THE REVOLVING DOOR

eResponse Group has announced that event security and crowd safety expert Robbie Naish has joined its eResponse Crowd Safety Division.

Toronto-based independent music publisher Ole has appointed accountant and mergers expert Brian Holdcroft to the new role of VP Acquisitions.

Dr. Clemens Trautmann has been appointed President of Universal Music’s Deutsche Grammophon classical label in Berlin.


Universal Music has appointed Franck Villet as Chief Operating Officer Asia. Villet will become a key member of the UMG Asia leadership team, providing commercial, financial, strategic, operational and analytical insight to Greater China & South East Asia.

Universal Music Canada CEO Randy Lennox is leaving the business to become President of Entertainment Production and Broadcasting at Bell Media, the market’s largest television, radio and digital media company. He will be replaced by Jeffrey Remedios, who will step in as President and Chief Executive Officer of the UMG company on September 21st. Remedios is co-founder of Arts & Crafts, one of Canada’s foremost independent labels and artist services companies.

Vevo has appointed Jon Carvill as its new VP Communications.

BMG UK has appointed former Universal Music exec Jamie Nelson as Director of A&R in its recordings business, reporting to SVP Korda Marshall.

Tyler Brown has been promoted to the newly-created position of Head of A&R, Syco Music, based in London. Brown has worked in the A&R department at Syco Music for over seven years, starting out in a supportive A&R role before being appointed Senior A&R Manager.

The editor of NME.com, is leaving parent Time Inc in November. Greg Cochrane joined the UK-based site in 2013, following five years as a Music Reporter at BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat.

US collecting society ASCAP has appointed a new SVP Strategy & Business Development, Mark Sperling, who was previously with investment bank Allen & Company.

The PRS For Music Foundation has promoted current staffers Joe Frankland and Flora Ward, to Senior Grants & Programmes Manager and Grants Co-ordinator respectively. Meanwhile Naomi Belshaw moves from PRS itself over to the Foundation to be Grants & Programme Manager, and Leyla Atamturk joins the charity as Administrator. 

Sony Music has acquired German metal label Century Media Records. Terms of the deal are not known, though sources have told Billboard it was worth something around $20 million. The hard rock indie's co-founder Robert Kampf will stay on as head of the company.

Members of One Direction have been explaining to their fans what their planned 'hiatus' in 2016 means as they take time away from the band to follow solo projects. Its not a band bust up .... just a break ....  probably.

Music PR firm Inside/Out has announced the appointment of Kathryne Chalker to the role of Senior Publicist, as relatively recent recruit Frazer Lawton departs the company.

The Box Plus Network has promoted its business affairs chief Stacey Mitsopulos to the new role of Director Of Commercial & Business Affairs. 

Indie publisher Imagem Music has announced that Chimene Mohammed had joined its UK unit as Junior A&R, joining from Atlantic Records where she worked in marketing.

Ian Rogers is departing Apple Music just two months after the new streaming service he helped develop launched, The former TopSpin boss joined Beats Music which was then brought by Apple. He will join luxury brands group LVMH.


Mark Cohon has been named as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors at The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) – in addition to the annual JUNO Awards as well as music education programme MusiCounts.

Sony/ATV has announced a new joint venture with former Pitbull manager Charles Chavez and his company Latium Entertainment. Chavez is setting up a publishing venture with Sony/ATV after launching a label set-up with Sony Music earlier this year.

Alex Vlassopulos, who for the past year has headed up business development at Rdio across Europe, has quit the streaming service to join rival Google Play

UK radio station XFM, owned by the Global Group, has rebranded as Radio X – and it’s getting a multi-million pound marketing campaign to let the world know. The new station has added new presenters to its line-up including Vernon Kay on mid-mornings, Johnny Vaughan at drive and Kaiser Chiefs’ frontman Ricky Wilson at weekends. Former BBC Radio 1 Breakfast host Chris Moyles (pictured), who will present on weekdays from 6.30am-10am. Long-time XFM DJ Eddy Temple-Morris has left the station and the UK radio giant announced it was handing back the West Scotland licence that has been used for Xfm Scotland since April 2014.