William Morris Agency in 2009 to form WME.

WIN loses its top executive.
Alison Wenham, CEO of the Worldwide Independent Music Industry Network (WIN), will step down after two years. She joined WIN in 2006 after stepping down as CEO of Association of Independent Music (AIM).

In a statement, she said,

“I am immensely proud of all we have achieved in that time and independent music will remain a passion of mine. I have decided, however, that the time is now right, with the organization in good health, to step down from my position at WIN.”