Tempo Music CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares Leaves $1B Acquisition Fund to Start New Venture
Sherrese Clarke Soares, who has been leading acquisition fund Tempo Music’s excursion into buying music assets, has left the firm with the intention of starting her own venture.  …
Sherrese Clarke Soares, who has been leading acquisition fund Tempo Music’s excursion into buying music assets, has left the firm with the intention of starting her own venture, according to an e-mail she has sent out to friends and colleagues Friday (Jan. 29).
Tempo Music, fielded by Providence Equity Partners and fueled by about $1 billion in funding, began acquiring music assets last year, including buying select copyrights of songwriters like Jeff Bhasker, Shane McAnally and Ben Rector. The company also partnered with Warner Music Group to provide infrastructure support helping to manage acquired assets, with WMG also having the option of taking an equity position in Tempo.
Clarke, who is among those profiled in Billboard’s Change Agents list out this week, was previously with Morgan Stanley as managing directing and head of entertainment, media & sports structured solutions. In a parting e-mail, she noted that after “several years of hard work” birthing Tempo, she was leaving the company and thanked the Tempo team, noting that the company is well positioned for future successes due to their efforts.
“2020 taught me a lot about faith, resilience, perseverance, and intention,” Clarke wrote in the e-mail. “In a year with so much uncertainty and disruption to our daily lives, 2020 provided me with extreme clarity to focus on what is important. As such, I am off to pursue the next chapter, building an investment platform that will be the culmination of my values and my learnings over the last 20+ years.”
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Sources say that with Clarke’s departure someone from the Tempo’s board, likely from Providence Equity, is handling the company’s reins.