NOISEMAKERS:
UP & AT 'EM
In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
Remi Williams
VP, Production, Def Jam
Williams has produced programs like MTV’s TRL and Sucker Free Sunday and interviewed the likes of Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, but no achievement has been sweeter than assembling a showcase she says “opened all the doors” when she was a broke college student. She’s now telling stories through written and visual content to promote the work of such artists as Fridayy, Muni Long, Jai’Len Josey, Coco Jones, 070 Shake and Masicka, as well as a 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne collaboration. In her spare time, Williams flips homes. We’ve been told we’re a tear-down.
Tom Clees
SVP, Federal Public Policy, RIAA
Clees, who has convinced U.S. reps to join him at Karaoke Night at the RIAA, says it’s “surreal” to see government officials address an issue on TV—like the need for fair pay among music creators—that he’s made them aware of. Among other endeavors, he advocates for the Human Artistry Campaign, which supports the responsible use of AI, and hosts episodes of Capitol Hill Mixtape, where Beltway types can discuss the music that’s inspired them. A “tattooed metalhead,” Clees once appeared on MTV’s NEXT. We would definitely have been voted off the bus.
Betsy Whitney
VP Marketing, Columbia
Whitney’s gone from sneaking out to see John Mayer to collaborating with him on the release of 2021’s Sob Rock and from beginning work with Hozier when he was signed in 2013 to seeing this year’s Unreal Unearth open in the Top 5. Most recently, she’s been championing music by girl in red, Maren Morris’ The Bridge, Dove Cameron’s Coach campaign and upcoming debut album, Alchemical, and the 10th anniversary of HAIM’s Days Are Gone. Whitney was on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? when she was 22. Stick with us, kid, and you’ll be a thousandaire in no time.
Alejandro Jimenez
GM/VP of A&R, 5020 Records
Signings by Jimenez to Sony Latin’s U.S. imprint include Colombian singer Ryan Castro, Argentine star TINI and Latin Grammy Best New Artists Monsieur Periné and Vicente Garcia. He helped reunite Colombia’s Aterciopelados, worked with Christina Aguilera on 2022’s Aguilera and produced videos for Latin rap legend Residente. He’s currently focused on projects by Residente, NATHY PELUSO, Kenia OS, Kany García and Beéle. A former attorney and president of Sony Colombia, Jimenez was also the frontman for rock band Pirańas. We got dressed by ourselves today.
Julie Sturdivant
Music Brand Partnerships Executive, CAA
Sturdivant will always relish filming content with Dolly Parton (which involved helping the icon navigate a computer keyboard with those long nails) and launching Facebook’s “Live” feature with Luke Bryan (nerve-racking but exciting). This year she’s handled campaigns for Kelsea Ballerini with Sonic, Priscilla Block with Shein and Brett Eldredge with Lowe’s. She’s also programming an artist series with Barstool Sports Nashville. Sturdivant was her high school’s mascot and “loved every second of it.” Go Bearcats! We’re the mascot for trade hacks everywhere.
Ricky Abramson
VP, Property Partnerships, Vibee
During his tenure at the William Morris Agency, Abramson spearheaded non-traditional booking―for one, he secured Christina Aguilera a gig performing on and participating in the Turkish version of Deal or No Deal. He’s currently bridging the gap between travel and entertainment, developing hotel partnerships to foster experiences like Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Sand” at Atlantis Bahamas and Tiësto’s “Chasing Sunsets” at Cabo San Lucas’ Me Cabo resort. On the weekends, Abramson spends hours smoking meat. We’ve been known to spend the weekends smoking, too.
Stephanie Davenport
VP, A&R, Warner Music Nashville
Davenport has watched Ian Munsick break the National Finals Rodeo after-party attendance record, headline arena shows, play a sold-out Ryman Auditorium and earn gold records for “Long Live Cowgirls” with Cody Johnson and “Long Haul.” Today she’s working on Grammy-nominated songwriter Drew Parker’s debut album, Randall King’s sophomore set and projects by Madeline Edwards and Austin Snell. Davenport broke into the biz via singing telegrams. “If you were ever interrupted by a teen doing Bette Midler songs while dressed as a bumblebee,” she says, “I’m sorry.”
Brandon De Oliveira
Head of Programming, The Nations
Oliveira feels privileged to have witnessed the growth of Trap Nation artists over the years and experienced their live shows, including San Holo’s performance of tracks like “We Rise” and “The Next Episode (Remix)” at the 2018 Electric Zoo festival in front of 40,000 fans. He’s lately been tweaking the curation of The Nations channels and building the new imprint broke. When Oliveira was a teen, he was scouted to play soccer by the New York Red Bulls but “decided to continue down the path of internet-music nerd instead.” Nerd was the only path open to us.
