NOISEMAKERS: THE SUMMER FINALE

In our latest roundup, we present eight more stars of tomorrow 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 $6.95—will get them a commemorative pumpkin spice latte from participating Starbucks locations.

Lexi Cueva
Senior Artist Relations Manager, Amazon Music

Cueva fondly recalls kicking off her career at Chugg Entertainment in Australia, where she worked on tours for Tame Impala, Billie Eilish and Jorja Smith. At Amazon Music she’s spearheading the Breakthrough program, driving visibility and connection for acts such as Benson Boone, Chappell Roan, Bailey Zimmerman and Ayra Starr through exclusive content like music videos and documentaries on platforms like Prime Video. Cueva once dreamed of being the next Selena and making a hit like “Como La Flor.” We mostly fantasize about our retirement.

Jon Moore
Head of Marketing, Dirty Hit

For Moore, nothing beats seeing an artist resonate with a huge festival crowd, such as witnessing beabadoobee’s All Points East Festival set in London just days the artist earned her first U.K. #1. Equally memorable was her first headline show, attended by 100 or so enthralled fans. Moore’s now gearing up for her U.S./U.K./EU headline tour while also handling releases for Leo Bhanji’s Shell and Wallice’s debut album, The Jester. Moore says he might have one more bad hardcore band left in him. We tried to throw goat and sprained a finger.

Melissa Yermes
Senior Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Sony Music Publishing

Yermes treasures the moments her role brings, such as sitting next to the likes of Swizz Beatz and Jay-Z at an L.A. event—one of the many perks of her move from NYC, she notes. Lately, she’s been chuffed to work alongside the SMP A&R team to help close key signings and renewals to the roster, including talent such as Chappell Roan, BNYX and Lucki. Yermes confides that she once met Justin Timberlake barefoot and confesses she’s a soup lover with a strong preference for hot over cold. We’re still waiting for a spoon.

Luis J Najera Jr.
Director, Urban Influencer and Content Marketing, Interscope

Najera is grateful to have been part of the campaign for Kendrick Lamar & Jay Rock’s “Money Trees,” which hit its streaming peak a decade after release thanks to more than 10m videos of user-generated content. In addition to leading creator strategies for hip-hop and R&B at Interscope, Najera is also pushing international acts like Chino Pacas and Rema into mainstream digital media. Najera played professional soccer overseas and in Mexico as a teen and can still perform a backflip on command. We are in training for the world napping championship.

Sarah Beth Gerlecz
Director, Business & Legal Affairs, EMPIRE

Gerlecz is proud to have seen Shaboozey bring Broadway to a standstill at Nashville’s CMA Fest, a vivid reminder as to why she got into the biz in the first place. Behind the confidentiality of legal work, she’s excited to see the trajectories of some of EMPIRE’s recent Nashville signings, including Don Louis, Jake & Shelby, CeCe and JORDY, and is eager for Sophia Scott’s upcoming tour dates with Niko Moon this fall. Outside the office, Gerlecz is working on a novel with her father. We’re still fine-tuning our out-of-office message.

Max Cacciotti
VP, Marketing, Universal Music Latino

Cacciotti celebrates his work on KAROL G’s Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning Mañana Será Bonito, as well as his digital promotion efforts on J Balvin’s Colores and seeing Feid’s ascent from small venues to global stadiums. More recently, he’s been thrilled for the release of JHAYCO’s Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (x), which has earned nearly 1b streams already, and rolling out Latin Pop acts like Joaquina—the youngest Latin Grammy BNA winner—TIMØ, Ela Taubert, Andry Kiddos and more. Cacciotti is a weekend DJ turned aspiring golfer. We are unwelcome around both kinds of club.

Jessi Vaughn Stevenson
VP, A&R/Digital, Warner Chappell Music

Stevenson’s career is marked by multiple milestones, from seeing Parker McCollum’s rise from club stages to Wrigley Field to pitching Jessi Alexander’s “Don’t Think Jesus” to Morgan Wallen, which amassed 293m+ streams. She’s also thrilled about Aaron Raitiere’s viral success with “you look like you love me,” co-written with and performed by Ella Langley and Riley Green. She’s now focused on launching Schmitty’s single “Faster Than a Tractor” and curating his debut album. Stevenson’s first gig was swirling frozen yogurt at Pinkberry. We were the ones demanding more sprinkles.

James Hadid
SVP, JET Management

Hadid’s standout career moment came during the 61st Grammys, celebrating Justice’s win for Best Dance/Electronic Album, culminating in a speakeasy celebration with the likes of Madeon and Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. He’s now orchestrating Sam Gellaitry’s 2025 debut album, focusing on strategic releases and tours for Dombresky and introducing NoMBe’s funkier new album. Hadid once bumped into Malia Obama at J. Cole’s Lollapalooza set, a moment made memorable by the immediate appearance of Secret Service agents. We’re often asked to back away slowly ourselves.