Music Industry Moves: Skylar Simone Signs With Def Jam, Drops D’Mile-Produced Single; Steve Redmond Exits BMG

Thania Garcia and Jem Aswad

22-year-old R&B singer Skylar Simone has signed with Def Jam Recordings and marked her debut with the single “Shiver,” produced by the red-hot D’Mile, who co-wrote and co-produced most of Silk Sonic’s album as well as major tracks for H.E.R. and Grammy-winning best new artist Victoria Monet.

“I wanted to find that perfect blend of the 90s R&B I grew up listening to and next wave / forward sonics and lyricism that I feel ultimately represent the artist I am, and am striving to be,” Simone says of the song. “‘Shiver’ is a song from a strong, feminine perspective about communicating how you want to feel. I hope people can relate to it in their own individual way, and that it makes them feel empowered, sexy, and confident.”

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+ Steve Redmond, BMG’s longtime executive VP of global corporate communications, is leaving the company after 12 years. During his tenure, he led communications around more than 100 acquisitions among many other campaigns, and most recently led internal and external communications around the handover to new CEO Thomas Coesfeld and the company’s new strategy. From our experience, the British-born exec has always been a friendly, professional and straight-talking voice from the company’s HQ in Berlin.

A three-decade industry veteran, in the ‘90s he ran the Music Week group of magazines first as editor and then publisher, and in the early 2000s he spent four years at UK the record-label trade association BPI as director of comms before becoming an independent media consultant. He began working with BMG from London in 2012 and moved to the company’s headquarters four years later, and was promoted to EVP in 2021.

Coesfeld said, “Steve Redmond has played a pivotal role over more than a decade in helping define BMG as a new kind of music company. Most recently, over the past months, he has provided excellent media counsel and support to the BMG board. We thank him for his contribution and wish him well in his next venture.”

Redmond said, “My time at BMG has been a career-defining opportunity to demonstrate how communications can really make a difference. As BMG enters a new phase and the entertainment industry on a broader level enters a new chapter, this is the ideal moment to move on. I send my best wishes for the future to my BMG colleagues.”

A successor is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

+ Veteran music agent Christianne Weiss has joined the 33 & West agency. Over the course of her career she has worked closely with such artists as Smokey Robinson, Frankie Valli, Nile Rogers and Eddie Money. After beginning her career at ICM, she spent 16 years at APA, first as an agent in the Concerts department and later as head of adult contemporary; Weiss also briefly stepped in at Day After Day in last year.

“Christianne’s experience and talent as an agent fit right in with our vibrant office culture. She is a passionate agent with an outstanding reputation and truly cares for the artists she represents.  She understands our agency’s big-picture vision and philosophies, and we are very excited to have her join our team,” said 33 & West Co-Founder Dan Rozenblum. “As an ever-evolving well-rounded agency, we are always looking to add talent to our company that propels us upward so that we can continually provide better services to our current and future clients,” added co-founder Matt Pike.

Tuesday, April 30

Jenny Gorotiza has been promoted to vice president of marketing for Island Records, it was announced today by Jay Schumer, executive VP/head of marketing and business development.

Gorotiza has served as senior director of marketing at Island since 2021. Based in New York, Gorotiza wil continue to work on marketing campaigns for Shawn Mendes, Keshi, Jessie Reyez, Lauren Spencer Smith, SleazyWorld Go, and other artists on the label.

“Jenny is part of the foundation of the Island Records team at a pivotal time for our label. We couldn’t be more excited to acknowledge her passion and tenacity in driving A-level campaigns for our artists,” said Schumer.

Added Gorotiza, “I’ve always felt deeply passionate about developing the artists I work with and helping bring their vision to life. It’s rare to get to do what you love on a daily basis, and I don’t take it for granted. I started my career as an intern at IDJ and feel lucky to have made my way back to Island as we’re transitioning into a new era. I want to thank Imran, Justin, and Jay for this opportunity to continue to grow and elevate our roster under their leadership.”

Prior to Island, she worked at 12Tone Music Group where she played an instrumental role in the development of the artist roster including Anderson .Paak. Gorotiza began her career in music at Island Def Jam and later worked for Republic Records and Roc Nation.

+ Stem, a music distribution platform, has announced a new partnership with Amped, an independent physical distribution company. This collaboration, facilitated by Stem’s Head of Catalog and Label Partnerships Nick Terzo, will give Stem the ability to offer production services for physical products such as vinyl LPs, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, and Blu-rays to artists and labels on Stem’s roster.

Artists will have their own portal at Amped to access sales data, while statements will be integrated into the Stem app. The Stem and Amped partnership will primarily focus on North American distribution, with plans to expand globally in the future.

+ We Are Giant has announced the appointment of tech executive Andy Yang as the new executive chairman of the board of directors, effective immediately. Kelly Duroncelet additionally joins as business development lead, and Dasean Barnes joins as head of marketing.

In his new role, Yang will guide We Are Giant through its next growth phase, working closely with CEO Andy Apple and the board, which includes David Rappaport (AEG Presents COO of Global Touring) and Becky Gardenhire (co-head of WME’s Nashville Office), who were appointed earlier this year. Most recently, Yang was the senior director of product management at Meta. Before Meta, Yang was the CEO of Indiegogo and was the senior director of product management at Reddit.

Duroncelet will formulate and execute a strategy to drive further growth for We Are Giant as the platform doubles its monthly users. She brings over a decade of experience in entertainment partnerships and digital marketing to the company. Most recently, she spearheaded global music initiatives at popular social platform Discord, creating partnerships with the American Music Awards and Coachella.

