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 latest mag. Thankfully, they had an extra hour to lament this mortifying experience.
Andrew Sexton
Principal, Label Relations, Amazon Music
Among Sexton’s career highlights: chatting with
Jay-Z about streaming, partying ’til 3am with
Dave Chappelle while
Erykah Badu DJ’d, meeting
Paul McCartney―twice―hanging out at
Diddy’s Beverly Hills mansion, giving
Bone Thugs a lift to the airport and talking with
Dave Grohl about
Kurt Cobain. He recently booked Season 2 of
Amazon Music Live, which has seen performances by
Ed Sheeran,
Metro Boomin,
Peso Pluma and
Green Day. Sexton is known as Andy to his family and pre-2009 friends. He’s asked that we call him [checks notes]―oh, sorry, that we
not call him.
Mallory Smith
Brand Partnerships Agent, Wasserman Music
Reuniting
Drake with sponsor
Sprite for the
It’s All a Blur Tour was a career highlight for Smith (the man and the brand first joined forces 13 years ago for Drake’s “Spark” campaign and reconnected to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary). Other pacts shepherded by Smith include
SZA campaigns with
Marc Jacobs and
Tommy Hilfiger and a
SKIMS collab with
RAYE &
PinkPantheress. Smith has likewise secured branded performances for
Shaggy (
Smirnoff),
Wale (
AT&T) and
Too $hort (
Amazon Music). She was once a Division I soccer champ.
We’ve been told to kick rocks.
Nima Nasseri
VP, A&R Strategy, Universal Music Group
Manager, Hit-Boy
Nasseri has had a hand in conceiving and executing 700+
TikTok campaigns for the UMG catalog, catapulting tracks by
The Weeknd,
Demi Lovato and
Phantogram to new heights. He’s also guided producer Hit-Boy’s career through six
Nas albums in three years (which yielded a
Grammy) and
Jay-Z’s first diamond-certified track, “N-ggas in Paris” (with
Ye). Today he’s focused on building Hit-Boy’s
Surf Club Publishing and label ventures. “I used to be a nutritionist and personal trainer, but music gave me the body I currently have,” says Nasseri.
We were born this way.
Elizabeth Rivera Sosa
Director, Digital Accounts, Warner Music Latina
Sosa is proud to be advocating for Spanish-language artistry as doors continue to open for the Latin music community, including WML acts like
Luis Miguel,
Paulo Londra,
Myke Towers,
Elena Rose and
Natanael Cano. She just celebrated Mexican singer-songwriter
Junior H’s Top 20 album,
$ad Boyz 4 Life II, and is thrilled to be working on new music by Argentine singer
Maria Becerra, Colombian producer
Ovy on the Drums and Colombian singer-rapper
Blessd. Sosa is also a WSET Level 1-certified sommelier.
We’re Level 5-certified aficionados of absolutamente nada.
Justin Luffman
VP, Artist Development, Warner Music Nashville
From the ridiculous to the sublime, Luffman has been carried out of
Qwest Field upside down by
Kenny Chesney’s head of security and waved the green flag in the crow’s nest with
Cole Swindell at the Kansas City Motor Speedway. He’s now preparing for the
CMA Awards with Swindell, who’s up for Musical Event of the Year, and his
Twelve Tour. Luffman’s also excited about
Tyler Braden’s “Friends” and 2024 headlining trek. When he was a child actor, Luffman lived next door to
Guns N’ Roses’
Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin.
We’re the reason NIMBYism was invented.
Stephanie Gaber
Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, AWAL
Gaber has volunteered alongside
Metallica bassist
Robert Trujillo at the Los Angeles Food Bank for the annual All Within My Hands day of service and worked on
Microsoft and
BMW partnerships for
Little Simz’s interactive “Gorilla” video. She’s now collaborating with
Chanel,
Valentino and
Cartier on looks for
Laufey as the chanteuse promotes her
Bewitched album and a tech partnership for
JVKE, among other projects. Gaber studied classical and jazz piano on a collegiate level for 18 years. We’ve contemplated our navels on a postgraduate level for 37 years.
Joel Beaver
Associate Director, Marketing, Monument Records
For Beaver, nothing beats sharing in the triumph of
Walker Hayes’ quintuple-platinum “Fancy Like,” which was juiced by a viral
TikTok dance, multifaceted
Applebee’s campaign and lyrics on
Buc-ee’s signs. He’s following that up by advancing the fortunes of
Pillbox Patti’s 10/13 debut album,
Florida, and music by
Tigirlily Gold slated for 2024. The first album Beaver owned was
Sara Evans’
Restless in 2003
. He’s since interned at her management company and was first in line for tickets to her August
Ryman show. It’s safe to say no one is that dedicated to
us.
Emma Burns
Creative/Design Manager, 740 Project/Blac Noize! Recordings
Burns is from Breese, Illinois (pop: 5,000), so she says even the mundane parts of the biz give her that “I can’t believe I get to do this for a living” feeling. Nothing, however, has topped earning her first platinum plaque, for
Hitkidd &
GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” She’s lately been energized by projects like Hitkidd’s
Renegade and
Lil Joc x
OMG Peezy’s joint album,
Top Kill, plus new music by
Jdot Breezy. Burns is saving all her ridiculous music-biz stories for a stand-up routine she plans to develop upon retirement.
We’re already clowns.
