Welcome to another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re here, check out Billboard’s fresh list of top R&B and Hip-Hop executives leading the genres forward, plus our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.

Erika Savage has joined the entertainment department of top music law firm King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, Billboard can announce. A multi–year honoree in our annual list of influential women in music, Savage was most recently senior vp of global music operations at United Talent Agency, where she oversaw all operational elements of UTA’s global touring division. The bulk of Savage’s roughly 25-year career, however, was spent at Universal Music Group, where she rose to senior vp of strategic development at Interscope Records, developing integrated artist brand strategies across music, brand partnerships, merchandise and touring. “We are delighted to supplement our deep bench of entertainment attorneys with someone at the top of her game,” said managing partner Howard King. Here, Savage expands on her big move from agency life to KHPS:

Why join private practice at this point in your career? The idea of artist advocacy. Being an artist lawyer in the music industry is the greatest privilege because you are entrusted to protect your client’s rights and to bring value as a strategic advisor. After many incredible experiences gained working within a major label, building brands, and in global touring, I finally feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do – directly advocating for artists. I’m particularly inspired by the fact that more women artists, producers and songwriters are looking for women to be part of their team as lawyers, managers, agents and business managers. It’s exciting that our shared experiences as women in music will allow us to find ways to be entrepreneurial together.

What issue concerns you the most in music? When I started in business affairs at UMG, the major label deal was largely considered the path to superstar artist status. Now, while it’s great that there are fewer gate keepers and far more access points for artists to distribute their music, the legal landscape is far more complicated for developing artists. Navigating all these distributors and platforms can be really overwhelming for an artist just trying to break through. Being a TikTok artist is an incredible catalyst but career longevity requires a strategy beyond achieving 24 hours on the top of a For You page. We represent some incredible legacy artists. We want to make sure that our clients who are currently young and developing clients have similarly vibrant legacy careers in 20 years.

Meanwhile…

All My Friends, the event production company behind the floating dance festival FriendShip, hired industry veteran Randy Sosin as its first head of creative content. As AMF’s creative chief, Sosin will manage everything from ideation to delivery of all areas of creative branding and promotion for the company, founded by dance impresario Gary Richards. Sosin arrives to AMF following a six-year stretch as chief content officer at The X, a digital content agency not to be confused with the social network. He has also held senior roles at Insomniac Events, MTV, Gang of Fore and Interscope, where he spent the early aughts producing videos, short films and other visual goodies for artists including Eminem, 50 Cent, Enrique Iglesias and others. “I am so fortunate that I am able to come on board and help Gary and AMF grow and expand FriendShip (the greatest party in the world), but also be a part of an amazing team,” said Sosin. “Gary is an inspiration to me, and I look forward to helping show the world what I have known for years.”

Christoffer Lindh was promoted to head of A&R and Atena Banisaid to general manager of Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia. Both Stockholm-based execs will continue reporting to Johnny Tennander, managing director and svp of A&R international for SMPS. As his title implies, Lindh is now tasked with leading the company’s A&R-related endeavors across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark). In his 15 years at the publisher, Lindh has signed and/or worked with Yung Lean and Sad Boys, Scarlet Pleasure, Cashmere Cat and others. For Banisaid, her role as GM means growing the overall business and crafting forward-thinking initiatives. She’ll also continue lending a hand on Lindh’s A&R team, where she has worked with Benjamin Ingrosso, Giift and other artists. “It feels very good to elevate Christoffer and Atena to these key positions for Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia,” noted Tennander. “They have for a long time both proven to be incredibly important to our A&R team, but also to our wider team and company.”

Downtown Music promoted David Driessen to chief commercial officer, effective immediately. He’ll lead efforts to drive revenue across the company’s four divisions — publishing, distribution, artist/label services and financial services — and continue to report to CEO Pieter van Rijn. Driessen was previously CCO of FUGA, the Downtown-owned B2B music distributor, before sidling over to Downtown in early 2023 to become chief business officer.

