Cinematic Music Group, the influential hip-hop label and 2020 Billboard Indie Power Player that boasts Joey Bada$$ and Flipp Dinero on its roster, has announced three new appointments to its executive ranks.
Erica Bowen has been hired as senior vp, A&R. Over two decades, Bowen has worked in roles at Def Jam, Young Jeezy’s CTE imprint and, most recently, her own Blanco Entertainment. She will work to help the company’s artists “access, leverage, and master the resources made available to compete with their mainstream peers.”
Evan Auerbach, who helped lay the groundwork for Cinematic alongside founder Jonny Shipes before departing in 2009, now returns as vp of marketing. He will oversee all marketing efforts at Cinematic while simultaneously continuing in his role as lead contributor of hip hop playlisting at TIDAL.
Rico Ripoly has been hired as head of communications and public relations. He arrives at Cinematic after serving as the independent publicist for Cinematic client Smoke DZA via his PR and marketing agency The Lemon House. Ripoly will continue to work on that campaign while spearheading PR efforts for all Cinematic artists. He previously worked on the North America media relations team at Nike.
Veronica Vaccarezza has been promoted to senior vp, business development, Latin America & U.S. Latin at Sony/ATV.
Based in Sony/ATV’s Miami office, Vaccarezza reports directly to Jorge Mejia, president and CEO, Latin American & U.S. Latin. In her new role, Vaccarezza will be tasked with driving growth through digital and strategic initiatives. She will also work to develop and maintain relationships with regional stakeholders and societies and offer guidance and support in negotiations with key songwriters and clients.
Vaccarezza started her music industry career at EMI Music Publishing Argentina in 1994 before relocating to Miami in 1999 when EMI opened its Latin American regional office there. She has held a number of roles at the company, including vp, strategic and business support for EMI Latin America, which represented both publishing and label operations. Following Sony’s acquisition of EMI, she joined Sony/ATV Latin America as vp of business development.
B2B music licensing marketplace Songtradr has hired Nick Woollard as senior vp of global platform sales.
Woollard will be responsible for accelerating Songtradr’s licensing business, working with media companies and brands that use music and providing a data-informed music discovery and matchmaking experience.
Woollard comes to Songtradr from the Audio Network, where he oversaw global sales and operations and supported the company’s international expansion. He boasts over a decade of experience in music licensing across advertising, branded content and television. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant to startups in the music and media industries.
Luis Gabriel Castillo has been named president of music distributor Altafonte in the Andean & Central America region.
Castillo comes to Altafonte from Deezer, where he served as general manager for the last four years. He has also held roles at Sony Music (marketing vp), Sony Ericsson and The Coca-Cola Company. He has a degree in corporate social responsibility and sustainability from the University of Toronto.
Country label Quartz Hill Records – the recently-announced joint venture between BBR Music Group founders Benny and Paul Brown, songwriter Jason Sellers and The Orchard – has hired radio and promotion veteran Will Robinson as director of regional promotion, effective immediately.
With the move, Robinson reunites with Quartz Hill vp of promotion & marketing April Rider, with whom he worked at RPM Entertainment. The two will work together to help launch the label’s flagship artist Nate Barnes.
Robinson was most recently director of promotion, Northeast/Southeast at 19th & Grand Records, where he secured airplay for artists including the Zac Brown Band, Tenille Arts, LOCASH and David Lee Murphy. He also worked in promotion roles at Nine North and IRS Records and in a variety of music/program/creative director roles at radio stations including WFRE in Maryland, WCAT in Pennsylvania, WNEW in New York City and WBRQ & WQYK in Tampa.