Michael Smith has been appointed Executive Vice President, Sony Music UK
Smith has more than 25 years of experience of music and entertainment law and is widely accepted as one of the industry’s leading executives. Michael, a qualified barrister, began his career in private practice and spent ten years at media specialists Schillings. In 1997 he was appointed Director of Legal & Business Affairs at Zomba Records Limited where he remained until it was purchased by BMG. After a period with BMG Music Publishing as Vice President of International, Michael was named Senior Vice President of Legal & Business Affairs at Sony Music in 2006.
HMV target 1.5m LPs in 2016
HMV estimates that 1.5 million LPs will be sold in HMV stores in 2016, the biggest year to date since 1997. The retailer, which has 128 stores nationwide and online store hmv.com, reports that the top performing regions for vinyl are the North West, Yorkshire and Scotland. Official Charts data for 2016 shows that LPs are on track to smash through the three million unit mark for the first time in more than 20 years. Ian Topping, chief executive hmv said: “As the UK's largest vinyl retailer, hmv has expanded its offer considerably in 2016 due to the ever-growing demand from our customers. The strong resurgence of vinyl is set to continue as the highlight of the UK entertainment industry - expect vinyl to be top of the Father's Day gift list this year”
Rich Castillo joins Polydor A&R team
Rich Castillo, one of the most respected pop and urban A&Rs in the business, has been appointed Senior A&R Manager for Polydor Records, reporting to the label’s co-presidents Ben Mortimer and Tom March. Castillo has been tempted back to the UK after two years as A&R Director at Universal Canada. He was previously head of A&R for UMTV and All Around The World Records in London. Castillo started his career in management in 2004 at Shalit Global, where alongside Jonathan Shalit he launched London hip hop/R&B act N-Dubz into multi-platinum selling, Mobo-winning arena artists with deals on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2012 Castillo joined UMTV and All Around The World in a full-time A&R role signing chart-topping solo records for D-Dubz members Tulisa and Dappy among many other projects.
EarMUSIC signs Deacon Blue and Marillion, renews label services deal with Absolute
EarMusic has renewed its long-standing partnership with Absolute Label Services, which originally began in 2011 and has also signed Deacon BLue and Marillion . EarMUSIC is the recorded music label of German entertainment group Edel AG and boasts an international roster of global artists including Deep Purple, Babymetal, Def Leppard, Thunder, Lisa Stansfield, Ash, Status Quo and many more. Edel AG is an independent media company based in Hamburg whose other divisions includes Optimal (one of the world’s biggest vinyl manufacturers and manufacturers of CD, DVD, Blu Ray and books), independent digital and physical music distribution, a book publisher, and children’s entertainment, home entertainment, jazz and classical music divisions. EarMUSIC director Max Vaccaro said: “We are thrilled that, as part of our on-going global expansion as a label, the UK has become our second home market alongside Germany at a time when both markets are experiencing healthy growth again. With Deacon Blue and Marillion we have two iconic UK artists who have already achieved so much, yet creatively they are making some of the best music of their career which we are happy to be a part of, taking them to new heights. After a great year with Absolute we are also very excited to be renewing our partnership with Henry who shares our goals for UK success.”
UMG appoints Robert Ziegler as EVP global physical operations
Universal Music Group (UMG) has hired veteran home entertainment executive Robert Ziegler as executive vice president of global physical operations, effective immediately. In this role, Ziegler will oversee the manufacturing and distribution of all physical products including CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray discs and vinyl LPs across UMG’s operations in more than 60 countries around the world. Ziegler will be based at the company’s Santa Monica headquarters and report to Michael Frey, President of Global Operations and Advanced Media Services. “At Universal Music, we understand that in our digital age, fans still have a strong demand for physical products, which continue to account for a significant amount of music consumption around the world,” Frey said. “With Robert, we’re bringing on board an expert with vast experience at managing a global supply chain and providing important products that our consumers demand.”
Kiss launch new grime show
KISS Grime will debut on KISS main station this Sunday night from 10pm and will be hosted by one of the biggest names in the genre, DJ and producer Rude Kid. The show is set to be a truly multiplatform experience as it extends over KISS video and social media channels. Group Programme Director KISS Andy Roberts said “The building excitement surrounding grime music right now is no secret and we’ve always been huge supporters of the movement at KISS. Now is the perfect time to launch KISS Grime and Rude Kid is the perfect man for the job”
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