Over in London, Dean Luck — who was previously the Finance Director at Extreme Music — now serves as International Controller. Reporting to Vice President of Finance Dan Bettes, Luck is in charge of international financial matters at Downtown. His responsibilities include financial reporting, treasury management, and multi-jurisdictional compliance.
“Even in the midst of a global pandemic, we’ve continued to hire at a steady clip in 2020 to support our growth. I’m regularly impressed with the amazing talent we are able to bring into the Downtown organization from both within the music industry and beyond,” said Downtown CEO Kalifowitz in response to the company’s new appointments.
At Endless Noise, founder/Grammy-winning composer Jeff Elmassian has named Dave Chapman as the sound and design company’s new Creative Director and Partner. With many years of music and audio engineering experience, Chapman co-founded Boston-based Ugly Duck Studios in 2013 with Samuel Creager.
At Ugly Duck, Chapman — who also plays guitar for the band Ed Balloon — has worked with renowned clients, some of which include NPR, Walt Disney Studios, the BBC, and the New York Times.
According to Elmassian, “Dave is an incomparable musician and producer with a multi-faceted command of both the creative and business needs of our clients. He’s worked in Boston for over a decade, where he built his own studio and developed both the knowledge of our field and the entrepreneurial spirit needed to help run Endless Noise.”
Alicia Richards is the new Head of Creative Sync at Brand X Music. The company’s co-owners John Sponsler and Tom Gire shared the news Thursday, Oct. 29. Along with managing the sync department, her job specs include handling Brand X’s five catalogs, and spearheading placements for a library consisting of more than 8,000 tracks, 115 albums, and 55 original songs. Richards will also be responsible for boosting the company’s catalog and sync licensing endeavors.
After two years of leading her own firm AR Music Services, Richards has garnered experience from working with high-profile clients, such as Viacom, Warner Bros. Pictures, Sony Television, and Audible.
Brand X Music also launched a newly redesigned website.
In the U.K., the Association of Independent Music (AIM) made changes in both its services and board members.
AIM — the non-profit trade body that represents the country’s independent music — launched an Associate Membership tier at no extra cost. Available to AIM’s independent Distributor Members, the new tier offers industry guides, resources, and webinars for music entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, in AIM’s boardroom, five new elected board members were added to replace those retiring. To boost gender equality within its roster, the new additions are all women and include: Clare Mckinney from Domino Recording Company, Maya Kalev from Stones Throw Records, Nicole Mckenzie from MIC Records, Rachael Patterson from !K7 Music, and Suzanne Lachapelle from Cooking Vinyl. They will be replacing Adam Velasco from Cherry Red Records, Chris Goss from Hospital Records, Harry Martin from Domino Recording Co, and Paul Trueman from AWAL.
