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Grammy-winning artist and producer Diplo and former Downtown Music CEO Andrew Bergman have joined forces to launch Bison Music, an independent music publisher. Bergman will serve as CEO, alongside COO Tom Lee, CCO Juba
Lee and General Manager Jenny Ilibassi. (Pictured above, L-R: Tom Lee, Bergman, Diplo, Ilibasi, Juba Lee.)
Diplo initially formed the company “to bring together genre-defying songwriters and producers behind some of music’s most distinctive new voices,” according to the announcement, including the previously signed Picard Bros., Leclair, Maesic, Nitti, Kaien Cruz, BomboCat, Akira Evans, and Groupthink. Diplo and Bergman have joined forces to “transform Bison into a company dedicated to making fresh, original music written by real people to connect with a global audience,” it continues.
“At a moment when it feels like music needs an injection of originality, our writers are in a position to shape where music goes next,” said Diplo. “Andrew and I are creating a home for those writers, with a team that knows how to develop them and a company built to back them for the long term.”
Bergman added, “For me, there’s still nothing more exciting in music than discovering a great song from someone you’ve never heard of. That’s always been at the core of what makes music publishing a great business. And it’s what excited me about partnering with Diplo, one of the leading creative forces in the modern music business, and tmwrk, his management team and longtime business partners.”
Bison is based in New York and Los Angeles. Further signings will be announced in the coming months.
+ Debbie Gibson has signed with Downtown Music Publishing in a deal including administration for her current catalog and TV/Film Sync representation.
“I’m so thrilled to be a part of the Downtown Music Publishing family in this creative era!” said Debbie Gibson. “I’m a songwriter at heart, first and foremost, so to be able to stretch my creativity and to have new sync opportunities before me is exciting. Not only is it such an honor to be amongst their prestigious roster of songwriters but I’m ecstatic to have the Downtown team look after my formerly unrepresented material and champion my new songs!”
Bea Koramblyum, Global Head of Business Affairs & VP of Business Development, Downtown Music Publishing, comments: “Debbie Gibson is an extraordinary singer/songwriter whose music has stood the test of time. With a prolific legacy of work across four decades and an impressive musical theater background, she brings a wealth of creativity and talent to everything she does, and we’re excited to welcome her to Downtown Music Publishing, supporting the next chapter of her career.”
+ Bossy Songs, the publishing company founded by Records co-founder and industry vet Barry Weiss with Sony Music Publishing has announced the extension of their relationship. Bossy Songs will continue to be supported and administered by SMP, with an office in New York and staff in Los Angeles and Nashville.
Recent highlights from the company’s roster include Austin Corona’s work with Slayyyter and Charlie Ziman’s collaborations with Malcolm Todd,
“I’m thrilled to be continuing our work with Sony Music Publishing, who have been incredibly supportive of our development” said Weiss. “Bossy Songs is proud to support fresh new emerging songwriters such as Austin Corona and Charlie Ziman (who are truly making themselves felt at the moment) and will be searching far and wide for new writers to add to our highly selective boutique roster.”
Sony Music Publishing President, Head of US A&R Katie Welle said, “Barry and team have a proven track record of identifying and championing exceptional talent at Bossy Songs, they’ve built incredible foundation for future success. We are delighted to continue our partnership.”
Wednesday, November 11
Top communications firm Shore Fire Media has announced the promotion of Jaclyn D. Childress to president. A 13-year veteran of the firm and member of its leadership team since 2019, Childress (pictured above, left) will continue to head Shore Fire’s Nashville team, reporting to recently appointed CEO Angela Barkan, with a focus on sports, country music, reality TV and creators.
Hired as a publicity coordinator in 2013, Childress rose through the company’s publicist ranks to become a vice president in 2021, then growing to senior vice president three years later.
“In our short time working together, Jaclyn’s entrepreneurial nature has become very apparent,” said Barkan. “Besides overseeing our Nashville office, which works with prominent music businesses and talent, she signed our first creator in 2019 and has established our thriving sports practice. I know she will continue to help build the business as an integral part of our executive leadership team.”
+ Epic Records has promoted Ayanna Wilks to Senior Vice President, Head of Publicity, and Tina Ibañez to Senior Vice President, Creative & Content, effective immediately, the company annoucned. Both will report to Ezekiel Lewis, Chairman and CEO of Epic Records.
Wilks (pictured above, center) will lead Epic’s publicity department from Los Angeles. She joined Epic in 2019 as Senior Director of Publicity and rose to Vice President before stepping into her new role. Previously, she held roles with Wilhelmina Models, Roc Nation and Diane von Furstenberg.
In her new role, Ibañez (pictured above, right) will lead Epic’s creative department from New York. She joined Epic in 2021, where she has shaped the visual worlds of artists across the roster.
Ibañez was previously a Senior Art Director at Sony Music, where she earned a Grammy Award with fellow creative Brett Kilroe. She began her career at design studio Trooper.
