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Songkick promotes Sarah Jones to GM

Concert discovery service Songkick has elevated Sarah Jones to general manager.

Based out of Songkick’s London HQ, Jones will succeed MD Bill Ashton, who will be leaving the business at the end of March.

Jones will oversee the launch of Songkick Campaigns, a “first of its kind” marketing service that allows for direct and bespoke fan messaging and also enables tour marketers to control how to activate marketing campaigns and promote tours directly to fans.

Recorded music giant Warner Music Group (WMG), one of the ‘big three’ record labels, acquired “selected assets” from Songkick in 2017, including its concert-discovery app, website and the Songkick trademark.

“I’m elated to have the opportunity to take up this role at Songkick,” says Jones. “After a long hiatus, live music is finally back in a big way and we’re already seeing a 50% increase in fans indicating their intent to attend concerts, in comparison to pre-Covid times. Our teams are more ready than ever before to support fans and artists, wherever they are in the world, as they venture back to the live music experience once again.”

Jones joined Songkick in 2018 as commercial director, before being promoted to VP, commercial in 2021. Previously, she spent 14 years with the BBC, where she headed up its global partnership strategy across its video and podcast portfolio.

“When live music ground to a halt, Sarah and Bill were central to the business pivoting and finding new ways to engage our audiences and artists”

“Sarah’s track record is incredible and I can’t think of a better person to take the reins of Songkick,” adds Benjamin Blank, president of WMG’s media business. “I’m sad to see Bill leave, and I want to thank him for all he’s done and for leaving the business on such a high.

“When live music ground to a halt, Sarah and Bill were central to the business pivoting and finding new ways to engage our audiences and artists. I’m excited to see Sarah and the team accelerate the Songkick mission of enabling artists to strengthen and deepen their relationship with a growing global audience of passionate engaged fans”

More than 19 million music fans worldwide use Songkick to track their favourite artists, discover concerts and buy tickets. Its Songkick Tourbox feature, meanwhile, provides tools for artist teams to manage and promote tour dates globally.

Elsewhere, Simon McCabe, who joined Songkick in 2021, has been promoted to VP, technology, WMX Media, WMG’s next generation services division.

 


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Songkick appoints new managing directors

Aaron Randall and Bill Ashton have been appointed joint managing directors of concert discovery platform Songkick.

Randall was formerly Songkick’s chief technology officer, while Ashton moves into the role from parent company Warner Music Group, where he was senior vice-president of artist services. Outgoing CEO Mark McIntyre will remain with Songkick in an advisory capacity while also working on other Warner projects.

London-based Songkick has seen strong growth since coming under Warner Music ownership, with 2019 seeing record uplift in audience, traffic and revenue figures, according to the record label group. The platform is now used by 15 million fans worldwide to discover concerts and track their favourite artists.

Warner acquired Songkick’s live music discovery business in mid-2017, while the Songkick ticketing platform was wound up after being absorbed into Live Nation following the settling of their long-running lawsuit.

“Together, they’re the perfect choice to take the lead”

In a joint statement, Randall and Ashton – who will report to Emmy Lovell, EVP of WEA Europe – say: “This is a hugely exciting time for Songkick. We’ve got ambitious expansion plans and we’re delighted to lead the team as we set about implementing them.

“Building connections between fans and artists is what really excites us and that ethos is at the heart of Songkick’s business. We want to keep developing our technology and products so we can super-serve and further grow our community of passionate, engaged users.”

“Bill was instrumental in helping bring Songkick into Warner Music and aligning its strategy with ours, while Aaron has developed its unbeatable tech that makes it such a user friendly experience,” adds Lovell.

“Together, they’re the perfect choice to take the lead as we seek to further accelerate Songkick’s growth.”

 


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