SOUNDCLOUD APPOINTS LONGTIME MUSIC INDUSTRY LEADERS JESSICA RIVERA AND MAURICE SLADE TO GROW INNOVATIVE ARTIST PARTNERSHIPS OFFERING
Veterans to Propel Artists At All Stages of Their Careers Through Reimagined Bespoke Partnerships and Solutions
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NEW YORK, NY (Thursday, July 14, 2022) – Today, next-generation music entertainment company SoundCloud announced the hiring of esteemed industry executives Jessica Rivera and Maurice Slade working on the company's roster efforts focused on growing artist partnerships. Rivera has been brought on to lead the vertical as Global SVP & General Manager and Slade has been named Head of Marketing. Both will report directly to SoundCloud President Eliah Seton. Through direct artists partnerships and innovative joint ventures with other creative centers, SoundCloud offers bespoke solutions to emerging and established artists by providing tools, services and flexibility that help take their careers to the next level on their own terms while empowering them to own and control their rights and creative process.
“We are so proud to welcome Jessica and Maurice to the SoundCloud family to lead our efforts in working more closely with artists at the highest level. Each of them brings a sterling reputation as two of the most well-connected and well-respected creative leaders in music,” said Seton. “As we work toward providing a solution for artists at every stage of their careers, we have leadership in Jessica and Maurice that will make SoundCloud an even more attractive home for artists.”
Rivera joins SoundCloud from media and entertainment company Mass Appeal, where she was General Manager. Prior to that, she served as Head of Artist Relations for YouTube’s West Coast territory where she managed streaming content and marketing campaigns, secured exclusive partnerships, and more. Rivera spent over a decade at Universal overseeing the East Coast for Universal Music Publishing where she signed rising artist/songwriters Imagine Dragons, Take A DayTrip, Alex Da Kid and many more. She also signed multi-award-winning chart-topping superstar Rihanna during her time at EMI Publishing prior to stints at Def Jam and Bad Boy Records.
Slade comes from an SVP of Marketing position at Epic Records where he played an instrumental role in the marketing and branding of multi-award-winning hip-hop artists Travis Scott and 21 Savage. Prior to his time at Epic, Maurice was the Senior Director of Marketing and Strategy at Jay-Z’s esteemed entertainment company Roc Nation. In 2010, he founded Grits & Biscuits, a premiere entertainment concept that celebrates the southern experience through urban music, cultural connections and nightlife moves in a down home environment.
“Navigating the music industry can be a complicated and nuanced process for artists, and SoundCloud is helping change that with its artist partnerships offering," said Rivera. "I'm excited to be joining a company committed to evolving artist solutions and services while leading the next generation of artists to a more equitable future.”
"It's an inspiring time to join SoundCloud as the team accelerates the company's revolutionary artist partnerships business," said Slade. "This allows us to provide an invaluable opportunity to artists by building custom at-scale marketing and monetization tools, and our goal is to continue building upon these resources to support as many artists as possible."
SoundCloud’s artist partnerships offering was developed to provide artists with the tools and services needed to effectively grow their careers on their own terms. Designed to help both emerging and established artists navigate the industry at every stage of their journey, it provides innovative solutions and empowers them to own and control their rights and creative process while building direct artist-to-fan engagement. The company works directly with artists and their teams and via unprecedented partnerships like the previously announced joint venture with Quality Control’s Solid Foundation Management to offer leading distribution and custom promotional and creative marketing campaigns. Since its launch earlier this year, the division has supported releases from Tekno, Lil Pump, SLANDER, and Kelow LaTesha with more to come soon.
SoundCloud is a next-generation music entertainment company, powered by an ecosystem of artists, listeners, and curators on the pulse of what's new, now and next in culture. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is an artist-first platform empowering artists to build and grow their careers by providing them with the most progressive tools, services, and resources. With over 300 million tracks from 30 million creators heard in 190 countries, the future of music is SoundCloud.