Before Discord, Duroncelet served as senior director of digital marketing at Geffen Records, leading marketing campaigns for massive hitmakers including Olivia Rodrigo and BTS. Barnes will pioneer marketing approaches to continue scaling We Are Giant’s user base and enhance engagement among community members. He most recently developed marketing and content strategy at popular investment platform Robinhood.

+ Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has entered a new partnership with ReverbNation, the artist services platform of BandLab Technologies. This collaboration brings music publishing services to ReverbNation’s songwriters, artists, and digital creators.

As part of the deal, WCM will take on the role of administering the music rights for all ReverbNation creators who sign up for the new ReverbNation Publishing Administration program. Additionally, WCM and ReverbNation will work together to identify and sign singer-songwriters across the ReverbNation platform through a new joint venture. Songwriters jointly signed with WCM and ReverbNation will have access to WCM’s full suite of offerings, including the opportunity to work with its A&R, Sync, and Creative Services teams, allowing them to capitalize on new avenues for their songs and careers.

Guy Moot, co-chair and CEO of WCM, said: “Songwriters and artists are now being discovered through a multitude of different digital platforms, in what I call the ‘new songwriter economy.’ Joining forces with BandLab Technologies allows us to tap into the incredible creator community that they’ve built and help support and amplify the voices of promising, up-and-coming talent. Meng (BandLab Technologies CEO and Co-Founder) is an exceptional entrepreneur with a vision for the future of music that aligns well with ours, and we’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership together.”

+ Virgin Music Group has named Nick Ghelakis and Nicole Thomas co-country managers of Virgin Music Group, South Africa.

The executives will lead the organization’s expansion in the high-growth region following the passing of Chris Ghelakis, one of the most successful independent music executives in South Africa and former managing director of VMG South Africa. Ghelakis’ distribution company, Electromode, was acquired by Ingrooves in 2021 and began rebranding as Virgin Music Group in late 2023.

Like his father before him, Ghelakis began his career as an artist, winning a South African Music Award (SAMA) when he was just 19. After studying at the University of South Africa and attaining a BCom in accounting, he began working as a studio engineer. He spent time in London, working for the global professional services firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. In 2010 he began a lengthy tenure as a digital marketer at Electromode in Johannesburg, where he has been an advocate for local talent and growing the South African music market ever since.

Thomas most recently served as general manager of Electromode, a position she has held since 2017, transitioning to Ingrooves Africa in 2021 and then Virgin Music Group last year. In an earlier stint at Electromode, Nicole served as executive assistant to Electromode founder Chris Ghelakis.

Virgin Music Group South Africa is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

+ Splice has launched Signature, a new sample label that features a collection of sounds inspired by the history of jazz, performed by some of the greatest modern players.

“Jazz is a foundation in music and culture for creativity and innovation” said John McNeill, label lead, Signature at Splice. “It has provided the soundtrack to everything from social commentary and activism to love and leisure, this genre’s impact can’t be understated. With the launch of Signature we want creators to have access to sounds that are not only timeless, but important.”

The Signature collection joins more than 30 separate individual sample labels created by Splice, representing more than 130 genres and diverse sounds from Amapiano to UK Drill and this year’s breakout sound, Phonk. This past fall, the company released Aaroh, an ambitious collection of sample packs featuring the sounds of South Asia.

The Signature collection feature six sample packs running the gamut of jazz’s cultural evolution: “The Front Line,” “Love Legacy Vocal Jazz,” “The Tribute – Cool Jazz,” “Cruising – Organ Trio Jazz,” “Rhythm Sections,” and “Paradise Bay.”

+ Concord has promoted Jill Weindorf to the position of executive VP of marketing for Concord Label Group and Joe Dent to executive VP of operations for Concord Label Group.

The move, one of the first under newly appointed chief executive of Concord Label Group Tom Becci, is “designed to modernize Concord’s structure to support a growing roster of frontline talent while increasing the Company’s ability to sign, develop, and maintain artists in a global ecosystem,” per a press release.

Weindorf will lead marketing efforts across Concord’s eight active labels, including radio promotion, sync marketing, digital marketing, brand management, and creative/design. In conjunction with Concord’s label presidents, Weindorf is tasked with continuing to develop career artists across the globe, ensuring artists have the understanding and resources to truly build a career.

Dent will now oversee all operations as executive VP of operations for Concord Label Group. The change will allow Dent to further concentrate on improving processes across the active label and back-office teams, including physical sales, production, D2C, A&R operations, and digital operations.

Weindorf is based in Los Angeles and Dent in Concord’s Nashville headquarters. Both will report to Becci.

+ Outset, a new live music venue located on the outskirts of Lincoln Yards in Chicago, is set to open this spring. The 750 person capacity, 10,000 square foot venue includes a D&B XSL system, which delivers a full spectrum acoustical performance specifically tuned for live music.

Outset adds a diversifying piece to a family of world class music venues by the Auris Presents team, including Concord Music Hall and Radius. Auris Presents, led by Nick Karounos, Stuart Hackley and John Curley, will lead the charge on music and programming at Outset

Outset’s initial show calendar features two-night runs from Parliament Funkadelic with George Clinton and Dumpstaphunk, Thievery Corporation, Rawayana, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, followed by a wide reaching program featuring Pussy Riot / Nadya, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Princess Goes, Franc Moody, Conway The Machine, Ekkstacy and many more.

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