FRANKLY SPEAKING: JAY DIGS IN AS UMG’S SVP OF GLOBAL STREAMING STRATEGY

UMG announced this morning that music/media exec Jay Frank—who founded the music and marketing analytics companies DigSin and DigMark after holding key posts at CMT and Yahoo—has been named to the newly created role of Senior Vice President of Global Streaming Marketing. Additionally, UMG has agreed to become partners in DigSin and DigMark. Frank and his staff will remain based in the Nashville headquarters of DigSin and DigMark.

Frank will report jointly to EVP Recorded Music Michele Anthony and President of Global Marketing Andrew Kronfeld.

In his new role at UMG, Frank will be responsible for using data and analytics to maximize the performance of Universal Music’s artists across all streaming platforms, evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s global streaming marketing efforts and identify opportunities for artists on streaming platforms. He’ll also oversee the curation and management of Universal’s global playlists, coordinate a cohesive worldwide playlist strategy across the company’s labels and work with third-party playlist owners to promote artists.

“As the popularity of streaming services continues to grow, it’s important that our artists and labels are well-positioned in their home territory as well as globally to maximize on the opportunities provided by these new platforms,” said Anthony. “Jay and his team bring a proven track record of helping labels successfully support artists on emerging streaming services around the world.”

“With streaming, we are working in a new landscape of constant consumer interaction that extends well beyond a single transaction,” said Kronfeld. “To harness the potential of this connection, Jay and his team will incorporate new data-driven methods to maximize the exposure of our artists and create new opportunities on popular streaming services.”

Then it was Frank’s turn. "Streaming is opening new opportunities daily for artist discovery leading to strong bonds between artists and fans,” he noted. “Successful campaigns will lead to enormous opportunity for new releases and catalog alike. It’s an honor to join Universal Music and work with such a forward-looking executive team on harnessing the incredible power of discovery represented by playlists.”

Frank founded DigSin as a singles-focused music company that leverages streaming promotion to foster artist growth. He later founded DigMark to design and implement data-driven marketing campaigns. He’s is also the author ofseveral books about how technology has changed music discovery and how musicians can create inexpensive online marketing opportunities.