NOISEMAKERS: RAISING THE BAR
In our latest roundup, we present a group of rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
Lucky for them, this feature—and $37,000—will get them a commemorative gold medal from the Tokyo Olympic games... maybe.
Corey Calder
SVP, Marketing, APG
Calder was on the team that launched Beats Music in 2014 and rebranded it as Apple Music in 2015 (after Apple dropped a cool $3.2b on Beats). Since joining APG last year, he’s overseen the marketing of emerging talent like Cico P—whose mixtape NawfJaxx just hit #10 on Spotify’s Top U.S. Album Debut chart—Soldier Kidd and Lexi Jayde (not to mention veteran act Flo Rida). Calder’s also got mad gift-wrapping skills, the result of cutthroat family holiday competition. We wrap blunts, which makes things pretty festive around here.
Jay Schumer
SVP/Co-Head of Marketing, Columbia
Spearheading the campaign for AC/DC’s 2020 album Power Up, Schumer enjoyed the surreal experience of pitching ideas to childhood hero Angus Young. These days he’s working on projects by Polo G and Tyler, The Creator—who both scored #1s in a span of three weeks—Cochise, SSGKobe, 347aidan, Aries, yvngxchris, Kim Dracula and more. The marketing of John Mayer’s #2 Sob Rock, meanwhile, is earning props for its cheeky nostalgia. Schumer can also solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than two minutes. We’ve been trying to solve ours since 1986.
Forrest Lipton
Marketing Director, Interscope
Lipton was stoked to project manage Benny Blanco and Justin Bieber’s platinum single, “Lonely”—recipient of 1.4b streams (and counting). It hit #1 at Top 40 radio, Spotify global, iTunes’ Top Songs chart and Shazam’s Top 200 U.S. list. She's lately been focused on Grammy-winning producer/artist Pi’erre Bourne’s The Life of Pi’erre 5, which features artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti and a cover-art collab with Takashi Murakami. A classically trained pianist, Lipton has been hitting all the right notes. We’ve been hitting something else entirely.
Chris Rea
Director of Commercial Marketing, Virgin Music Label and Artist Services
Working with labels ATO and Because Music and artists E-40 and Zeds Dead, among others, Rea's proud of Virgin's role in sustaining independent music. New endeavors span the commemoration of Sun Records’ 70th anniversary via Primary Wave/Gaither Group, domestic K-pop domination with SM Entertainment (SuperM, NCT, NCT 127), expansion into regional Mexican music (Grupo Diez 4tro) and the advancement of King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard’s new label, KGLW. Rea can frequently be found rocking out while running trails. We’re learning to walk and chew gum.
Nancy Liu
VP, Marketing & Label Relations, 740 Project
Former Capitol exec Liu still works with some of the label’s luminaries after her transition to 740, directing digital marketing for Lil Baby & Lil Durk’s #1 The Voice of the Heroes and Migos’ Culture III, among others. She even donned a Quavo mascot head during Quavo Huncho release week. Liu’s also collaborating with L.A. rapper Blxst and HBO for their new series The Hype, co-produced by Offset, among others. Notably, she hasn’t eaten red meat in 14 years. Folks have been known to avoid us by tossing red meat into our path and running away.
Carlos Cuadros
Director, Digital Marketing, RCA
Cuadros has thrown back beers and BBQ with Dave Grohl, hung with heroes Ghostface Killah and Raekwon and once got a call from industry legend Clive Davis. Today he’s doing digital for Doja Cat’s #2 Planet Her—which had the biggest opening day for an album by a female rapper in Spotify history—and the forthcoming full-length from Khalid, whose “New Normal” premiered during Richard Branson’s 7/11 spaceflight. Cuadros is a 12-year choir kid who eventually made it to Carnegie Hall. We made it to the Carnegie Deli several times.
Stevie Escoto
Managing Director, Girlilla Marketing
This digital doyenne runs point on the social strategy of numerous country-music faves, including Darius Rucker, who had a viral moment via his Ric Flair TikTok tribute, complete with the celebrated wrestler’s trademark Nature Boy robe and “Whoo!” Escoto also oversees Maddie & Tae’s YouTube vlogs, which deliver everything from makeup challenges to music-video reactions to couples Q&As. She is a self-described “endless pit of sports stats, news and trivia who is constantly disappointed by the Chicago Bears and USC Trojans.” We’re still not over the double doink either.
Jeremy Lowe
Director, Marketing and Talent Partnerships, dick clark productions
In 2017 Lowe participated in the U.S. television performance debut of BTS on the American Music Awards. In 2020, he helped propel the show to #2 in Nielsen’s year-end social-content ratings for TV specials, with 33m+ interactions, and served as project manager for the YouTube Streamy Awards, which in the 48 hours following its premiere saw a 50% YOY increase in views. In his “free time,” Lowe produces the #BackyardSessions, a concert series showcasing artists with roots in L.A. We’re consigned to the backyard pretty much everywhere we go.
Maxim Karlik
Agent, Music Crossover, UTA
In 2019 Karlik helped deliver Lauryn Hill’s first release in six years, “Guarding the Gates,” for Queen & Slim. He’s also had a hand in producer Harvey Mason Jr.’s Emmy noms for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist; projects for Issa Rae’s music-supervision company and supe Brienne Rose (Emmy-nominated for Russian Doll); and signing Grammy-winning producer Marius de Vries (La La Land) and White Horse Pictures (Emmy nominee The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart); and much more. Improbably, Karlik binged 10 seasons of Survivor while we were writing this.
