Songtrust has expanded its leadership team with the hiring of Rob Wetstone to the newly created position of head of client relations.
Wetstone, who was previously VP of digital strategy and operations at RED Distribution/The Orchard, will oversee the client relations team, which includes marketing, client acquisition, business development and client services, in the role. He will also further streamline Songtrust’s operations to acquire new clients.
“It’s energising to be at a fast-growing company that’s simplifying the music publishing landscape for songwriters and music rights holders everywhere," said Wetstone. "Songtrust has proven year after year that it’s at the forefront of modernising music publishing, and the new era of self-sufficient music creators has only just begun.”
The global royalty collection platform has also made a series of promotions, upping Sean McGraw to global head of rights management operations, and Dewayne Ector to global head of partner relations and income tracking. Ector brought on Lisa Robinson as senior director of income tracking, who previously worked at HFA and EMI Music Publishing, in late 2019.
McGraw has been with Songtrust’s parent company, Downtown Music Holdings, for more than 12 years, while Ector has been with Songtrust for a year, joining from Kobalt’s AMRA, where he was head of international.
“A key factor in Songtrust’s rapid growth is our unique ability to streamline the tracking and collection of global music publishing royalties,” said Molly Neuman, president of Songtrust. “With these new hires and promotions, our team can continue spearheading music publishing innovation for songwriters and music rights holders, but with improved focus and scale, and get our clients the royalties they are due.”
In 2019, Songtrust’s royalty collections grew by nearly 250% year-on-year, and expanded to represent more than 300,000 songwriters and 2,000,000 songs. The company's January royalty collections increased by 335% compared to January 2019.
“2019 was Songtrust’s most successful year to date and that is in large part due to our leadership team who brings deep and nuanced knowledge of global music publishing and all its intricacies. Sean and Dewayne lead key departments critical to our operational excellence, and Lisa Robinson strengthens and expands our capabilities and precision in our royalties collections,” said Neuman.
