In our latest roundup, we present eight more stars of tomorrow from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our most recent mag—a mortifying experience they can lament over gluten-free avocado toast.
Samantha Sonkin
Marketing Director, Columbia
Sonkin has come a long way since starting at Columbia as an intern 10 years ago. “I dreamed of playing a role in the projects for which I’m now lucky enough to serve as project manager,” she says; they’ve included campaigns for
Adele’s “Easy on Me” (2b streams) from her triple-platinum
30 and
Miley Cyrus’ record-breaking single “Flowers” from her new
Endless Summer Vacation. Sonkin’s also pleased to be developing plans for
The Kid LAROI,
Diplo and newcomer
Jessie Murph. Like
Beyoncé, she carries hot sauce in her bag (which, fortunately for Sonkin, helps keep us at bay).
Saint Harraway
EVP, A&R, Republic Records; Co-President, Uptown Records
As a kid, Harraway was such a music fan that he read CD inserts and memorized label credits. He’s now co-running one of the labels that inspired him in his youth, Uptown Records. In addition to participating in the relaunch of Uptown, Harraway has witnessed the growth of
Coi Leray and the emergence of R&B trio
FLO, which was recently crowned
BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2023 and in 2022 was the first group to win the
BRITs Rising Star award. Harraway also plays drums and keyboards.
Our talents are limited to napping.
Anjae Rayford
Head of Label Operations, BreadGang the Label
When
Moneybagg Yo was putting the finishing touches on 2021’s
A Gangsta’s Pain, Rayford got to record a snippet at the beginning of “Memphganistan.” As Moneybagg polishes his next studio album, she’s proud to be supporting a new mixtape by
Tripstar—for which
Tay Keith is serving as executive producer—and new BreadGang signee
YTB Fatt’s single with Bagg and buzzing Memphis artist
Fat Wizza. Back when she was at
ICM, Rayford began saving her festival and concert all-access credentials. Bet she won’t be saving this feature.
Lloyd Aur Norman
SVP, Big Loud Rock; Manager, Big Loud Management
After years working on the country side, Norman is bringing the Big Loud artist-development strategy to Big Loud Rock, supporting
Letdown.’s first single, “Crying in the Shower,” at Alt radio and
HARDY’s “JACK” at Rock, where it’s currently Top 5. He’s also part of the team behind
Blame My Youth, whose newest single, “Prizefighter,” secured a world premiere on
SiriusXM Octane the day the act started its tour opening for HARDY. Norman was the first employee at Big Loud Management and then at Big Loud Records. He’s since managed to avoid
us, until now, that is.
Marnie Dunstan
Founder/CEO, MD Management
Dunstan once watched her
Grammy-winning client
Mr Hudson perform with
JAY-Z in front of 60k fans. This year, Hudson is working on projects with
Harry Hudson (no relation),
JP Cooper and
Jesse Rutherford. Dunstan is also excited about new music from client
Alex Rzyan (“Hot Headed”) and latest signee
Ivy Walsh. The MD topper recently joined copyright collective
PRS for Music as a U.S. member-relations consultant alongside head of U.S. Relations
Fabienne Leys. When she was in college, Dunstan started her own fanzine. Bet she never expected to end up in
this rag.
Jeffrey Jacques
VP of Brand Partnerships, Capitol Music Group
Jacques says the younger version of himself would be thrilled to know that today he’s working with “some of the most influential people in the history of the music business.” Having recently wrapped deals for
Epic artists
Bia with
Footlocker and
Madison Beer with
Walmart, the Brooklyn native kicked off 2023 at CMG and is looking forward to advancing the careers of artists like
Sam Smith,
Niall Horan,
Lil Yachty,
Ice Spice,
Doechii,
Smino and
Masego. Jacques is a lover of fashion, sports and music, but alas, not of us.
Nicole Plantin
General Manager, Khalabo Music
Plantin scored an early read of a script by
Kenya Barris and
Jonah Hill that would become
Netflix’s
You People, in which Khalabo artist
GoGo Morrow’s “Comfortable” can be heard. Following the 2022 release of her EP
Ready, Morrow—whom Plantin inked alongside
Harmony Samuel’s
B.O.E. label—landed a role on
Grown-ish, on which she performed “In the Way.” Plantin previously worked with
The Neptunes at
Star Trak, where she delivered the call-and-response “heys” on
Lil Jon’s “Stick That Thang Out” f/
Pharrell Williams &
Ying Yang Twins. Sadly, no one responds to
our calls.
Ky Zaretsky
Senior Manager/Head of Client Relations, 2wenty 2wenty Music Group
Zaretsky will always relish having seen client
Murda Beatz perform in front of 30k people at
Coachella, followed by
Kid Cudi, Zaretsky’s favorite artist. He’s presently collaborating with Beatz on the creator’s livestream channel, building a studio in Toronto and working with a roster that also includes
Jason “Cheese” Goldberg and
Quay Global. He’s likewise teamed up with
Grammy-nominated client
Don Mills and friend
Illmind on another studio location, Miami’s
Rezort. Zaretsky was once a competitive cross-country runner.
We’re competitive nappers.
