In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals 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. Lucky for them, this feature—and $6.95—will get them a commemorative pumpkin spice latte from participating Starbucks locations.
Juan Pablo “JP” Victoria
VP, Head of Producer & Songwriter Management, NEON16
From watching
Shakira on Colombian stadium stages when he was 12 to seeing client
Albert Hype produce her “Te Felicito” (certified 13x platinum by the Latin
RIAA)—which earned Hype his first
Latin Grammy nom—and “Monotonia” (septuple platinum), Victoria’s come a long way. He’s focused today on actor
Aron Piper’s music project (due next year), with Venezuelan
Manuel Lara as executive producer, as well as
Dillon Francis & Hype’s collab blending punk rock with electronic and Latin elements. Victoria is a level 1 sommelier. Our wine consumption is
next-level.
Ashley May
Senior Marketing Director, Warner Records
In her 10 years at Warner Records, May has been key to marketing campaigns for acts like
Madonna,
FIFTY FIFTY and
Brandy Clark. She even got to meet Madonna—a “pinch me” moment—and was thanked by RÜFÜS DU SOL in the trio’s Grammy acceptance speech for 2022’s Best Dance Recording (“Alive”). She’s now strategizing for releases by
Bebe Rexha,
David Guetta,
aespa and
Ashnikko and is the marketing lead for Cher’s Christmas album, her first. May dabbles in the art of entomology taxidermy. Plenty of people would like to see us mounted on a pinning board.
Chris Visconti
Music Agent, UTA
Visconti has taken
Wage War from club act to arena opener for
Slipknot and
Godsmack to theater headliner. He also celebrated
Mammoth WVH’s first U.S. stadium show―with
Metallica. He’s presently transforming
Loveless from
TikTok sensation into club headliner; the band is on its first tour, having played
Lollapalooza and
Boston Calling. And he helped reunite
Sunny Day Real Estate, putting the alt fave on the most successful tour of its long career. After honeymooning in Paris, Visconti is learning French via
Duolingo. Our own French is limited to “ooh la la.”
Diana Beas
Associate Director, Licensing (Film/TV Music), RCA Records
Beas relishes the opportunity to represent her culture and was thus thrilled to work on the sync deal for
Becky G’s “The Fire Inside,” which plays over the end titles of the
Eva Longoria-directed
Flamin’ Hot, which was screened at the White House as part of the
Biden administration’s commitment to elevating Latine voices. Also in the works: further syncs for Ms. G as well as placements for
Doja Cat,
Miguel and South Korea’s
ATEEZ. In her spare time, Beas is learning Korean. She aspires to write an award-winning K-drama series.
We can barely speak English.
Thomas Fitzner
Lead, UMG Label Partnerships, Spotify
For Fitzner, nothing tops working with
Swedish House Mafia to bring its
Paradise Again to life at a 2022
Coachella after-party. He also secured the playlist
This Is the Weeknd for
Delta Airlines’ onboard entertainment and once listened to Kid Cudi’s
Man on the Moon III with
Kid Cudi. Fitzner’s lately been focused on launching Spotify features like
Countdown Pages and
Clips and leading partnerships for
UMG artists like
Olivia Rodrigo,
Post Malone and
NewJeans. When he retires, he wants to run a champagne vineyard―where we presumably will not be welcome.
Simone Dixon
A&R Manager, Sony Music Publishing
Dixon is thrilled to be working with creators like
Toosii (whose double-platinum “Favorite Song” hit #1 at Urban and Rhythm radio this year),
Dizzy Banko (
Lola Brooke f/
Billy B.’s 2021 gold “Don’t Play With It,” #1 Urban) and
2300 Beats (
Chlöe’s 2023 “Body Do,” seen in a
Beats Fit Pro commercial), all of whom she inked to SMP. She’s currently diving into new projects by, among others,
Nardo Wick, which has found her collaborating with the
RCA A&R team. Dixon, who’s worked in entertainment since she was three, was a child actress and dancer. As were we.
Juan Jose Quijano
Senior Director Artist Relations and Strategy, Warner Music Latina
Quijano fondly recalls landing
Tiago PZK a gig at
Spotify Camp Nou Stadium during the first Final Four of the
Kings League—a new football league featuring the top-streaming Spanish-language songs—in front of 95k fans and 2m online viewers. “Listening to the crowd was a ‘wow’ moment for me that consolidated my love of the job,” he says. He’s now going after the gaming sector, among other endeavors. On a personal note, Quijano has been driven to tears by
Mumford & Sons live and makes a point of bringing tissues to their performances. We make people cry, too.
Candace Mitchell
Founder/Owner, CLM Management
Mitchell remembers with glee being embraced by industry power players during a dinner for
Gunna’s #1 album
Drip Season 4—her client
AJ Stay Workin’ contributed to the production—which led to client credits on albums by
Young Thug (
Punk and
BUSINESS IS BUSINESS),
Kodak Black (
Kutthroat Bill: Vol. 1) and
Metro Boomin (
Heroes & Villains), among others. She’s now working on AJ’s recently launched
StayWorkin’ Tour. Mitchell previously helped produce major sporting events, including
Super Bowl LIII and the
Final Four.
Our involvement in sports is limited to cornhole.
