Musical Chairs: June 8

YOUTUBE NAMES STEPHEN BRYAN HEAD OF LABEL RELATIONS

YouTube has appointed SoundCloud and Warner Music executive Stephen Bryan as its new Head of Label Relations, effective July.

He is reunited with Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen, the former Warner Music CEO who joined in 2014 to rebuild the platform’s fraught relationshipwith the music industry.

Bryan is expected to help Cohen with the role, having played a key role in securing label licensing deals with SoundCloud as Chief Content Officer.

At Warner where he was for 17 years, Bryan was VP, Digital Strategy and Business Development, and, spearheading its global digital rollouts, cut deals for the major with YouTube, Spotify and iTunes.

Cohen said: “At YouTube, we have over a billion viewers and thousands of label partners and Stephen is going to be the bridge that brings them together. As that crucial link, he’s going to help labels and artists dream up new opportunities to reach fans around the world.”

APPLE MUSIC GAINS ANDY MILNE FROM NOVA…

Former Nova Entertainment Head of Creative Services, Andy Milne, is now reported to be heading Apple Music and iTunes in Australia. Milne, who was in radio for 20 years in various positions and nine with Nova, was among those who led Nova’s move into the digital, particularly into the podcasting sphere.

…AND LOSES BOZOMA SAINT JOHN

Apple Music’s Global Head of Consumer Marketing, Bozoma Saint John, has become one of the streaming service’s major executives to leave after its launch two years ago,

Last December, she was named Billboard’s 2016 Women in Music Executive of the Year.

She has moved on to ride-sharing giant Uber as Chief Brand Officer, set to help build a “deeper, more meaningful connection” between Uber and its 40 million+ global customers.

LUCY JOSEPH JOINS LIVE MUSIC OFFICE

Lucy Joseph has joined the Sydney-based Live Music Office as Program Manager for Live and Local.

“She comes from a background in creative events and administration, as well as being a passionate musician and advocate for live music,” the LMO said.

Live and Local works with local councils to expand their support for live music. It’s currently working with Create NSW, to move into stage 2 of its initiative in western Sydney as well as the forthcoming Regional NSW program.

ROD CUDDIHY GOES OFF CANBERRA AIRWAVES

After 15 years as breakfast co-host at MIX106.3 Canberra, Rod Cuddihy has stepped down from his on-air role and has been interviewing his replacement.

Earlier this year he became Content Director of Hit104.7 and MIX106.3. He was Assistant CD before that and took the head role when Jason Matthews departed.

IHEARTMEDIA ANNOUNCES CHIEF PROGRAMMING OFFICER

iHeartMedia has promoted Tom Poleman to Chief Programming Officer. He will take on these duties in addition to his current role of six years as President of its national programming group.

Poleman co-produces the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartRadio Music Awards, iHeart’s Jingle Ball Tour and the iHeartCountry Festival.

He also programs its 850-plus radio stations, and oversees its music discovery and emerging artist initiatives.

“No one understands the intricate relationship between programming, on-air talent, artist relationships and live music events like” Poleman,” said iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman.

RHINO’S KEVIN GORE AT WARNER

Rhino Records’ President and CEO Kevin Gore has joined Warner Music Group as President of its new Arts Music division, which focuses on non-pop genres as classical, musical theatre, jazz, children’s music and film scores.

He will remain based in New York.

JO O’CALLAGHAN JOINS ADELAIDE FRINGE

Jo O’Callaghan this week began at Adelaide Fringe as Head of Artists, Venues and Events.

Growing up in Adelaide, she was previously a key player in Melbourne’s arts sector for the past seven years.

She was Venues Manager at the Melbourne International Film Festival from 2010 to 2012, Festival Director of Short + Sweet Melbourne from 2012 to 2013 and returned to the MIFF as Festival Lounge Producer from 2014 to 2015, and most recently as the its Associate Producer of Events.

She was most recently Venues Operations Manager for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

ALDERTON NAMED W/C UK’S FINANCE DIRECTOR

Warner Music Group’s music publishing company Warner/Chappell Music named Kate Alderton its UK Finance Director.

Starting out at Deloitte, the audit, consulting, financial advisory and tax services company, she joined WCM in 2012 serving first as Financial Controller and later as Head of Finance.

MUSIC SALES’ BUTLER TO CHAIR ICMP

Chris Butler, worldwide Head of Publishing at Music Sales, was elected the new Chair of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP). He takes over from Universal Music Publishing’s Andrew Jenkins.

Music Week reported that the board also elected as Nicolas Galibert (CSDEM France) as Executive, Goetz von Einem (BMG) as Vice Chair, Ralph Peer (NMPA US) as Treasurer and Rolf Budde (DMV Germany) as treasurer as Secretary.

JASON CARTER DEPARTS AMAZON

Jason Carter’s stint as head of Amazon’s Prime Live Events didn’t last too long. A month after being poached from the BBC, where he oversaw the broadcaster’s live music events, Carter decided to leave the workforce for family reasons.

NEW HIRES AT SIXTY40

Sydney-based design and animation company Sixty40 has bolstered its directorial team with three hires.

French animation director/illustrator Skull (Frédérick Venet) also has a reputation for street art and also made animated video clips for Dizzee Rascal and French singer Sébastien Tellier.

Mixed media director Boca (Marcos Ceravolo) moved to Sydney from Sao Paulo in February, Design led storyteller Kyra Bartley has a background in animation and art direction.

VRC APPOINTS TABATHA KOVATCH

Victorian Racing Club appointed Tabatha Kovatch as its new Events and Entertainment Manager. She was for five years Senior Account Manager at AMPR at its Melbourne HQ.

TEN NEW STAFF AT ANALOGFOLK

After landing new accounts, creative agency AnalogFolk added ten new staffers.

They include Associate Creative Directors Jimmy Zimmerman and Alec Jankowski, and Associate Strategy Director Louise Peacock.

JOSH BUTT PROGRAMING AT STORYLAB

The Story Lab has created the new role of Head Of Program Formats & Development at its Sydney office and appointed Josh Butt to fill it.

His 20 years of writing and producing content for film, TV and advertising includes stints at NOVA Entertainment and the ABC.

STAR 104.5 EXPANDS PRODUCTION TEAM

Star 104.5 NSW Central Coast expanded its production team with the addition of Patrick Rice. His mother Sarah King hosts the breakfast slot on rival station 2GO.