Matt Kozlov, Sony Music’s VP of new products and services for the label’s global digital business group, is leaving the company after three years. Kozlov broke the news in an e-mail last night.
He is leaving to lead a new startup company called Creative Mobile Labs, based in Los Angeles. The startup is backed by mobile technology bellwether Qualcomm and Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood’s largest talent agencies. The new venture is designed to pair writers and creative types from the entertainment industry with the top mobile developers in hopes of raising the bar on mobile games and other apps.
The new company would seem a good fit for Kozlov, as that’s what he’s been doing at Sony. He was behind many of the label’s new media initiatives, including label-developed mobile apps (such as Pinball Rocks), social media campaigns, and iPad development. No word yet on who will be replacing him.
Below is the full text of the email:
“I wanted to inform you all of an exciting personal update. I just recently decided to leave Sony Music to pursue an exciting opportunity running a new mobile entertainment startup backed by CAA and Qualcomm (TC just covered the newco’s announcement here: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/07/qualcomm-caa-creative-mobile-labs/) .
The past almost 3 years have been a beautiful whirlwind, and I’ve really loved working at Sony Music. It’s an incredible time to be working in music and technology, but the time and opportunity feel right to move on. I’ve had the great fortune to work alongside some brilliant people in my corporate gigs (Bain, Yahoo, Sony), and I’ve worked on some truly exhilarating initiatives. I’m excited now to take that energy and focus it on building a business from the ground up in a rapidly growing space I find fascinating (mobile entertainment and games).
The new company, Creative Mobile Labs (CML), is backed by CAA and Qualcomm, and I’m thrilled to run a company with the support of these two teams. Qualcomm has been a leader in mobile technology for as long as there have been mobile phones. They’re extremely passionate about innovating new consumer mobile technology (such as Augmented Reality), and I’m looking forward to working alongside them to try and find fun, exciting applications for their platforms. Likewise, CAA is the premier talent agency, representing practically everyone you’ve ever heard of, and they’ve had great success leveraging this talent to drive the success of other digital startups they incubate (i.e., Funny or Die).
At Creative Mobile Labs, we’re going to be combining these ingredients to create what we hope will be extremely fun, cool (and wildly successful) mobile franchises. I can’t wait.”