Musical Chairs: February 9

PANDORA PROMOTES DAVID GERBITZ TO COO

Music streaming service Pandora promoted VP of Revenue Operations, David Gerbitz, to Chief Operating Officer.

He replaces Sara Clemens who left to join Twitch in the same position last December.

The move comes as Pandora puts the squeeze on its revenue, with various initiatives suchas adding podcasts to its streaming offer and cutting 5% of its workforce to save $45 million a year.

WARNER’S EAST WEST RAMPS UP A&R ACTIVITY

Warner Music imprint East West is ramping up its A&R activity and told Music Week, ’We’re going to recapture the spirit of the legendary label’:

Paul Samuels, the legendary A&R chief who signed Sinead O’Connor and Estelle and currently VP of A&R at Atlantic Records UK has had his title widened to include East West.

East West UK will be home to established names as Robert Plant and Lindsey Buckingham, and new kids on the block like Dusky Grey and Nikhil D’Souza.

Music Week reported that East West has also launched a new specialist imprint for mainstream entertainers called Warner Music Entertainment.

The roster includes Bette Midler, Alexander Armstrong, Boyzone and Sheridan Smith, who cracked the UK charts last year with her first record.

LIANA KELLY PROMOTED AT RTR FM

Perth community radio RTR FM created the role of Marketing and Development Manager and tapped Liana Kelly to fill it.

Coming from a background in sponsorship and marketing in the non-profit sector, Kelly joined the station last year as Development Manager.

She also works at C Studio as a photographer and had a stint writing for X-Press.

NEW ARRIVAL AT MELBOURNE FRINGE

Disability activist, blogger and professional speaker Carly Findlay has joined the Melbourne Fringe team as its Inclusion Coordinator.

Her role is to reduce barriers to access across the festival for artists, venues and audiences with a disability or who are deaf.

The role is supported by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and Gandel Philanthropy.

Findlay previously performed in Melbourne Fringe, as part of Quippings. Her disability-focussed writings have appeared in The Guardian, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Life and the ABC; and she received the 2010 and 2013 Yooralla Media Awards for Best Online Commentary.

JOSH OLEK HOSTING ‘OZ MADE’

K Rock Geelong daytime host Josh Olek is the new host of Grant Broadcasters’ weeknight music show, Oz Made.

The previous host Sarah Demicoli aka Sarah D recently became a mother for the first time.

SPOTIFY EXECS LOSE JOBS AFTER MERGER

Spotify’s merger of its Artist & Label Services and its Artist Marketing divisions under Dave Rocco has seen the layoff of a number of executives in the US.

They include Rob Harvey, Head of Label Relations (he only joined 14 months ago), and Eric Johnson, Manager of Artist & Label Services.

BEGGARS MUSIC PROMOTES AMY MORGAN TO MD

Beggars Music has tapped Amy Morgan as Managing Director, as Andy Heath moves to Chairman.

Heath said “It’s a privilege to hand over the reins to Amy.

“She is one of the most extraordinary executives I have ever worked with and she completely embraces the spirit of Beggars, which is to develop and expose the finest talent, being prepared for a long-term effort and putting the interests of the music maker first.”

Morgan signed and developed acts as Glass Animals (whom she also manages), Sampha who won the Mercury Prize, and Mica Levi.

CHANGES AT TOP AT MUSICA VIVA

Musica Viva CEO Mary Jo Capps and Artistic Director Carl Vine who steered the music organisation for 20 years will be stepping down over the next 18 months.

Capps leaves at the end of 2018. Vine stays on another year while working on the programming for its 75thanniversary in 2020.

The pair set up initiatives as donor groups, the Huntington Estate music festival in NSW, the FutureMakers program and competitions and programs to discover and foster new classical musicians.

MOVES AT 2CC CANBERRA

2CC Canberra announced changes at two main shifts. Chris Coleman hung up his headphones on Drive before leaving the radio industry to start a new career in public relations on the ACT Police Media team.

Paul Holmes will take over Breakfast on February 28. He replaces Frank Vincent who was dropped from the lineup last month following claims of harassment and bullying.

NEW HEAD OF MUSIC AT AFTRS

The Australian Film Television & Radio School announced that screen music composer Cameron Patrick is its new Head of Music.

AFTRS CEO Neil Peplow said: “Cameron has an impressive career in screen music having worked in the film, television and recording industries for over two decades.

“He also has experience in education having worked at UCLA. I know our students across the curriculum will benefit from his incredible expertise and experience.”

Patrick, an AGSC Screen Music Award winner, has a screen music career going back twenty years and has worked as a composer, orchestrator, violinist and violist.

Credits include Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Zootopia (2016), Jurassic World (2015) and Inside Out (2015).

UK MOVES IN PUBLISHING

Senior A&R Manager Tom Overbury left Warner/Chappell to join Simon Cowell’s Syco as Senior A&R Manager.

At W/C, he signed Mac & Phil (The Chainsmokers, Emeli Sande, Naughty Boy), Jonny Lattimer (Ellie Goulding, Tom Grennan, Tom Odell), Ina Wroldsen (Calvin Harris ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, Clean Bandit’s ‘Rockabye’ & ‘Symphony’) and avant-garde rockersHMLTD.

Before that, at BMG he securedYou Me At Six and Deaf Havana.

Sony/ATV’s Javier Dean joins Warner/Chappell as A&R Director for Spain.

Sony/ATV promoted Lettice Summerscale, Head of Marketing, PR and Communications, to VP of Marketing, Digital and Catalogue Promotion.

NEW CHAIR AT COUNTRY ARTS WA

Sue Middleton is the new Chair of Country Arts WA, which has also brought in seven new members of its board.

They are Tjuma Pulka CEO Debbie Carmody, Pilbara indigenous community leader Jahna Cedar, Regional Development Peel Inc CEO John Lambrecht, Alex Hotel’s David Martin, Southern Forest Arts’ Fiona Sinclair, former Lotterywest CEO Jan Stewart and former Perth International Arts Festival GM Wendy Wise.

JAYNE FERGUSON STEPS DOWN AT BAUER

After five years, Jayne Ferguson stepped down as GM of women’s lifestyle and entertainment at Bauer Media.

CEO Paul Dykzeul will additionally take on those duties.

WARNER OPENS MIDDLE EAST OPERATIONS

Warner Music Group has set up Warner Music Middle East, with an office in Beirut under Moe Hamzeh (former head of content at digital streaming platform m.media) as Managing Director, overseeing 17 territories.

ELEVEN PR LOSES FEE TOWNSHEND

Eleven PR is losing its Melbourne Managing Director Fee Townshend after a year, as she is setting up her own Curve Comms. She told Mumbrella if she wasn’t going to workat Eleven PR, then “I wasn’t going to jump ship to another [agency]; I knew I had to do something different.”