PULSE Music Group promoted Tizita Makuria to senior vp of A&R for both PMG and PULSE Records. She’ll focus on signing and developing new talent, and then finding creative opportunities for them. Based in Los Angeles, Makuria holds bragging rights as the company’s first hire to PULSE Records, where she was part of the team that signed “Million Dollar Baby” phenom Tommy Richman to the PULSE/ISO Supremacy joint venture. Prior to joining PMG in 2022 as vp of A&R, Makuria held down the senior director of A&R role at Artist Publishing Group. “Tizita brings a positive energy to every meeting—she’s passionate about her writers and recording artists and she has a relentless drive to deliver good results for them,” said co-CEOs Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham, and president Ashley Calhoun. Earlier this summer, PMG upped Steven Gringer to svp of A&R.

Mike Harris announced his departure as executive vp and COO of Universal Music Group Nashville. According to Music Row, Harris is leaving the position at the end of the month for an as-yet unannounced opportunity. A source tells Billboard that a replacement will be announced soon. Harris joined UMGN in 2016 as COO following a three-year stint as evp/general manager of Caroline, UMG’s since-renamed label and artist services company. Harris’ previous work experience includes 15 years with EMI in a variety of roles, including evp/GM for label services, evp/finance director, global A&R operations for EMI’s new music division and evp/CFO for various labels and divisions within EMI.

NASHVILLE NOTES: The Core Entertainment added day-to-day managers Jackie Gomez and Brittani Johnson to the company’s artist management team in Nashville. Gomez most recently served as DtD manager of Charlie Puth while at Friends at Work, where she also A&R’d a number of up-and-coming artists. Johnson arrives from Big Loud, where as director of Southwest promotion she played a major role in boosting the signals of Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Ashley Cooke and others … Invasion Group expanded with the launch of a new Nashville office. Leading the Music City office is artist manager Courtney Oertel. Among the artists on Invasion Group’s roster are Ani DiFranco, John Driskell Hopkins, Rissi Palmer, The Righteous Babes, Blackstar Symphony and Ken Butler.

Jared Gibo was named CEO of specialty live entertainment company LiveCo’s new full-service, global faith-based promotion arm, TPR. TPR merges three promotion companies that LiveCo previously acquired—Transparent, Premier and Rush Concerts—into the newly-minted TPR. With the creation of TPR, Transparent Productions founder and CEO Tim Taber has been promoted to the LiveCo management team as chief strategy officer. Premier Productions CEO Michael Pugh was also promoted to LiveCo as chief operating officer. TPR works with artists including Anne Wilson, Cece Winans, Chris Tomlin, Forrest Frank, Gaither Vocal Band, Dude Perfect, Jeremy Camp, Josiah Queen, KB, MercyMe, Tauren Wells and more. –Jessica Nicholson

Music curation and licensing firm SoStereo elevated Lindsey Camerota to CEO, effective immediately. Camerota joined SoStereo in March, as chief marketing officer, following senior marketing roles at fintech startup Tomo, experiential tech company Superlogic, something called “Spotify” and fitness giant Equinox. Earlier in her career, Camerota served as a marketing manager at Republic Records. “Building a career in the music industry has been a lifelong dream,” she said. “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to advance SoStereo’s mission of making brand narratives powerful, memorable experiences with accessible, high-quality music.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Amanda Smith is promoted from president to chief executive officer of Fairchild Media Group, overseeing a portfolio of brands that includes Women’s Wear Daily, WWD Weekend, Beauty Inc, Footwear News, Sourcing Journal, Rivet and Fairchild Live Events. Like Billboard, FMG is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Prior to joining Fairchild in September 2020, Smith served in senior positions at print powerhouses including Fast Company, The New York Times, Vogue and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She is based in NYC and reports to Celine Perrot-Johnson, executive vp of operations and finance at PMC.

Kerri Kolen is the new vp of PAVE Publishing House, the independent print and audiobook division of PAVE Studios. Kerri was previously vp and head of audiobooks at Pushkin Industries and a creative executive at Audible, and has worked with notable authors and celebrities, including Kelly Osbourne, Carrie Fisher, Kate Winslet and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, among others.

