Top A&R executive Thomas Haimovici has joined Virgin EMI from BMG, Music Week can reveal.
Haimovici began his career in the international department at Virgin Records in 1995 and returns 24 years later as an A&R exec reporting to co-presidents of A&R, Benjamin and Daniel Parmar.
Haimovici arrives after a fine run at BMG during which he signed Jack Savoretti, as well as helping to bring the likes of Blondie, Simple Minds, The Charlatans and The Pretenders to the label. Along with the Parmar brothers, who arrived earlier this year, Haimovici is part of Virgin EMI president Ted Cockle’s revamp of the company.
"I am so happy and excited to be back at Virgin, the company that taught and gave me so much,” said Haimovici. “I absolutely love Ben and Dan’s vision for A&R, energy and passion for finding amazing artists. This, combined with Ted’s energy and the fantastic Virgin EMI team, can only be a winning combination"
Virgin EMI heads the year-to-date market shares, available exclusively in Music Week magazine, across Singles Streams, Singles Sales, AES All Albums and AES Artist Albums, but has enjoyed relatively few major albums-level domestic breakthroughs in recent years. The label does have a current runaway homegrown hit in Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, the biggest-selling artist album so far this year, although Capaldi was originally signed through Universal Music Germany.
Haimovici brings plenty of experience, having also served at Northwestside Records, East West Records, Mercury Records and Warner Bros and signed the likes of Paolo Nutini and Lianne La Havas. He also runs management company Au Contraire Music, where he manages La Havas, Oscar Jerome, Otzeki, Ted Jasper and Beni Giles. He’d been at BMG since 2014.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Thomas join the team,” said Benjamin Parmar. “He encapsulates everything we feel Virgin EMI stands for. A true tastemaker with experience, ambition and a willingness to take risks. He’s a class act and has slotted in perfectly. We’re incredibly excited about the future.”
* To read our Lewis Capaldi cover feature from earlier this year, click here. To subscribe to Music Week and never miss a vital music biz story, click here.
FOLLOW 
