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. Lucky for them, this feature—and $28.95—will get them a "special"
Erewhon smoothie, whatever that means.
Sophia Villanueva Head of Label Services, Double P Records and Prajin Parlay
Villanueva once helped direct a pivotal campaign for
Darell, whose comeback single hit the Global Top 50, with 11m+
TikTok creations and 14b views. As head of label services, she oversees all aspects of operations, including marketing, A&R, logistics and artist relations. She was instrumental in the launch of
Peso Pluma’s
ÉXODO, which topped
Spotify’s Top Global and U.S. Albums charts, plus
Apple Music’s Top Album charts in nine countries. Before music, Villanueva trained as a professional equestrian rider, specializing in jumping horses. Too bad she can’t leap from this feature.
Jeremy Rice
Artist and Label Strategy Manager, Stem
Rice once missed his ferry to St. Tropez while product-managing a
Grammy-nominated album with last-minute changes at 4am, an experience he says was “worth it.” He’s also proud to have worked with the likes of
Sinéad Harnett,
Jeezy and
Emotional Oranges, among others, and collaborated with platforms like
COLORS and
TIDAL that support independent artists. Currently, he’s excited for the world to hear upcoming albums from
Duckwrth and
Sunni Colón. Despite his music industry cred, Rice is not to be trusted with the aux—blame his love for
Marvin Gaye. Our playlists are all on cassette.
Andres Shaq
Director, A&R, Warner Music Latina
Shaq’s career soared when he immersed himself in Colombia’s music scene, catalyzing
Blessd’s rise, seeing
ICON craft hits for
Feid,
SOG produce for
Ryan Castro and
Peso Pluma,
Maff contribute to
Karol G’s latest album and
Pirlo become a rising trap artist. Blending artists’ passions with their music careers, he integrated Blessd’s love for soccer with music, resulting in the
Si Sabe Fest events and a collaboration with
Ronaldinho, plus Blessd being invited by
Spotify to become an ambassador for
Barcelona FC. Shaq’s got eclectic taste in music. We’ve been told to keep ours on mute.
Sak Pase
VP A&R, EMPIRE
Pase’s first trip to Paris involved working with
Ye on the
Yeezus album, a trip that overlapped with his wedding week. Today, he’s focused on all things EMPIRE. He’s currently building on the success of
Shaboozey, working on new albums from artists like
Tiwa Savage and
Fireboy DML, and is excited for
ASAKE’s latest project and new music from
Maro. He’s also setting up
MANNA, an incubator to nurture creatives. His passion for tea might one day lead him to own a tea farm—brewing up more than hits. We smoked all of
our tea.
Hannah Thompson Waitt
VP, US Commercial Strategy, Virgin Music Group
From recording sessions at
Electric Lady with
Clairo to backstage moments with
Kate Hudson and late nights with
Meek Mill and
Tove Lo, Waitt’s career is nothing short of thrilling. She’s now focused on Clairo’s third album,
Charm, which debuted at #8 and yielded “Juna,” which hit #1 on the
TikTok chart, and is gearing up for new projects from
SOFI TUKKER (8/23) and
LL COOL J (9/6). Despite all the celebrity run-ins, it was
Shaq stepping on her toe at
Ultra Music Festival that really left an impression. We’ve been treading on other folks’ feet forever, and it’s gotten us nowhere.
Melissa McGreevy
Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing, Warner Music Nashville
McGreevy cherishes having worked on
Randy Travis’ “Where That Came From,” capturing a pivotal return to music. Having been part of
Avery Anna’s team since she inked with WMN, McGreevy was excited to spearhead digital marketing for her debut,
Breakup Over Breakfast. She’s also leading strategy for artists like
Dan + Shay,
Zac Brown Band,
Ashley McBryde,
Ian Munsick and more. McGreevy once serenaded an international crowd at the
Montreux Jazz Festival with her tenor saxophone. Our scatting is legendary, but in all the wrong ways.
Josh Mateer
Head of A&R, U.K./Europe, SoundOn (TikTok)
Among other career highs, Mateer’s shook hands with
Paul McCartney on stage, contributed to the rise of
Mother Mother—who sold-out X3
Kentish Town Forums in London a year into their signing—and worked with late industry icon
Seymour Stein. He’s now promoting
LeoStayTrill’s “Pink Lemonade,” which boasts 50m+ global streams and 3m+ TikTok uses, and
Niklas Dee’s “Around the World,” currently climbing the German
Spotify charts. Mateer’s first guestlist spot came at age 12 from an assertive letter to the
Dropkick Murphys’ manager. Most would like to dropkick us
out of their venues.
Ruby Anton
Day-to-Day Manager, State of the Art
Watching
Chappell Roan perform gold certified “HOT TO GO!” at
Lollapalooza to a record-breaking 80k audience was full-circle moment for Anton, who attended college and lived in Chicago for five years. She’s now prepping for Roan’s debut at the upcoming
VMAs and managing new SOTA signings
Debbii Dawson and
garbagebarbie. Additionally, Anton is active on the board for
Women in Visuals, enhancing networks for creative industry professionals. Anton claims her toxic trait is owning a white couch despite her love for red wine.
J.D. Vance had no comment.
