Ethiopia Habtemariam has been promoted to president of urban music/co-head of creative at Universal Music Publishing Group U.S. Formerly executive VP of the division, she will continue to co-head UMPG’s overall creative operations in the U.S. with Monti Olson, executive VP/head of pop & rock music. Based out of UMPG’s Santa Monica, Calif. worldwide headquarters, Habtemariam will report to UMPG president, North America Evan Lamberg.
This appointment marks Habtemariam’s second promotion in a month’s time. She was elevated to president of Motown in April. Habtemariam first assumed her dual roles in 2011, when she was simultaneously promoted to executive VP/head of urban music at UMPG and named senior VP of the revamped Motown.
In a statement announcing the UMPG promotion, Lamberg says, “Ethiopia not only knows where the current hits are, but more importantly where the future hits will come from -- and always seems to get there before our competitors.”
Adds UMPG chairman/CEO Zach Horowitz, “Ethiopia has been the key player in making UMPG’s urban division such an industry powerhouse. Her new role as president of Motown provides an extraordinary platform to bring added value to our songwriters.”
During her UMPG tenure, which includes a stint as the company’s director of urban music/East Coast, Habtemariam has assembled a songwriter roster that includes Miguel, J. Cole, Chris Brown, Hit-Boy, Ari Levine and Phil Lawrence of the Smeezingtons, Ester Dean and Justin Bieber. The UMPG urban division also includes Eminem, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Alex Da Kid, Nicki Minaj and DJ Khalil. Last year, UMPG won publisher of the year at BMI’s R&B/Hip-Hop Awards along with songwriter (Minaj), producer (Hit-Boy) and song of the year (Minaj’s “Starships”) honors.