Ryan Ruden has been named executive vp of experiential marketing and business development for Capitol Music Group (CMG).
Based in New York, Ruden arrives at CMG from Columbia Records, where he was senior vp of experiential marketing and business development. He joined Columbia in 2012 as vp of touring and events after working for four years at Interscope as director of artist development and tour marketing.
In the newly-created position at CMG, where he’ll report to president & COO Michelle Jubelire, Ruden will pair strategic marketing initiatives with business partnerships while focusing his efforts on increasing revenues and fostering innovation in artist development. He will also play an important role in CMG’s social and charitable endeavors.
During his tenure at Columbia, Ruden led and co-produced the first-ever virtual concert on the Roblox platform for Lil Nas X, helped lead the first live concert in Fortnite with Dom Fike and spearheaded multi-million-dollar partnerships with companies including Logitech (with Lil Nas X) and Discord (with Grimes). He additionally created original IP with the kids brand and platform Jam Jr. and co-signed a girl group and clothing collection with the tween retailer Justice.
Also at Columbia, Ruden led social good partnerships with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (with Blink-182), the non-partisan voter activation organization Gamers.Vote (with QuinnXCII) and the mental health advocacy organization Rise Against the Disorder (with Lost Rings). He additionally incubated a women’s gaming label, Lost Rings, and oversaw the label’s tour marketing and events team for frontline artists while also helping produce events for Beyoncé, AC/DC and more. In addition, he played a key role in Columbia’s ticket-bundling initiatives, which helped score No. 1 albums for artists including The Chainsmokers and Harry Styles.
Before working at Interscope, Ruden started his career in 2003 as an artist representative at Shady Records and Goliath Artists, where he was deeply involved in the day-to-day operations around Eminem.
“It is so exciting to be part of the amazing team of innovative leaders that Jeff Vaughn and Michelle Jubelierer have assembled,” said Ruden in a statement. “Not only is Capitol one of the most storied labels in music, but the entire team is uniquely situated to build the music company of the future. I am grateful for the opportunity to help bring CMG’s incredible artists directly to their fans in new and exciting ways”
Added CMG Chairman & CEO Vaughn and Jubelirer in a joint statement, ”Ryan is that rare executive who merges his passion for music with innovative ideas and the development of new pathways for artists to connect with fans. He will be a tremendous asset to our company and our artists, and everyone at CMG joins us in welcoming Ryan to the team.“
Ruden was named to Billboard’s Top Gaming Synch Players list in 2020 and its 40 Under 40 list in 2017.
Val Pensa has been upped to senior vp and head of marketing at RCA Records, where she will now oversee the entire marketing department while continuing to serve as marketing lead for several of the label’s artists.
As an RCA product manager, Pensa has spearheaded and overseen successful campaigns for artists including Doja Cat, P!nk, Becky G, Kygo and Pentatonix. Under Pensa’s watch, Doja Cat’s Planet Her has remained in the top 5 on the Billboard 200 since its release. She also led the team on P!nk’s recent live project All I Know So Far: Setlist and the accompanying Amazon Studios documentary P!NK: All I Know So Far, as well as Becky G’s current single, “Fulanito” with El Alfa, which has drawn 65 million streams worldwide, according to a release.
Pensa was a Billboard Women in Music honoree in 2019 and has been named to Billboard’s 40 Under 40 and 30 Under 30 lists. She is a three-time Clio Award winner for her marketing campaign for Sia’s “Chandelier.”
Republic Records has elevated Alex Coslov to senior vp of marketing strategy.
In his new position, the New York-based Coslov will continue developing and enacting marketing strategies and initiatives for the label’s roster. Over the past 18 months, he has led the rollout of five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including Bo Burnham’s Inside, Lorde’s Solar Power, Glass Animals’ Dreamland, Greta Van Fleet’s The Battle at Garden’s Gate and Pearl Jam’s Gigaton. The campaign for the latter album won two Clio Awards.
Coslov joined Republic in 2017 as vp of marketing strategy. Before that, he worked for four years at Ultra Music, where he headed up the marketing department. He was named to Billboard’s 40 Under 40 list this year.
Management firm Milk & Honey announced on Thursday that longtime manager Daniel Nall has moved back to his native Australia to launch Milk & Honey Australia New Zealand. The new branch, located in Sydney, joins other M&H offices in Los Angeles (where Nall worked for three years), New York, Nashville, Dallas, London and Amsterdam.
Nall has roughly 10 years of label experience under his belt, having worked at the big three (Sony, Warner, Universal), as well as Ministry of Sound and the BBC. As an artist manager he has worked closely with PJ Harding, Rich Costey, Tommy Trash and Louis Shoorl, among others.
In making the announcement, M&H founder Lucas Keller said he’s been a “huge fan of Australian music and the local business for a number of years. It will be great to have a presence on the ground to integrate with our other offices as we make it a priority to represent more Australian / New Zealand talent in the coming years.”
Nall added: “I can honestly say that Milk & Honey is one of the most exciting music companies in the world. Having witnessed the growth first hand, I’m truly honored to be setting up the office down here for the company. I’m excited to expand on Milk & Honey’s roster with a focus on Australian & New Zealand music talent – be it artists, writers, mixers or producers. Our global footprint means that launching local talent into the international market will be a core focus of what we aim to achieve.”
Venue management and services company ASM Global has named Steve Tadlock general manager of San Diego’s Pechanga Arena. He succeeds Ernie Hahn, who has been general manager and partner of Pechanga Arena since 1996.
Tadlock comes to ASM Global from SMG, where over a 19-year stint he opened and operated two arenas as general manager, most recently the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. He also had supervisory responsibilities for 14 facilities in the western U.S. and Canada as regional vp.
Going forward, Hahn will work with Pechanga Arena as senior business advisor while working on his new business, Dream Hahn and Wonderfront Festival.
“After 30 years of putting my heart and soul into the Sports Arena (Pechanga Arena SD) as an Events Coordinator, Business Manager, General Manager and partner, I’m excited in this new role to work with Steve and our team to continue to bring world class entertainment to San Diego while working on other business endeavors,” said Hahn in a statement.
The Believe-owned DIY digital music distributor TuneCore has named Nicholas Krus vp of marketing, a promotion from his previous role as senior director of client marketing. He will report to TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson.
In his new position, Krus will oversee all aspects of marketing at TuneCore, including brand, acquisition, retention, analytics and research. While in his previous role at the company, he oversaw customer acquisition and integrated marketing and provided guidance strategy across several marketing campaigns and cross-team initiatives. Notably, he served as the key architect of the TuneCore Rewards program, TuneCore Certified digital awards and the TuneCore Artwork Creator. He joined TuneCore six years ago as an analyst before transitioning to the marketing department; he previously worked as an analyst at Warner Music Group.
Gleeson said in a statement that Krus “is that rare individual who is actively right and left brained. He can analyze data one minute, then turn around and produce highly creative and innovative marketing initiatives.”
Continuing to lead TuneCore’s brand marketing department will be senior director Melanie Seddon, who oversees social media, branding and events on a global level; she will report to Krus. In a release, TuneCore notes that its 11 social media channels have collectively increased their follower count by 38% (up 190,000 year-over-year) in the past year.
Also reporting to Krus are Erica Quinn, who has been promoted to senior director of client marketing, with added responsibility for acquisition marketing, and Reva Sookraj, who continues in her role as manager of consumer & market research.
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