LOCKHART TO LEAD SONY/ATV U.K. A&R

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has promoted Sarah Lockhart to Head of A&R for the company’s U.K. division. Based in the pubco's London office, she will report directly to President and Co-Managing Director David Ventura.

Lockhart will lead the U.K. division’s revamped A&R department, which boasts a team of 12, and oversee its talent roster. She will also spearhead A&R initiatives for discovering and supporting talent and creating new opportunities for songwriters globally.

“Sarah is a born leader, a passionate A&R and one the hardest workers I know,” Ventura said. “She fights for creators, and her management is elegant and inspiring, a facility she has developed throughout her career across publishing, records, management and media/radio.”

Since joining Sony/ATV just over a year ago, Lockhart—who is interviewed in our U.K. special issue, which lands today, 11/23—has signed songwriters such as Aitch, Young T & Bugsey, D Block Europe and Shaybo. Sony/ATV U.K. Co-Managing Director Tim Major noted: “Sarah has made such an impact since joining the company. She fully deserves to lead the dynamic and flourishing A&R team she has already played such a significant role in shaping and nurturing and to be at the heart of everything we do for our songwriters.”

An expert in U.K. underground music, Lockhart launched her music-industry career in the club culture of the late '90s U.K. garage scene, working in record shops and vinyl distribution. She held the role of A&R manager at EMI Music Publishing in 2000 when she founded the club FWD>>, which developed dubstep and grime, paving the way for much of today’s club music. In 2005 Lockhart began working on the Rinse FM radio station, where she campaigned for its radio license and built it into a powerhouse within the industry, bringing London's grassroots musical communities together.