ICYMI:

Recent executive of the week Jackie Winkler was promoted to senior vp and head of A&R at Island Records … Martijn Tel joined BMI as the performing rights organization’s new chief financial officer … Ultra Records veteran Eddie Spears joined Republic Records as its new evp of creative … and Rachelle Jean-Louis was named executive of the year in Billboard‘s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list.

Last Week’s Turntable: HYBE-Owned Label ADOR Replaces CEO

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

This week, Linkin Park is back with a new frontwoman, Halsey suffers a hard-earned ego death, A$AP Rocky is swagged out on his way to church, Camila Cabello makes a return trip to Magic City and much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below.

Linkin Park, “The Emptiness Machine”

Yes, Linkin Park are back — with a new tour, a new singer, and a new single, “The Emptiness Machine.” You can read all about the story behind their remarkable comeback here, including how they connected with frontwoman Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara, and you can hear the first sounds of the partnership now with the hard-charging “Machine.” If longtime fans were worried the band’s new lineup would feel too far removed from their classic sound, they should be pretty easily won over by the time of the new song’s chorus, which could not feel more textbook LP as Armstrong belts: “Let you cut me open just to watch me bleed/ Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be/ Don’t know why I’m hopin’ for what I won’t receive/ Fallin’ for the promise of the emptiness machine.”

Halsey, “Ego”

With an October 25 release date now set for her The Great Impersonator album, Halsey is giving fans at least one more advance taste of the new LP with this week’s “Ego.” The dizzying pop-rock blast is absolutely prime Halsey, a lyrically frenetic plea to “go back to the beginning, when it all felt right… didn’t give a f–k if I was winning,” with a brutal refrain admitting “I’m really not as happy as I seem… I’m really not that happy being me.” It’s a welcome reminder that 10 years into their career, Halsey remains one of the most vital songwriters and performers in either pop or rock.

Megan Thee Stallion feat. RM, “Neva Play”

Following the exciting LP releases from both earlier this year — Right Place, Wrong Time in May and Megan in June — RM and Megan Thee Stallion link up for the first time this week for the one-off “Neva Play.” The song’s speeding-up geiger counter of a beat prompts both artists to keep coming harder, as Megan spits “Money talks, and it’s my first language,” and RM meets her with “We just bossin’, pour out the sauces in the face of the big bosses.” The all-star collab has an anime-inspired music video, because of course it does.

A$AP Rocky feat. J. Cole, “Ruby Rosary”

The slow drip of new songs from A$AP Rocky’s upcoming Don’t Be Dumb continues with the slow piano creep of the Alchemist-produced “Ruby Rosary,” with the rapper spitting about his jewel-encrusted religious necklace and generally phenomenal swag (“They ain’t seen drip like this since Rick the Ruler”). Last year’s assist king J. Cole also comes through for a guest verse, but don’t ask him for him to repeat his previous highlights: “When they ask for the old you, ignore ’em,” he advises. “Goin’ backwards is borin’, b–ch, and I’m not Michael Jordan, I don’t do the retro.”

Camila Cabello, C,XOXO – Magic City Edition

Camila Cabello released fourth solo album C,XOXO back in June to somewhat mixed critical and commercial reaction — though even its biggest critics would have to admit the album was pretty interesting, if nothing else. It’s even more fascinating now in its extended Magic City Edition reissue, which tacks on four new songs, including the pulse-racing “Baby Pink,” the frisky “Can Friends Kiss?” and the thundering now-closer “Godspeed.” These new pieces don’t necessarily make the C,XOXO puzzle feel complete, but they do make the final image even more sprawling, weird and beautiful.

