WME has named Rob Markus Head of International for the agency’s contemporary music team. The announcement was made by Lucy Dickins, Global Head of Contemporary Music and Touring, and Kirk Sommer, Global Co-Head of Contemporary Music and Touring. In his expanded role, Markus will oversee all aspects of the agency’s international touring and strategy for contemporary music. He is based at WME’s Beverly Hills headquarters.
“Rob understands the international touring business and its increasing complexities and importance to an artist’s career better than anyone,” said Dickins and Sommer. “Having lived and worked around the world, Rob possesses a deep knowledge of the nuances of the live music space in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and South America, as well as emerging tour markets like the Middle East, Africa, and India. This expansion of his role fortifies our global music presence and elevates the best-in-class services we offer our clients and partners.”
Markus, a Senior Partner at WME who has worked at the agency for more than 20 years, helped build WME’s industry-leading Latin Music group, with a roster that includes Danny Ocean, Gustavo Mioto, Humbe, J Balvin, Juanes, Maluma, Nathy Peluso and more, along with A Perfect Circle, Avenged Sevenfold, Depeche Mode, Kygo, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Anka, and many others.
| + The American Association of Independent Music has upped general manager Lisa Hresko to Chief Operating Officer . In addition, Hresko has been announced as the first President of the Foundation of Independent Music by its board. Hresko has been with A2IM since 2017 and has strengthen the organization’s advocacy position, expand its global reach, and build programs that directly benefit the independent sector. |
+ SoundCloud has appointed Steve Abrams as its new Chief Technology Officer. Abrams previously led engineering for YouTube Music Knowledge & Discovery.
At Google, he built and scaled teams working on artist tools, personalized recommendations, and AI/ML-driven music understanding. Before that, he helped launch IBM Watson, led global data science at United Technologies, and built large-scale data and transparency platforms at Bridgewater Associates.
As CTO, Abrams will lead SoundCloud’s global engineering organization and accelerate the company’s technology and innovation roadmap, with a focus on AI/ML advancement, deeper artist-to-fan engagement, and strengthening SoundCloud’s creator-first product strategy.
From Variety US
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
