Musical Chairs: January 19

ATLANTIC PROMOTES PETE GANBARG TO A&R PRESIDENT

Atlantic Records promoted veteran A&R exec Pete Ganbarg to the newly created role of President of A&R where he will oversee talent activity for Atlantic and its subsidiaries as Fueled By Ramen and Roadrunner.

“Atlantic is above all an A&R-driven company, and Pete is the consummate A&R person,” said Chairman / CEO Craig Kallman and Chairman .COO Julie Greenwald.

In his 30 year career at SBK, Arista, Epic and then Atlantic in 2008, he found and developed names as as Skrillex, Christina Perry, Jason Mraz, Theory of a Deadman and Ben Platt.

He also worked closely on Santana’s worldwide smash album Supernatural.

Ganbarg is also a producer of note, helming the chart topping The Greatest Showman soundtrack and is up for a Grammy for the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen.

THE DOCTOR IS IN

Former triple j breakfast and drive host Lindsay McDougall is back on radio, starting on Monday January 22 a 97.3 ABC Illawarra. The Frenzal Rhomb guitarist takes on the 3-6pm slot.

JANINE MORCOS LAUNCHES DALLAS DOES PR

After 12 years working with companies as Roadrunner Records, Warner Music, Soundwave Festival and Cooking Vinyl Australia, Janine Morcos has set up her own PR firm, Dallas Does PR.

Its clients include Papa Roach’s current Australian tour Django Django’s January 26-due album Marble Skies, Andrew W.K.’s album You’re Not Alone (March 2), Judas Priest’s Firepower (March 9), Prophets Of Rage and The Hard Aches among others.

Morcos represented and worked with a diverse range of acts as Polaris, Parkway Drive, Slipknot, Deftones, Ceres, Luca Brasi, Babymetal, Bodycount, At The Drive In, Paramore, Lucinda Williams and Billy Bragg.

She says, “Dallas Does PR is a boutique firm promoting and working with artists I truly believe in and I am thrilled to continue to work with amazing artists and clients.”

GIRLFRIEND EDITOR MOVES TO INSTYLE

Tamara Davis has left her role as Editor of Pacific Magazine’s teen brand Girlfriend to take over as Deputy Editor of InStyle under Editor Emily Taylor.

Davis took over Girlfriend in 2016 after Pacific merged the editor roles of Girlfriend and Total Girl.

She relaunched the title as a quarterly print product with four additional digital editions each year.

TWO PROMOTIONS AT BEATPORT

DJ platform Beatport upped SVP, Technology of ten years, Jonathan Steffan, to Denver-based Chief Information Officer overseeing infrastructure engineering, data services, content operations and IT.

Terry Weerasinghe, SVP, Music, Marketing & Analytics is now Chief Product Officer. He is responsible for product development, marketing and artist and label relations from Beatport’s Berlin office.

EVENT PRODUCER ENGLERTH TO RUN LIVE NATION’S REDROCK

Live Nation has appointed veteran event producer Ford Englerth to run its new LA-based Redrock Entertainment Services as its President. He founded the Redrock group in 2002.

Redrock will focus on producing large scale live events, such as festivals, and specialized projects like corporate productions, with plans to grow internationally.

SPUNK FOUNDER CURNOW TAKES ON LIVE MUSIC ROLE

Aaron Curnow, founder of Spunk Records, has also been appointed in a part time capacity by The City Of Parramatta in Sydney to expand its live music initiatives.

Curnow is tasked with expanding the number of venues who are committed to be involved in Live & Local which last year saw 40 western Sydney acts play in 15 venues, and Amplify which encourages local businesses to get involved in the live music sector.

2CA CANBERRA DROPS FRANK VINCENT

Radio Today noted that 2CA Canberra has axed breakfast presenter Frank Vincent after allegations of sexual harassment. The station’s board did not expand on details of the claims.

Vincent who joined in November 2014, denies the allegations and has reportedly consulted a lawyer.

MELBOURNE FRINGE TAPS DANNY DELAHUNTY AS FESTIVAL PRODUCER

High profile independent arts producer Danny Delahunty as filled the newly-created role of Festival Producer at Melbourne Fringe. He has been involved with the festival for 12 years as artist, director and producer.

His track record includes Drama Victoria, Short+Sweet Arts and Melbourne Writers Festival.

BMG UK LOSES ALEX CORY-SMITH

BMG UK is losing its President, Repertoire & Marketing, Alexi Cory-Smith, Music Business Worldwide says.

Joining in 2011, MBW credits her with leading the transformation of the UK operations.

Her recording and publishing signings included Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Bring Me The Horizon, Robbie Williams, Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, Liam Howlett and The Prodigy, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Jamiroquai, rapper Giggs and The National.

Her sudden exit, which she explained will lead to a year off travelling through South America, comes after changes at the top at BMG in the US and Germany.

OZCO MARKETER HEADS TO POETRY FESTIVAL

Lucy Nelson, Marketing Co-ordinator at the Australia Council for the Arts for the past two years, is the new Artistic Director at the Queensland Poetry Festival.

A writer and producer of cultural events, she was also Artistic Director of Noted Writers Festival.

SPOTIFY CONTENT OFFICER DEPARTS

As Swedish streaming service Spotify gears up to go public, it confirmed that its New York-based Chief Content Officer Stefan Blom is moving on. No reason was given.

NEW TEAM AT C91.3FM

C91.3FM has a new breakfast team Josh & Ally, with former KIIS FM afternoon traffic reporter Ally Redondo teaming up with Josh Webster while Lyndal Koteras goes on maternity leave.

NT MUSIC SCHOOL MAKES CHANGES

The NT Music School in Alice Springs has scrapped its Artist In Resident position, held by flautist Markus Kuchenbuch.

TWO ADDITIONS TO TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND

Tasmania’s Ten Days on the Island has added two new team members for the 2019 festival.

Launceston based Jane Forrest (Junction Arts, Tasdance) joins as Manager, Partnerships and Engagement in a part-time capacity.

Vernon Guest begins as Creative Producer in mid-February, after finalising his commitments with his ninth Sydney Festival.

He rejoins Artistic Director Lindy Hume, with whom he worked on the Sydney Festival and Perth Festival.

GEELONG PERFORMING CENTRE CHAIR STEPS DOWN

Michelle Quigley QC who has been Chair of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre in Victoria since November 2016 and played a major role in its revitalisation, is stepping down after being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.