The UTA/Paradigm situation is not a merger; it’s a takeover.
Sources tell us that UTA is buying out the Gores brothers, who own Paradigm. A win like this will put CEO Jeremy Zimmer (pictured here) in a very powerful position; it’ll certainly make the revamped agency one of the Top 3 majors.
We hear the deal is 99% done and in the final stages. Wonderers are wondering: How does this affect the companies’ Global Heads of Music? UTA’s David Zedeck, who was brought in by Zimmer in 2017, has the red-hot Jonas Brothers tour on his hands. And Marty Diamond, who’s been with Paradigm for 13 years now—but was elevated to his current position just this April—has a big priority in Ed Sheeran.
Diamond already runs a division that includes acts and execs from acquired agencies Windish (Billie Eilish), AM Only, Coda, Steve Strange's X-ray (Eminem, Coldplay) and Monterey Peninsula.
UTA, for their part, bought Neil Warnock’s The Agency Group in 2015 to bolster their music division. Prior to his UTA move, Zedeck had served as Live Nation’s EVP and President of Global Talent and Artist Development since 2012. And before that, he worked at CAA, repping the likes of Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber, One Direction and, yes, Jonas Brothers.
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