Musical Chairs: 25 May

DARCUS BREESE NEW PRESIDENT OF ISLAND US

Darcus Beese, who’s been leading Island Records in the UK since 2013, will relocate to New York to take over the label’s US operations from July 1.

He succeeds David Massey who is said to be starting his own company.

Beese signed Amy Winehouse, Sugababes, Sigrid and Taio Cruz and worked closely in developing Florence + The Machine, Hozier and Mumford & Sons.

Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG, said, “Few in the music industry have Darcus’s track record of creative and commercial success.”

Beese was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2014 for services to the UK music industry.

ADELAIDE FRINGE APPOINTS HEAD OF INDUSTRY

Bradley Rush is relocating from the Gold Coast – where he has been program director for the Arts Centre for the past seven years – to Adelaide to take up a new role at Adelaide Fringe.

He will be head of the Honey Pot arts industry marketplace and the festival’s artist fund.

SCA LOSES DIGITAL HEAD

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA)’s head of digital innovation and operations, Steve Brown, has left the radio network.

Its chief sales officer Brian Gallagher explained that SCA has been transferring digital sales to the responsibility of the metro radio sales teams, leaving no room for Brown.

Gallagher said, “Steve has been with us since 2015 as the head of digital sales and has made a significant contribution to our digital sales efforts and to the Vevo partnership.”

REPUBLIC PROMOTES BEN ADELSON TO EVP, A&R

Ben Adelson who, as Republic Records’ senior vice president of A&R, signed multi-million selling James Bay, indie-folk band Lord Huron and emerging folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, has now been promoted to executive vice president, A&R, Billboard reported.

RCA PROMOTES KEITH NAFTALY IN A&R SECTION

RCA has promoted executive vice president/head of A&R Keith Naftaly to president, A&R.

In his previous role overseeing pop and urban A&R, he played a major role in the success of Sia’s 1000 Forms of Fear and This Is Acting, P!NK’s Beautiful Trauma, Kesha’s comeback album Rainbow, G-Eazy’s The Beautiful & Damned and acapella group Pentatonix’s two chart-topping records.

Of late he’s been working on the next album from Zayn and Elle King.

HOLLOWAY TO MOVE FROM MELBOURNE FESTIVAL

Jonathan Holloway is to step down as artistic director of Melbourne Festival at the end of his fourth festival in 2019, and returning to Europe after eight years in Australia.

He joined the Melbourne event in 2015 after four years as AD of the Perth International Arts Festival.

Holloway said: “Whilst Melbourne is an endlessly exciting and inspiring city, by the end of next year, I will have directed four festivals here and four on the West coast.

“This seems like a perfect moment for me to make the decision, giving the Festival Board and team plenty of time to think about succession planning.”

The Melbourne Festival will start its search for a new AD.

In recent years the festival box office draw hit $3 million, had a 110% increase in ticket sales and interstate attendance by 32%.

POST JOINING GOLD104.3 BREAKFAST

Jack Post joins The Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show, which launches Melbourne’s GOLD104.3 on June 4, as producer and sidekick.

Post is also known as ‘Cacklin’ Jack’ in the ten years he worked on Hamish & Andy’s radio and TV projects.

O’Connell, who is being brought in from the UK, will also be joined by his Absolute Radio producer Nick Daly.

XL RECORDINGS LOSES A&R HEAD

XL Recordings has lost Imran Ahmed, its head of A&R credited with bringing Vampire Weekend, Jai Paul and Jungle. He was with the label for 12½ years.

Ahmed, who is based in LA where he hosts a radio show uncovering new music, is said to be setting up his own company to sign and develop new talent.

DITTO TAPS CHRIS MOONEY FOR US OPERATIONS

UK distributor and services company Ditto Music has poached Chris Mooney from its rival Tunecore to head its US operations from New York.

Mooney spent eight years at Tunecore, most recently as senior director of entertainment relations.

NEW CHAIR FOR NZ ON AIR

Dr Ruth Harley CNZM was announced as new chair of the New Zealand government’s NZ On Air, which funds local content projects to get them on radio and TV.

Harley was executive director of NZ On Air from 1989 to 1995 and CEO of the NZ Film Commission from 1997 to 2008.

Her strong governance skills and experience also saw her chair of the New Zealand Cricket Museum and Fulbright NZ and as a board member of the Len Lye Foundation, Wellington Sculpture Trust, Ausfilm, Film NZ and Wellington Waterfront Ltd.

CHANGE AT 2DAY?

The Sydney Daily Telegraph speculates that Ash London has been lined up to replace Em Rusciano on its troubled breakfast show.

The Tele drew a scenario of the show where staffers won’t work with Rusciano and are looking to shift elsewhere in the station.

Rusciano has already told Will Anderson’s podcast that 2DAY management “injected two people” into “my show” whom she didn’t know and whom she was supposed to spark an instant chemistry with.

JAN HUTTON AT DESTINATION NSW

Jan Hutton will take over at the end of June as GM of Destination NSW, which has close ties with the NSW music industry.

The position has been vacant since the departure last year of Anthony Laver’s.

Hutton was most recently chief marketing officer at Destination Gold Coast from 2016 after working in tourism and advertising, marketing and PR in South Africa.

Hutton said: “Destination NSW are the market leaders. They have delivered exceptional results through innovation in destination marketing and changing the positioning of NSW as the premier new events destination in the nation.”

TWO STEP DOWN AT JOY

LGBTIQ+ radio station Joy 94.9 is advertising for an operations manager and production manager after Josh Pearson and Jason Gipps, respectively, stood down to be volunteers again.

GENERAL COUNSEL FOR WARNER MUSIC

Based in London, Kate Logan is new general counsel, International, Warner Music Group.

She will be responsible for WMG’s recorded and publishing divisions’ legal and business affairs outside the US.

WAAPA CHIEF SAYS EXIT LINES

After 14 years as executive dean of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Professor Julie Warn AM announced she is retiring in February 2019.

Under her watch, WAAPA took on a high profile globally, grew student numbers, reorganised courses, reignited research and extended performances, community activities and international engagement.

NEW ROLE FOR SHANE SUTTON

Longtime entertainment writer and editor Shane Sutton (most recently editor of WHO), has been appointed to Bauer Media’s newly created role of brands content director.

ADELAIDE’S ABC SOUND LIBRARY CLOSES

As part of the ABC’s move to centralise its vinyl and CD record collection in Melbourne, the ABC Adelaide sound library has been shuttered.

Some jobs have been moved interstate, but it is understood that a number of senior positions were lost.