Fred again.., Ten Days

Prolific U.K. dance sensation Fred again.. released three installments in his Actual Life LP series in about an 18-month period over 2021 and 2022, but it’s been almost two years now since his latest full-length. The (very minor) drought is now over with this week’s release of Ten Days, with a loaded guest list featuring Sampha, The Japanese House, Anderson .Paak, country legend Emmylou Harris and of course, supertrio producer buds Skrillex and Four Tet. Like Fred’s previous albums, it’s a huge album built around small moments, like Irish singer-songwriter SOAK admitting of a revelatory romantic experience, “I remember thinking to myself… don’t you dare get used to this,” on early highlight “Just Stand There,” or the producer himself singing “You’re further away now than you used to be/ But darling I saw you and you saw me” on album centerpiece “I Saw You.”

Kane Brown has been chosen to receive the Country Champion Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards. The show, hosted by Shania Twain, is set to air live on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. ET/PT across NBC and Peacock from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

Wynonna Judd received the Country Champion Award at last year’s inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards.

“Since the beginning of his career, Kane Brown has ensured that his legacy will extend beyond music,” Jen Neal, executive vice president, live events and specials, NBCUniversal Entertainment, said in a statement. “His dedication to empowering and supporting younger generations is nothing short of inspiring, and we’re thrilled to honor him with the Country Champion Award.”

Brown, 30, has amassed 11 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and three on Hot Country Songs. He has had two No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums and one on the Billboard 200.

Brown’s awards shelf is a little bare for someone with so much success. He has won two ACM Awards (video of the year for “Worldwide Beautiful” and an ACM International Award), but he has yet to win a CMA Award (despite four nods) and has yet to even be nominated for a Grammy.

As previously announced, Miranda Lambert is this year’s other honorary award recipient. She will receive the Country Icon Award, which went to an ailing Toby Keith last year.

Winners are chosen entirely by fans at the People’s Choice Country Awards. Voting is now closed. Performers and presenters for this year’s show will be revealed in the coming weeks. A limited number of show tickets and VIP packages are available now at Opry.com.

The 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards is produced by Den of Thieves. Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski will executive produce along with RAC Clark as executive producer and showrunner. 

The “Live From E!: People’s Choice Country Awards” red carpet event will kick off the night at 6 p.m. ET/PT on E!. That pre-show is produced by Den of Thieves with executive producers Ignjatovic, Prager and Bialkowski.

Its Sabrina Carpenter for the win on Australia’s charts as Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds enjoy the top album debut.

Carpenter’s sixth studio album and first leader, Short n’ Sweet, extends its stay at the ARIA Chart summit for a second week, in doing so denying Nick Cave a homegrown leader with Wild God, new at No. 2.
It’s the alternative lock legends’ 14th ARIA top 10 album, and the followup to Ghosteen, which peaked at No. 2 in 2019. Nick Cave’s 2021 collaboration with Dirty Three leader Warren Ellis, Carnage, also reached No. 2.

Cave has collected eight ARIA Awards for his solo or group work, took out top spot in 2013 with Push The Sky Away, and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007.

Billie Eilish completes the podium with Hit Me Hard And Soft, up 4-3.

Oasis’s hyped 2025 reunion tour has been a hot story in Australia, where live dates have yet to be announced. That excitement spilled over with the 30th anniversary edition of the Britpop-era heavyweights’ debut album Definitely Maybe, which enters the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10. Definitely Maybe peaked at No. 23 in 1994, according to ARIA.

Meanwhile, the Manchester rockers’ sophomore album from 1995, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, blasts back into the top 40, flying 71-27.

Oasis has impacted the ARIA Albums Chart Top 50 with nine titles, including a five-week stretch at No. 1 in 1996 for Morning Glory and for one week in 1997 with Be Here Now. Their last studio album, 2008’s Dig Out Your Soul, peaked at No. 5 in Australia.

Carpenter completes the chart double as “Taste” reigns for a second week on the ARIA Singles Chart, published Friday, Sept. 6. “Espresso,” meanwhile, stays hot at No. 2; “Please Please Please” is at No. 4, and Carpenters lands a fourth top 10 on the latest frame, as “Bed Chem” improves 11-10.

With the chart-topping successes of “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste,” the U.S. singer and actor has logged five total weeks at No. 1 so far in 2024, more than any other female artist.