Sony Music Australia assembles executive players as the major label war rumbles on

Sony Music Australia chairman and CEO Denis Handlin is rewarding four staff with promotions across its A&R, promotions, brand partnerships and sync/licensing activities, as the music major hunts for its next generation of hitmakers.

As part of an expansion of its Melbourne A&R and marketing team, Marietta Ouzas rises to Senior Director, A&R, reporting to Pat Handlin, Media Week reports.

Ouzas, who is based in the Victorian capital, had a hand in the rise of Tones And I, Tash Sultana and other domestic talent, and held several roles with the company over the past eight years, most recently as Senior Manager, Marketing and A&R.

In 2019, Ouzas took on a co-management position for Tones And I with her management teams, Lemon Tree Music and Artists Only.

Tones And I

Meanwhile, Fenella Wagener (based in Melbourne) and Tammy Hofbauer (Sydney) both rise to Senior Director, National Promotions, reporting to Wayne Ringrow (for Australian repertoire) and Grant Donges (international repertoire).

Wagener joined the music major in 2019 as Director, Promotions & Media, Victoria, following stints with Universal Music and commercial radio before that.

Hofbauer has been with the business since 2008, initially working in the A&R division, then climbing the ladder in communications and artist relations and, in 2019, taking duties as Director, National Promotions.

Also, Sophie McArthur steps up to Vice President, Streaming Strategy and Partner Development, ANZ, in addition to guiding Sony Music’s digital business. Sydney-based McArthur takes responsible for the brand partnerships and the sync/licensing teams and reports to Denis Handlin.

Tash Sultana

With this four-strong set of appointments, Sony Music is setting up the pieces in the ongoing major labels war in these parts.

If local content is king, then domestic signings are the big guns in a music company’s arsenal.

With Jessica Mauboy leaving for Warner Music in 2020 after a career-long spell with Sony Music, and Tones And I enjoying one of the biggest hits in the world last year, the music giant is on the prowl for hot, homegrown talent.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.