Universal Music Publishing Group Promotes Monti Olson To Executive Vice President/Head Of Pop & Rock Music
Evan Lamberg, President, Universal Music Publishing Group, North America today announced the promotion of Monti Olson to Executive Vice President/Head of Pop & Rock Music, Creative. Mr. Olson will report directly to Mr. Lamberg and is based in the company’s world-wide headquarters in Santa Monica, California.
In this new role, Mr. Olson will be jointly heading up the company’s U.S. creative teams (Los Angeles and New York), along with Ethiopia Habtemariam, Executive Vice President/Head of Urban Music. Mr. Olson will be overseeing the company’s Pop and Rock creative operations. Tom Sturges, EVP/Head of Creative, will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
“Monti has proven himself to be an exceptional music publisher with great creative relationships. This leadership role and promotion is well deserved and I know Monti, along with Ethiopia Habtemariam, will continue to lead the Universal Music Publishing creative team on its continued successful path,” said Mr. Lamberg.
“I am humbled by this appointment. I thank Evan for his confidence and belief in me,” said Mr. Olson. “We have the most talented creative staff in the music publishing business here at UMPG, it is my vision that together we will make UMPG the absolute desired home for authors and composers.”
A consummate A&R executive, known for his unwavering support and confidence in his writers and well-liked by songwriters and music executives, and Mr. Olson appreciates the importance of a song. His A&R trajectory has cultivated hit after hit whilst Mr. Olson has signed some of the hottest hit-makers, writers and artists in music, including Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (hit-maker at the helm of RedZone Entertainment, responsible for over 25 millions albums sold); Ari Levine of the songwriting and production team The Smeezingtons (2011 Grammy winners for Producer of the Year, whom Mr. Olson co-signed along with UMPG’s Ethiopia Habtemariam); All-American Rejects (over 10 million records sold world-wide); All Time Low (whose 2011 debut release Dirty Work hit No. 1 on Billboard Rock charts, Top 10 on Billboard 200); Chris Daughtry (whose self-titled Daughtry became the fastest selling debut rock album in history and hit No. 1 on Billboard 200); The Matrix (7x Grammy-nominated songwriters and producers, recipients of the Ivor Novello Award, BMI and ASCAP Songwriters of the Year); Ester Dean (Grammy-winning songwriter, whose credits include Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” “S&M” and “What’s My Name,” Usher’s “Love Em All” and “Hot Tottie” and Katy Perry’s “Firework” and “Peacock”, initially signed by Mr. Olson to 2412 Music and then signed by Ethiopia Habtemariam to UMPG); Damian Marley (3X Grammy award winner). Mr. Olson also signed under writer Martin Kierzenbaum (Lady Gaga collaborator and founder/CEO of CherryTree Records) and was instrumental in signing joint ventures with David Foster (16X Grammy award-winner and 3X Grammy Producer of the Year award-winner) and Octone Records. Mr. Olson also continues to look after long-time clients, Grammy-award winning Maroon 5 (15 million albums sold world-wide) and Gustavo Santaolalla (2X Academy award winning film composer for Best Original Score). Mr. Olson has a long-time association with the infamous Atlanta-based production entity RedZone Entertainment and Diana Krall (over 15 million albums sold world-wide, 3x Grammy award winner, 8 albums debuting at No. 1 on Billboard Jazz Album charts).
Mr. Olson previously served as Vice President of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group. Prior to joining UMPG, Olson was Vice President, A&R, BMG Songs where he headed the pop creative operations and was responsible for all pop and urban creative administration matters. Before that, Olson spent five years at peermusic as Senior Director, Creative Affairs where he oversaw the company’s creative operations in New York and Los Angeles. He was also responsible for signing new songwriters/artists and creating joint venture deals with such companies as Red Zone Entertainment/Arista (Blu Cantrell, Crav and Sam Salter). From 1995-1997, Olson was at Windswept Pacific Music in Los Angeles and prior to that MCA Records, where he created and promoted rock concerts for the Los Angeles Film Festival and served as a music consultant to The William Morris Agency and K-Tel Records.
Mr. Olson is a voting member of NARAS and belongs to the Producers and Engineers wing of NARAS. Mr. Olson is also the founder of Original Recordings Group, a vinyl reissue record label.
Source: Universal Music
