Digital/marketing/A&R veteran Dick Wingate, who was last seen on this site returning to talent development as President of BHi Music Group, has joined Crowdmix, the start-up also boasting former UMG exec Rob Wells.

The New York-based Wingate has been tapped as President, Artist & Entertainment Services for North America, focusing on collaborating with record labels and marketers to get U.S.-based artists involved in the Crowdmix app. Due to be launched Q1 2016, the app will offer a social media destination that’s centered around music.

Wingate spent his early career working for record labels such as Columbia, Epic, PolyGram and Arista, primarily in senior A&R and marketing roles, and was involved with the career development of artists including Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello and Eddy Grant.

Starting in the mid-'90s, he held senior positions in companies including Liquid Audio (a digital music distributor), and Nellymoser (an early leader in downloadable streaming music apps). Most recently, he ran DEV Advisors, a music and technology industry consultancy, and has been an advisor to Crowdmix since 2014.

As well as cultivating industry relationships, Wingate will oversee artist promotions via Crowdmix's Mixerati influencer network.

Wingate praised the “hugely impressive Crowdmix team” and their development of “a highly innovative way of engaging with artists and music fans that will enhance the entire music ecosystem.” He continued: “By putting artists' best interests at the center of our business model, while also adding real value for fans, brands and streaming services, we are creating a new model for building relationships with fans while driving digital revenues.”

Wells added, “Dick brings a huge amount of experience and expertise with him to this new role. Building strong relationships with North American talent is core to the success of our U.S. business. I’m delighted to have Dick on my team.”