Geffen Records Names Tom March U.S. President

Tom March has been named the new president of Geffen Records in the United States, the company announced today (March 7). March, who spent the past six years as co-president of Polydor in the U.K., will take up his new post in July and report to Interscope Geffen A&M chairman/CEO John Janick.

March joins at a period when Geffen is on an upswing it hasn’t experienced in some time, with Olivia Rodrigo having broken out into superstar status in the past year with her album SOUR and nominations in each of the Big Four categories coming up at the Grammys in April. Geffen, in addition to INgrooves and Universal Music Group, will also be the distribution home for BTS when they make their UMG debut after leaving Columbia Records last fall, while another signing, the rapper Yeat, saw his latest album 2 Alivë debut at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 this week, just one slot behind Rodrigo’s SOUR at No. 5.

“In 2020 we re-launched Geffen Records, entering a period of great success by breaking a new global superstar and forming important strategic partnerships along the way, all while reimagining how a modern label should be — nimble with the perfect match of major label resources and entrepreneurial spirit,” Janick said in a statement. “Tom has a proven track record of breaking new artists and shares our commitment to artist development. For the last six years he has looked after Interscope’s expansive roster while leading Polydor to become the premiere label in the U.K. He is the perfect executive to lead a Geffen team that has already done such an amazing job these last two years.”

March has had a successful track record at Polydor, including working with Glass Animals, whose single “Heat Waves” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week. But he’s also worked with much of the Interscope roster in the U.K. through the label, including Rodrigo, Eminem, Billie Eilish, Juice WRLD, Lady Gaga and more, and has developed a track record for breaking new acts, including three of the past four winners of the Brit Award for Rising Star: Sam Fender (2019), Celeste (2020) and Holly Humberstone (2022).

While March moves to the U.S. to take over Geffen, his former co-president at Polydor in the U.K., Ben Mortimer, is being promoted to sole president of that label beginning in July.

“It’s been an incredible honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to run Polydor with Ben Mortimer and our team and build it into the best record label in the U.K.,” March said in a statement. “Over these past six years, I have had the great fortune to work closely with John, [IGA vice chairman] Steve Berman and the IGA team on some incredible artists, so when the opportunity came to join them and continue to propel Geffen into the most exciting modern record label in the world, I couldn’t have been more excited. I would like to thank [Universal Music U.K. Chairman/CEO] David Joseph and [UMG Chairman/CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge for their help and support in making this happen.”

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