Executive Turntable: Cinq Music Hires U.S. Urban A&R Head, Big Deal Promotes Two to Senior Director
A rundown of moves and shakers across the music business, including at Cinq Music, Big Deal, peermusic and more.
Cinq Music Group has hired Fotemah “Tmah” Mba as head of A&R for U.S. Urban/R&B, it was announced Wednesday (March 25) by Cinq Music president and co-founder Barry Daffurn.
Mba met Daffurn while working with Cinq and Rhythm Nation on the release of last year’s Janet Jackson song and music video “Made For Now.” He previously worked at Akon’s Atlanta-based label Konvict Muzik, which he helped build alongside the Senegalese-American singer.
In a statement, Mba said he wants “to diversify Cinq beyond hip-hop, rap and Latin. I’m looking to grow Cinq’s business in branding, and catalog acquisitions, with a continued focus on international expansion.”
At Konvict, Mba discovered and/or developed artists including T-Pain, Kardinal Offishall, Kat DeLuna, Red Cafe, Dolla, Verse Simmonds, Algee Smith, Chosen Jacobs, Jarvis, Sean Garrett and Johnta Austin. He currently runs the nonprofit JUMP Africa and serves on the board of Books for Africa.
Independent publisher Big Deal Music Group has promoted Ashley Alexander and Amber Packer to senior director, it was announced Thursday (March 26). Both are based in the company’s Los Angeles headquarters.
Alexander joined Big Deal in 2014 and works day-to-day with the company’s growing roster of songwriters, including Joe London, Steph Jones, Danny Parker and Shungudzo. She is also managing producer of the songwriting podcast “And The Writer Is…”.
Packer has been with the company since 2016 after joining from JGM Artist Management, where she managed Big Deal writers Dan Wilson and Jenny Owen Youngs. At Big Deal, she works with songwriters including Wilson, Youngs, Tobias Wincorn and Danny Silberstein. She also serves as the point person for the company’s joint ventures with Nice Life and Mad Decent.
Independent music publisher peermusic has promoted Timothy A. Cohan, Esq. to chief counsel, company chair and CEO Ralph Peer II and deputy CEO Mary Megan Peer announced Wednesday (March 25).
Cohan, who previously served as the company’s senior vp of legal and business affairs, has led that department since 2011. In his expanded role, he will continue overseeing the company’s business and legal affairs operation while contributing to government relations and public policy matters for peermusic’s companies, which span 35 offices in 30 countries. He will also continue chairing the company’s International Licensing Group, negotiating all direct agreements with existing and prospective digital partners. He has been with peermusic since 1997.
“We place tremendous priority on protecting the rights of music creators and the value of their copyrights, and in finding ways to expand the global marketplace to create new opportunities for them—Tim’s promotion is a testament of that,” said Ralph Peer in a statement. “His principled executive leadership and global perspective make him the right person to step into this important role as we continue our worldwide expansion.”
Cohan is based out of peermusic’s Burbank offices. In his new role, he will continue working with president and COO Kathy Spanberger on transaction matters in the U.S.
Mictic AG — maker of the forthcoming Mictic wearable device that will allow users to create music based on their body movements — has named Mershad Javan as CEO. The hiring was announced Thursday (March 26) by Mictic co-founder Rolf Hellat, who is stepping down from the CEO role to focus on fine-tuning the device and the user experience.
Javan is a musician as well as the founder and former CEO of the digital music distribution platform Octiive (formerly MondoTunes). As CEO, he will help lead the launch of the Mictic product, which is slated for Q4 2020.
“Javan is just the kind of talent we need right now to lead operations as we move into this crucial product launch phase,” said Hellat in a statement. “His achievements and connections in the U.S. tech sphere are a huge asset, but it’s the way the needs of a musician and the possibilities of technology converge so succinctly in his mind that I most value.”
Javan remains a member of the executive board of Octiive, which was partially bought by U.K. media company Anakando in 2016. He is also a consultant and advisor to several Silicon Valley startups.
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