WEA GRABS E-TICKET
Less than a month after selling its manufacturing arm to Canadian company Cinram (see hitsdailydouble.com, 7/18), WEA Corp. President John Esposito, "in response to the evolving recorded music market and the growing importance of digital distribution," has announced the formation of an in-house E-Commerce department.
Adam Mirabella has been named to head the group as VP of E-Commerce. He’ll oversee WEA Corp.’s digital, new media and wireless commercial relationships, and sell bootleg Linkin Park ringtones out of the back room. The N.Y.-based exec will report to Esposito, who said the move is in reaction the proliferation of online music stores: "We felt the importance of creating a department focused solely on e-commerce at the distribution company level. We are fortunate to have a professional like Adam, whose unique skills have enabled him to achieve success outside of the traditional means of retail, lead this department. And if he ever unplugs from his iPod, I’ll tell him."
The E-Commerce department will serve as the point of contact for online and traditional retailers for all commercial e-commerce transactions on behalf of WMG labels. The department will also develop and deliver sales and marketing programs that help promote the company’s artists to online retailers and other partners.
Mirabella joined WEA Corp as VP Lifestyle Sales earlier this year. Most recently, he took on the role as national account manager for Apple, working with the iTunes Music Store. He began his career at WMG in 1995 as National Director of Sales for Atlantic Records and served in a variety of management positions at the label, including VP Sales/Online Retail Development. While at the label, he developed marketing and promotional programs for such online retail partners as Amazon.com, WalMart.com and Towerrecords.com, among others. Prior to his years at Atlantic, Mirabella held various national sales positions at the Coca-Cola Company, where he popularized the marketing tag-line, "Coke goes better with things."
