In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
Remi Williams
VP, Production, Def Jam
Williams has produced programs like
MTV’s
TRL and
Sucker Free Sunday and interviewed the likes of
Whitney Houston and
Stevie Wonder, but no achievement has been sweeter than assembling a showcase she says “opened all the doors” when she was a broke college student. She’s now telling stories through written and visual content to promote the work of such artists as
Fridayy,
Muni Long,
Jai’Len Josey,
Coco Jones,
070 Shake and
Masicka, as well as a
2 Chainz &
Lil Wayne collaboration. In her spare time, Williams flips homes. We’ve been told we’re a tear-down.
Tom Clees
SVP, Federal Public Policy, RIAA
Clees, who has convinced U.S. reps to join him at Karaoke Night at the RIAA, says it’s “surreal” to see government officials address an issue on TV—like the need for fair pay among music creators—that he’s made them aware of. Among other endeavors, he advocates for the Human Artistry Campaign, which supports the responsible use of AI, and hosts episodes of
Capitol Hill Mixtape, where Beltway types can discuss the music that’s inspired them. A “tattooed metalhead,” Clees once appeared on
MTV’s
NEXT.
We would definitely have been voted off the bus.
Betsy Whitney
VP Marketing, Columbia
Whitney’s gone from sneaking out to see
John Mayer to collaborating with him on the release of 2021’s
Sob Rock and from beginning work with
Hozier when he was signed in 2013 to seeing this year’s
Unreal Unearth open in the Top 5. Most recently, she’s been championing music by
girl in red,
Maren Morris’
The Bridge,
Dove Cameron’s
Coach campaign and upcoming debut album,
Alchemical, and the 10
th anniversary of
HAIM’s
Days Are Gone. Whitney was on
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? when she was 22. Stick with us, kid, and you’ll be a thousandaire in no time.
Alejandro Jimenez
GM/VP of A&R, 5020 Records
Signings by Jimenez to
Sony Latin’s U.S. imprint include Colombian singer
Ryan Castro, Argentine star
TINI and
Latin Grammy Best New Artists
Monsieur Periné and
Vicente Garcia. He helped reunite Colombia’s
Aterciopelados, worked with
Christina Aguilera on 2022’s
Aguilera and produced videos for Latin rap legend
Residente. He’s currently focused on projects by Residente,
NATHY PELUSO,
Kenia OS,
Kany García and
Beéle. A former attorney and president of
Sony Colombia, Jimenez was also the frontman for rock band
Pirańas.
We got dressed by ourselves today.
Julie Sturdivant
Music Brand Partnerships Executive, CAA
Sturdivant will always relish filming content with
Dolly Parton (which involved helping the icon navigate a computer keyboard with those long nails) and launching
Facebook’s “Live” feature with
Luke Bryan (nerve-racking but exciting). This year she’s handled campaigns for
Kelsea Ballerini with
Sonic,
Priscilla Block with
Shein and
Brett Eldredge with
Lowe’s. She’s also programming an artist series with
Barstool Sports Nashville. Sturdivant was her high school’s mascot and “loved every second of it.” Go Bearcats!
We’re the mascot for trade hacks everywhere.
Ricky Abramson
VP, Property Partnerships, Vibee
During his tenure at the
William Morris Agency, Abramson spearheaded non-traditional booking―for one, he secured
Christina Aguilera a gig performing on and participating in the Turkish version of
Deal or No Deal. He’s currently bridging the gap between travel and entertainment, developing hotel partnerships to foster experiences like
Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Sand” at
Atlantis Bahamas and
Tiësto’s “Chasing Sunsets” at Cabo San Lucas’
Me Cabo resort. On the weekends, Abramson spends hours smoking meat. We’ve been known to spend the weekends smoking, too.
Stephanie Davenport
VP, A&R, Warner Music Nashville
Davenport has watched
Ian Munsick break the
National Finals Rodeo after-party attendance record, headline arena shows, play a sold-out
Ryman Auditorium and earn gold records for “Long Live Cowgirls” with
Cody Johnson and “Long Haul.” Today she’s working on
Grammy-nominated songwriter
Drew Parker’s debut album,
Randall King’s sophomore set and projects by
Madeline Edwards and
Austin Snell. Davenport broke into the biz via singing telegrams. “If you were ever interrupted by a teen doing
Bette Midler songs while dressed as a bumblebee,” she says, “I’m sorry.”
Brandon De Oliveira
Head of Programming, The Nations
Oliveira feels privileged to have witnessed the growth of
Trap Nation artists over the years and experienced their live shows, including
San Holo’s performance of tracks like “We Rise” and “The Next Episode (Remix)” at the 2018
Electric Zoo festival in front of 40,000 fans. He’s lately been tweaking the curation of The Nations channels and building the new imprint
broke. When Oliveira was a teen, he was scouted to play soccer by the
New York Red Bulls but “decided to continue down the path of internet-music nerd instead.” Nerd was the only path open to
us.