“Great artists need partners who can tell their story and build their world. Ayanna and Tina do both at the highest level. Ayanna understands how to shape an artist’s narrative and connect it to culture, and Tina has a rare gift for turning an artist’s vision into something you can see and feel. Together, they’ve helped define what Epic stands for. As we invest in the next generation of Epic talent, they’re exactly the leaders I want building it with us,” Lewis said.
+ The Ally Coalition has announced its 12th Annual Talent Show will take place Tuesday, December 15 at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, at 7:30pm. Tickets will be open for pre-sale this Wednesday, November 11 and to the general public Thursday, November 12 at 10am ET.
Created and curated by TAC Founder, Jack Antonoff, the annual Talent Show has raised more than $2 million to support unhoused LGBTQ+ youths and has featured performances by Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Rachel Zegler, Phoebe Bridgers, Hayley Williams, Hasan Minhaj, Kasey Musgraves, Florence Welch, Jason Isbell, Clairo, and St. Vincent, among dozens of others.
“The Talent Show exists in its own special world that we have built over the last eleven years: bringing together my favorite artists to play a small room in New York for our people,” notes Jack Antonoff. “All proceeds go to The Ally Coalition and our work supporting the homeless LGBTQ+ community – means the world to me and everyone who works hard to make this night happen every year.”
+ The Recording Academy has promoted Joanna Chu to SVP of Awards, Susan Stewart to VP of the Songwriters & Composers Wing, and Michael Nieporent has been named SVP of Global Partnerships & Business Development.
Chu previously served as VP of Awards for five years, leading the department through all aspects of Grammy season and reinforcing key Academy initiatives throughout the Awards process. Stewart has led the S&C Wing since she helped establish it in 2020 — first announced on the 63rd Grammy Awards Telecast — and has grown it to represent nearly half of the Academy’s voting membership. Nieporent joins the Academy with more than 17 years of experience building and leading partnerships across entertainment, media and live events, including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the American Music Awards, and the Billboard Music Awards.
+ Sony Music Publishing U.K. has signed songwriter-artist Natalie Findlay, which includes all future works. Her recent work includes co-written songs with Suki Waterhouse (“Good Looking”), Ashe (“Swan Lake”), joining a discography that includes releases from Remy Bond, Blossoms and Declan McKenna.
Findlay said, “I’m really happy to be joining Sony Music Publishing for my next chapter. I’ve always been drawn to artists with something unique to say and to create music that feels real and exciting. I’m lucky to have a new team around me who understands that and shares my enthusiasm for what’s ahead.”
+ Prescription Songs has signed Phil Leigh, a Los Angeles–based songwriter-producer whose credits include Le Sserafim’s “Spaghetti,” Twice’s “Hi Hello,” ANOTR’s “Paradise,” and Jason Derulo and Michael Bublé’s “Spicy Margarita.” He has also collaborated on songs by Beyoncé, David Guetta, the Chainsmokers and J Balvin, with forthcoming releases from Marshmello, ANOTR, and Purple Disco Machine.
Leigh said, “Life is the best! And a HUGE part of why I feel that way is because of music. I’m truly obsessed with it and I don’t take for granted that I’ve been allowed to spend my life feeling, playing and creating professionally. I’ve been close with the Prescription Songs family for a very long time and it means the world to me that I’m now officially a part of it, working with them. They match my freak, and I’m so grateful that they are the people that I’m doing this with.”
+ TuneCore has named Tash Shah as the company’s new Vice President, Global Marketing. She will report to Chief Business Officer Brian Miller. In her role, she will lead worldwide marketing strategy, spanning brand and creative, customer acquisition, lifecycle and retention, and product marketing.
Shah joined TuneCore in 2023 as Vice President, International, where she led international strategy, held P&L responsibility for each market, and managed teams across 17 countries. Prior to joining TuneCore, she spent 12 years at Spotify, where she served as the company’s first Head of Marketing in the UK, enacting some of the platform’s earliest in-house Artist Marketing campaigns and securing partnerships with the BBC, Nike, and more.
Miller commented, “Independent artists who are already building an audience need more than a place to upload music. They need a partner that helps them grow. Tash has spent three years understanding what those artists need, and she has the vision to make TuneCore the platform they choose to build their careers on. I’m excited to see her lead our global marketing team into this next chapter.”
+ Anuel AA collaborator La Greña has signed with Vydia in conjunction with ShowOff Gang Music for the upcoming release of his album “Diferente,” due on Nov. 27. La Greña will drop the forthcoming project’s first single “Todos Loco,” on Friday.
Speaking on the signing, ShowOff Gang Music President Jason “JT” Thomas said, “La Greña represents the kind of raw talent, authenticity, and star power we’re building ShowOff Gang Music around. Partnering with Vydia to introduce him to the world is more than just a strategy; it’s a statement that we believe in his vision, his sound, and his ability to make a global impact. We’re not just signing an artist; we’re investing in the next major voice coming out of the Dominican Republic.”
