AWAL has announced the hiring of Sam Potts as vice president, promotion.
He joins AWAL after being head of radio promotions at Columbia Records, where he led the label’s radio department as well as DSP promotion with an artist roster including Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, A$AP Rocky, Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, and George Ezra. Potts was at Columbia for 12 years.
According to an official press release, Potts will be running AWAL’s UK and international digital accounts team, driving promotional strategy with streaming platforms, as well as overseeing radio and TV promotion strategy for AWAL Recordings releases.
Potts will be based in Kobalt’s London office and will work closely with AWAL’s UK and international marketing teams on audience development and growth strategies for its artists.
AWAL general manager, Paul Trueman, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Sam is joining the AWAL team. Sam is one of the most forward thinking and progressive executives in the business and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. His innovative and entrepreneurial outlook will add huge value to AWAL artist campaigns. I’m looking forward to working closely with Sam as we continue to develop and break artists.”
Potts added: "AWAL is at the cutting edge of the rapidly changing music industry and I've deeply admired how the company has pioneered a groundbreaking model and brought innovation to the forefront of breaking a new generation of global artists. It's an incredibly exciting time to be an independent artist and I'm delighted at the prospect of working with our partners and supporting the roster in the evolving promotional landscape."
In 2012, Potts co-founded YGN (Young Guns Network), which hosts regular networking events in partnership with major labels, industry bodies and a range of high-profile music brands. Additionally, Potts founded music tech event concept Buzz Jam in 2015, an event for artists and industry professionals that uses tech and music to create, improvise and collaborate and was featured on the BBC, Sky News, and Vice/Noisey among others.
Last month, AWAL formalised its partnership with Juicebox Recordings with worldwide recording deals for Franc Moody and Joe Hertz.
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