Executive Turntable: Spotify, CD Baby Vets Bound for beatBread — Plus, BMI Hires Top People Person

John Powenski has joined BMI as senior vice president and chief human resources officer, effective immediately. Based in Nashville and reporting to newly appointed president and COO Todd Horvath, Powenski will oversee all HR functions, including business partners, talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards and people operations. He joins BMI from Asurion, where he led HR strategy and global operations for more than a decade. Powenski previously spent 10 years at Capital One during its rapid expansion and began his career in manufacturing HR at Frito‑Lay PepsiCo. “What drew me to BMI is its rare blend of deep heritage, enduring leadership and distinct sense of purpose in serving its affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers,” said Powenski. “There’s something powerful about an organization that has shaped so much creative history and yet continues to grow and evolve towards the future.”

Electric Feel Entertainment has elevated Jamie Lierk to COO, where she will oversee day‑to‑day operations and build the infrastructure supporting the company’s expansion. Lierk joined Electric Feel in 2019 as executive assistant to CEO Austin Rosen and was promoted to chief of staff in 2021, helping to strengthen communication and establish reporting systems as the company scaled. In her new role, she’ll oversee operations across Los Angeles, where she’s based, and Nashville and help lead development for Electric Feel’s in-the-works Miami office. Lierk will work closely with Rosen and the executive team on organizational strategy, talent development and financial performance. Her previous experience includes roles at Brew Media Relations, Maverick Management and True Religion Brand Jeans. “This transition is a natural progression of the operational leadership [Lierk] has demonstrated over the past several years and positions Electric Feel strongly for its next phase of growth””” shared Austin Rosen, founder and CEO of EFE.

Sony Music Publishing has promoted Michael Riggs to senior vice president, licensing and income tracking, effective immediately. Based in Nashville, Riggs will continue reporting to evp of worldwide administration Dale Esworthy while overseeing licensing, sync administration, global income tracking and client audit teams. In his expanded role, he will lead improvements to tracking operations and strengthen matching capabilities for U.S. and global digital deals. Riggs joined Sony Music Publishing nearly 30 years ago as an income tracking analyst and has been central to advancing the company’s digital royalty systems, collections and licensing processes.  “Michael’s unwavering persistence in the digital space has strengthened our ability to collect more, collect faster, and ensure timely payments to our songwriters,” remarked Esworthy. “His relentless pursuit of unpaid royalties and leadership in licensing emerging revenue streams have been invaluable to our mission.”

Former senior BMG executives Stéphane Hubert and Pierre Suignard are joining Pipeline to lead its investment underwriting division, as Pipeline Advance Co. acquires the core assets and intellectual property of their company, Clarty Partners. The transaction brings Clarty’s proprietary valuation technology, royalty ingestion systems and analytical infrastructure into Pipeline — excluding any past client data — significantly enhancing its underwriting capabilities. Founded in 2023 by the ex-BMGers, Clarty built systems to ingest and normalize royalty data, forecast publishing and recorded revenues, and support catalog transactions and due diligence. Now fully integrated, Clarty’s framework looks to transform Pipeline into a data‑driven, end‑to‑end music asset financing platform. Hubert will also join Pipeline’s Investment Committee, as the company continues to scale under Jamen Capital’s leadership.

Michael Lombardi has been promoted to chief creative officer and Erick Charles to vice president of marketing at Better Noise Music, with Sarah Sigro also joining the Nashville-based marketing team. The promotions underscore the company’s focus on artist development across music and film. Lombardi, an actor by trade (yep, that’s Mike Silletti from Rescue Me), joined Better Noise’s film division in 2020 and later became head of production; he said his new role will further the label’s mission as a “storytelling company” that works deeply with artists. Charles, a 20-year industry veteran with experience at Fueled By Ramen and Roadrunner, now leads marketing for acts including Five Finger Death Punch, Sabaton and Yellowcard.

NAMM has appointed Erin Block as director of data and analytics, bringing more than 20 years of global data strategy experience to a role in which she will oversee all of the organization’s worldwide data and analytics functions, a key area for its future growth. Block has already contributed to major NAMM initiatives, including the NAMM Global Report, Cost of Doing Business Report and post‑NAMM Show analysis. She also led membership recruitment and retention efforts and supported programs such as Women of NAMM and NAMM Young Professionals through data‑driven outreach. NAMM CEO John Mlynczak praised Block’s brand of leadership as “the perfect fit to oversee a critical part of our business moving forward in global data and analytics.”

Founded by Daniel Mastropietro and Josh Misko, Seatfun — an invite‑only live event service built for venues, promoters and festivals — has officially launched alongside its new mobile‑first ticketing app designed to boost revenue and modernize event operations. The platform envisions ticketing as a full-service model, offering event creation, streamlined checkout, Apple Tap to Pay, instant ticket scanning, loyalty tools, SMS marketing, pixel tracking and fraud prevention — all while letting organizers retain ownership of their customer data.

The Syndicate hired Stevie Heckert as senior manager of digital marketing and Jaymie Lunt as junior designer. Heckert comes from The Sandbox, where she managed digital strategy and developed marketing campaigns for releases including Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well and Kelsea Ballerini’s Rolling up the Welcome Mat, among other projects. Lunt was previously at Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, where she led marketing efforts for both venues. Heckert is based in the metro Detroit area and can be reached at stevie@thesyn.com. Lunt will be working out of The Syndicate’s main office in Weehawken, N.J., and can be reached at jaymie@thesyn.com. –Chris Eggertsen

Ariana Sacco has joined Metro Public Relations as account supervisor of music, reflecting the firm’s continued expansion in its music division. Based in Los Angeles and reporting to head of music Taylor Webster, Sacco brings five years of experience managing communications for clients such as Serato, HeadCount, SoundCloud, Spotify and Sony Electronics through her previous role at Hustle&Co. At Metro, she’ll lead PR strategy for artists across Afrobeats, hip-hop, R&B, pop and more.

Ground Control Touring has added Nashville-based agent Tommy Alexander, strengthening the independent agency’s presence in the region. Alexander entered the industry in 2018 after working as a touring artist, talent buyer, and founder of his own agency, and most recently served on the booking team at Wasserman. He brings an indie‑folk and Americana‑focused roster including Hudson Freeman, Willi Carlisle, Robert Lester Folsom, Anna Tivel, Willa Mae, Lily Seabird, Humbird, Jeffrey Martin, Kassi Valazza, Jordan Smart and Theo Lawrence.

The Clifford Antone Foundation, an Austin nonprofit dedicated to preserving music culture by supporting elder musicians and investing in youth, has appointed Rikki Hardy as its new executive director. A veteran of Austin’s music and nonprofit communities, Hardy previously served as chief development officer at The Trail Conservancy, where she led a record‑breaking $700,000 Twilight on the Trail Gala. She also spent more than a decade at HAAM, modernizing development operations and expanding donor engagement. The Foundation — dedicated to preserving Austin’s music culture by supporting both elder musicians and emerging talent — says Hardy’s leadership will help usher in a new era of community collaboration.

PRS for Music announced that its CEO, Andrea Czapary Martin, will step down at the end of 2026 … AI-powered music platform Moises has tapped Charlie Puth (pictured) as its chief music officer … Damon Whiteside is resigning as CEO of the Academy of Country Music after leading the organization for more than six years. [full details]