ATLANTIC UPS TWO IN A&R

Atlantic Records has promoted two members of its A&R staff, both of whom are based in Los Angeles.

Mike Caren has been appointed Senior VP of A&R, and John Rubeli has been upped to VP of A&R. The announcement was made by new Atlantic Co-Presidents Craig Kallman and Ron Shapiro, to whom the pair will report.

Caren, who has been with Atlantic since 1996, was named VP of A&R in 2000. Rubeli, who joined the label in 1995, had been Senior Director of A&R.

“Mike and John are hands-down two of the best young execs in our business, with great ears, terrific instincts, wide-ranging knowledge, and unbridled enthusiasm,” said Kallman. “Above all, they are die-hard music junkies, out on the proverbial street, constantly listening and looking for new music with the obsession of true fans. Most importantly, they are not only gifted with the ability to identify real talent, but they know how to pull all the elements together to translate that talent into hit records. Since they both joined Atlantic in the mid-’90s, Mike and John have been involved with a diversity of successful, cutting-edge artists—from Mike's signing of Trick Daddy to John's inking of P.O.D. I have so much more to say, but then Ron would’t get any ink.”

“Thanks Craig. I’ll take it from here,” Shapiro said. “The key is to find music that touches a nerve in the listening public, to develop a roster of talent that impacts our world and our culture. Mike and John are exceptional A&R people who have discovered artists with that unique, indefinable quality which connects with the music consumer. Most importantly, they’ve not only signed platinum artists, but career artists who are forming our musical foundation for the future. We are eagerly looking forward to the great new music which we are sure Mike and John will be bringing us in the months and years ahead.”

Caren spent his first two years with Atlantic doing marketing for the Big Beat label. Since moving to Atlantic’s A&R Department four years ago, he has been responsible for recruiting a string of top-charting artists, including Trick Daddy, Trina, Sunshine Anderson, Drama and Twista. He also worked on successful soundtracks to Dr. Dolittle, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Any Given Sunday. Caren is the Executive Producer of the forthcoming debut album from Nappy Roots.

Rubeli joined Atlantic's A&R Department seven years ago this month. Among his signings are multi-platinum rockers P.O.D., Project 86, The Buzzhorn and The Peak Show. He has overseen a number of artists' projects, including albums by Bad Religion, Poe, and Anika Moa. Prior to joining Atlantic, Rubeli was co-manager of The Verve, The Geraldine Fibbers and The Boo Radleys. From 1992 to 1995, he was one of the organizers of the Lollapalooza Festival, where he conceived of and booked the Second Stage.

Both Caren and Rubeli say they will be working diligently to keep Shapiro and Kallman in freshly laundered shirts and frothy two-percent half-caff no-foam blended mochacinos whenever the Co-Presidents are in L.A.