downtown music
Downtown Music Holdings Names New CEO, Kalifowitz to Executive Director
Founder and CEO Justin Kalifowitz moves to the role of executive director in the new leadership alignment. Downtown Music Holdings — the umbrella organization that houses several music-services brands like CD Baby, FUGA, Songtrust, Downtown Neighboring Rights and more — is shaking up its executive leadership team. Founder and CEO Justin Kalifowitz will transition to a new role as executive director of the company, while longtime general counsel and COO Andrew Bergman rises to the role of CEO. The moves will take place effective Sept. 1. Kalifowitz started Downtown in 2007 as a music publisher, a business it largely exited in April when it sold the rights to its 145,000-song catalog of publishing copyrights to Concord in a deal estimated at $350 million. (Downtown still serves a...
Downtown Lays Off Australian Employees Following Concord Sale
An industry veteran with more than 18 years’ experience, Kelly joined the company in early 2018 as creative director and head of sync, covering Australia and New Zealand.Previously, she served as creative director at BMG Australia, having joined the company as part of the acquisition of Alberts in 2016. With Kelly at the helm, the Australasian company wasted no time. Homegrown artists Stella Donnelly, Little Quirks, Taka Perry, Elliot and John Butler Trio signed with the new affiliate, and Kelly was identified in Billboard’s International Power Players List for 2019. It’s unclear how many staffers have been let go at the ANZ company. Those who have exited were primarily A&R and specifically involved with co-pub deals, sources say. Downtown continues to represent Australian artists...
