Movers & Shakers: UTA, Pophouse, CMA, GLP

UTA

UTA’s London office has hired Emily Thorpe-Jones to head up corporate and private events for its music division.

Thorpe-Jones will work closely with UTA’s agents, managers and artists to develop strategic brand, commercial and private sector opportunities for its clients across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

In the role, Thorpe-Jones will partner with UTA London’s music brand partnerships division, led by Anna Gregorek and Irene Agbontaen, as well as the music crossover team headed by Lucy Pullin. She’ll work across UTA’s full music roster, which includes international phenomenons like Burna Boy, Tyla, Sombr, Bad Bunny, Take That, Lizzo and Zayn.

Thorpe-Jones joins UTA from Various Artists Management, where she was the global head of brand and corporate and worked on commercial strategies for artists including Melanie C, Tom Grennan, the Libertines and Rose Gray. There, she collaborated with brands including Formula 1, Chanel, Aston Martin, Lacoste, The Body Shop, Diagio and Volvic.

Pophouse

The pioneering global entertainment and music investment firm behind ABBA Voyage has promoted Jon Spalding to chief commercial officer.

Spalding was previously commercial director for Pophouse and before that worked at Mattel, NBCUniversal, Disney, and Entertainment UK.

It comes shortly after the firm, which was founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and EQT founder Conni Jonsson, announced renowned executive Jessica Koravos as its new CEO.

Pophouse is the global entertainment and music investment firm that acquires and develops brands within entertainment, with a recent focus on catalogue investments in artists such as KISS, Cyndi Lauper, and Avicii, as well as being the founding investor of Abba Voyage.

CMA

The Country Music Association (CMA) has announced a round of promotions and new hires across multiple departments.

Emily Evans who has been elevated to SVP, business strategy and operations, advancing from her previous role as VP of the same division.

Jenny Methling joins the strategic partnerships division as senior director, following a successful tenure in a temporary role with the organisation. Methling reports to Evans.

Devin Ford has been promoted to senior manager, social media, previously serving as manager, social media.

Luke Johnson has been hired as staff accountant, joining from Wilson Bank & Trust where he held the same role.

Zarah Goldberg has been hired as video content creator, previously digital marketing coordinator at Fox Nose Records.

Liliana Manyara has been hired as international industry relations coordinator, previously Licensing Coordinator at SESAC.

MVT

The UK’s charity for grassroots music venues has announced six new patrons, including Derry-based band CHERYM, Aberdeenshire folk singer Iona Fyfe, Paul Connolly of Belfast’s The Wood Burning Savages, Bangor’s :Panic :Over, festival owner and organiser Goc O’Callaghan and Brighton-based/Anglo-Maltese outfit ĠENN.

These new patrons join musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Nova Twins, Frank Turner, Kate Nash and Tim Burgess, broadcasters such as Steve Lamacq MBE and Gemma Bradley, and patrons from industry and politics including Sony Music’s Jason Iley, live music agent Summer Marshall, John Whittingdale MP, and Kerry McCarthy MP.

GLP

Vienna-based Georg Leitner Productions has hired Gerhard Rieder as a new agent partner for Classics and selected Family Entertainment, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Rieder founded his first music agency 30 years ago and since 2006 has been active in the MENA region with his Rieder Art Consulting in Dubai.

Rieder has specialised in opera, orchestra and ballet tour management, building long-term artistic partnerships with ensembles such as the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Ballet, Vienna Philharmonics, Vienna Boys’ Choir, Bayreuth Festival, and working with artists such as Thomas Hampson, Zubin Mehta and Daniel Barenboim.

Rieder will focus on offering artists of GLP of any genre to his promoters and festivals network and developing new strategies for GLP classical artists like Jose Carreras, Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra, Opera D’amore, Paul Potts and more.

At the same time, former booking agent Isabelle Messer has left GLP with immediate effect. Her roster will be taken care of by long-time Senior Agent Walter Laurer, heading Reggae & World at GLP, and other colleagues.

Dynamic Talent International

Full-service entertainment agency Dynamic Talent International has hired three new agents, including senior agent Chris Swartz (US), junior agent and administrator Tim Fogg (US) and agent Gemma Milroy (UK).

Swartz, who founded boutique agency Big Red Booking, has a roster that includes Mystery Skulls, Bit Brigade, LowDown Brass Band, 2000’s Rave, and Charles Esten.

Fogg has booked DIY shows and performed in bands around the East Coast of the US, while Milroy has held key roles at ITB and X-ray Touring in the UK.

Dynamic Talent represents a roster of artists and creators across music, sports, and media, with offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento (California), Nashville (Tennessee) and Poland.

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