New Post: Executive Turntable: UTA and UMG Veteran Erika Savage Joins King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano - https://lnkd.in/g54qGz6A -
Welcome to another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re here, check out Billboard’s fresh list of top R&B and Hip-Hop executives leading the genres forward, plus our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Erika Savage has joined the entertainment department of top music law firm King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, Billboard can announce. A multi–year honoree in our annual list of influential women in music, Savage was most recently senior vp of global music operations at United Talent Agency, where she oversaw all operational elements of UTA’s global touring division. The bulk of Savage’s roughly 25-year career, however, was spent at Universal Music Group, where she rose to senior vp of strategic development at Interscope Records, developing integrated artist brand strategies across music, brand partnerships, merchandise and touring. “We are delighted to supplement our deep bench of entertainment attorneys with someone at the top of her game,” said managing partner Howard King. Here, Savage expands on her big move from agency life to KHPS:
Why join private practice at this point in your career? The idea of artist advocacy. Being an artist lawyer in the music industry is the greatest privilege because you are entrusted to protect your client’s rights and to bring value as a strategic advisor. After many incredible experiences gained working within a major label, building brands, and in global touring, I finally feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do – directly advocating for artists. I’m particularly inspired by the fact that more women artists, producers and songwriters are looking for women to be part of their team as lawyers, managers, agents and business managers. It’s exciting that our shared experiences as women in music will allow us to find ways to be entrepreneurial together.
What issue concerns you the most in music? When I started in business affairs at UMG, the major label deal was largely considered the path to superstar artist status. Now, while it’s great that there are fewer gate keepers and far more access points for artists to distribute their music, the legal landscape is far more complicated for developing artists. Navigating all these distributors and platforms can be really overwhelming for an artist just trying to break through. Being a TikTok artist is an incredible catalyst but career longevity requires a strategy beyond achieving 24 hours on the top of a For You page. We represent some in
Stay At Home Music Producer, Singer/SongWriter, I've Also Got High-Functioning Autism, Looking For People In The Music Industry To Recommend My Original Music Recordings To Their Respective Publishers And/Or Companies.
1moExcept your talent scouts aren't interested in a developing artist unless they've got millions of views on social media and seem to place less importance on the music content itself. I wonder if the music industry would be interested in though at this point I'm not optimistic but in also signing artists who record, write the lyrics and melody, do all the production work etc and play the instruments themselves, because that would significantly save them money, no? And also would be a positive change for the industry, just my opinion though. Also do they want to nurture talent that maybe find it difficult to get seen even though they maybe do the entire production and creative process themselves without any help from others, unlike what the industry signs at the moment or are they just interested in people that are somehow already doing well on their own. The industry needs to realise it's not 2005 anymore, social media isn't this amazing thing that's full of opportunities it's completely saturated with content right across the board, the industry needs to realise now that unique unsigned talent with a lot to give and passion absolutely ironically need industry intervention now more than ever. #livingwithautism