NEW SONY EUROPE CHIEF MAKES HIS FIRST HIRE

Daniel Lieberberg has made his first hire at Sony as President, Continental Europe and Africa, tapping fellow former UMG exec Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba as CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. He takes over from Philip Ginthör, who has recently stepped down after six years in the job.

Mushatsi-Kareba joins Sony from Universal Music Germany where he’s been General Manager of Marketing & Digital since 2016. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Apple in a variety of leadership roles within the company’s European music operations.

Berlin-based Lieberberg, who was hired by Rob Stringer after overseeing Universal Music Germany’s domestic business since 2014, said of Patrick: “He is a charismatic and innovative leader with a strong background in both A&R and digital business. His unique combination of skills, which draws on all sides of the value chain, will help us further build on the great artist development coming out of the GSA region and maximize the many commercial opportunities for Sony Music’s artists.”

During his career at Apple, Mushatsi-Kareba was responsible for overseeing the music markets in Germany and Austria, and later added responsibilities for Italy, Switzerland and PAN-EU. Previously, he held a series of leadership roles at Napster, and, from 2002 to 2005, helped develop and lead Deutsche Telekom’s digital music strategy from 2002-2005, as well as working as a music manager and journalist.