NOISEMAKERS:
THE FALL KICKOFF
In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our most recent mag. Lucky for them, this feature—and $5.95—will get them a commemorative pumpkin spice latte from participating Starbucks locations.
Bina Fronda
VP, Marketing, Ultra Records
Having begun her career as an intern at the Governors Ball Music Festival more than a decade ago, Fronda experienced a full-circle moment this year when she returned—as a DJ. Equal parts exec and creative (and formerly a dance teacher in Brooklyn), she is now focused on marketing initiatives for new releases by acts like SOFI TUKKER, Anabel Englund, Gioli & Assia and Benny Benassi. “All I’m sayin’ is 2022’s gonna be a good year,” Fronda attested, but that was before she realized she was mingling with HITS weasels.
Moody Jones
SVP, Digital & Creative, EMPIRE
Jones helped take Money Man’s Kobe Bryant tribute, “24,” from 100k streams to double-platinum status—and the NBA Finals—by deploying, among other activations, eight pairs of custom Jordans with $100 bills in the Swoosh. He’s now promoting the digital release of Blackground’s Aaliyah albums and The Martinez Brothers & Fuego’s “PAP (Pendiente Al Paso),” the latter boosted by a Louis Vuitton-styled photo shoot. A fashionista raised in Saudi Arabia, Jones has a clothing line featuring unisex items made from recycled burkas. We bet he wishes he could recycle us.
Simone Mitchell
President, Quality Control Music/Solid Foundation Management
In 2018 Mitchell worked her first major road show, Aubrey & The Three Amigos Tour LIVE! (Drake, Migos and superstar guests), on which she reveled in wrangling the boys. Today she’s working hand-in-glove with Pierre “P” Thomas and the QC team to develop artists like Milwaukee rapper Lakeyah, who was featured in 2021’s XXL Freshman Class and just dropped a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama. A drummer since 5th grade concert band, Mitchell doesn’t miss a beat. But she wishes she’d missed our call.
Jason Hobdy
Artist Manager, MBK Entertainment
Nobody knows better than Hobdy how much work went into MBK client H.E.R.’s Grammy and Oscar wins. He was understandably over the moon in 2019 when she brought the team onstage to claim her first statuette. Fast forward to his support of Maeta, whose Habits (Remixes) (Roc Nation) dropped last month, and RCA’s Tone Stith, whose Still FWM? arrives in October. Hobdy’s contributions to MBK include a partnership with talent-discovery app Protégé. Side hustle: a book for new managers finding their way in the game. We’re still looking for ours.
Rose Connelly
VP, Creative & Brand Strategy, RIAA
During 2020’s social-justice push, Connelly assembled advocacy tools to support the music industry’s various campaigns to effect change, a personally rewarding marriage of music, values and policy. She likewise worked with music orgs to mount MusicCovidRelief.org, a one-stop for industry folk in need, at warp speed. Among many other endeavors, Connelly helped design the RIAA’s new digs in Washington D.C., which boast a performance space where policymakers and biz figures can take in live music together. An alt-rock devotee, she is also a retired Irish dancer. We are accomplished cloggers.
Mike Epstein
Director of Digital Marketing & Partnerships, Cinematic Music Group
Epstein fondly recalls doing digital for Flipp Dinero’s hit “Leave Me Alone”—which helped it attain quadruple-platinum certification and secure partnerships with DJ Khaled, Epic and We the Best—and relished the rollout of T-Pain’s 1UP album alongside his Masked Singer victory. This marketing man now aims to capitalize on Big Yavo’s success with “Rich,” a TikTok sensation buoyed by nearly 1m videos, including creations from no less than Charlie D’Amelio and Addison Rae. A Legos lover, Epstein’s busy building a moat around himself to keep us at bay.
Danielle Middleton
Senior Director, Page 1 Management
Heading up management stateside for New Zealand’s Page 1, Middleton is creating an ecosystem of writer/producer talent—Page 1 represents teen producer Jawsh 685, for one, who in 2020 scored a #1 with Jason Derulo on “Savage Love (Laxed‒Siren Beat).” She was previously an A&R at Sony Music Publishing, where she secured the services of Tate McRae, J. White Did It and Ayo the Producer. A singer in her own right who can also sign, Middleton is able to ignore us in various octaves and languages.
Dylan Bourne
Director of A&R/Label Services, BeatStars; Founder, Bourne Creatives
Bourne had the thrill of hitting the road with The Weeknd on The Madness Fall Tour 2015, on which he was able to share in the artist’s ascent to stardom. In partnership with Sony, he’s currently contributing to the ascent of BeatStars’ publishing business, signing producers with credits on cuts by the likes of DaBaby, Lil Durk and Trippie Redd. Speaking of babies, Bourne (who also presides over a management company) and his wife are growing their own roster at home—with three under three. Mazel tov! (And oy vey.)
