Jody Gerson, One Of Industry's Most Accomplished Music Publishers, To Become Chairman And CEO Of Universal Music Publishing Group

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, announced today that it has appointed Jody Gerson as Chairman and CEO of the company's music publishing division, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), effective January 1, 2015.  Gerson, who currently serves as Co-President of Sony/ATV Publishing, will be based at UMPG's headquarters in Santa Monica, CA and will report to UMG Chairman and CEO, Lucian Grainge.  She will succeed Zach Horowitz who, after leading UMPG to achieve strong creative and commercial results, has decided to step down effective immediately to explore other opportunities. 

In making the announcement, Grainge said, "Jody Gerson is simply one of the best music publishers in the business, and we are thrilled that she will be bringing her creativity, savvy and vast experience to UMPG.  Jody represents a new breed of music industry leadership, with a keen understanding of the evolving role of music publishers in the digital era and a track record of artist successes that places her among all-time greats.  I'm excited for what we will accomplish together."

Grainge continued, "On behalf of everyone at the company, let me extend our profound gratitude to Zach for his adept stewardship of UMPG and his decades of service to UMG.   His versatility as an executive and leader is extremely rare and we wish him only the best." 

Gerson was appointed to her current role of Co-President for Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2008. Her first signing at Sony/ATV was then unknown singer/songwriter Lady Gaga who soon after became one of the most successful artists in the world.   Gerson has also played an instrumental role in the careers of Enrique Iglesias, Mac Miller, Pitbull, RedOne, Shakira and Pharrell Williams, among others.  Another one of her signings, Nasri Atweh, the lead singer and primary songwriter for the band Magic!, currently has the No. 1 single ("Rude") on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the second week in a row.  

Gerson began her publishing career at Chappell music (the predecessor to Warner/Chappell) where she worked with numerous songwriters and recording artists including Bernie Taupin, R.E.M. and Rod Stewart.  After six years at Chappell, Gerson joined EMI as head of the company's east coast publishing division. 

After successfully managing the east coast operations, in 1991, Gerson was tasked with revitalizing EMI's west coast division. It was there that she assembled a roster of some of the most critically-acclaimed and successful writers in music including Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin who went on to write and produce songs for Janet Jackson, Madonna, Usher, Mariah Carey, and TLC, among many others.  In 1996, Gerson signed a 15 year-old artist named Alicia Keys.  Keys' first album Songs in a Minor was a worldwide hit, winning five Grammy Awards in 2002, including "Best New Artist" and "Song of the Year," and selling more than 10 million albums worldwide.  Also that year, Gerson signed Norah Jones, and in 2003, Jones earned five Grammy Awards for her album Come Away with Me.

Additionally, Gerson served as a producer of the successful films Drumline and ATL.  She is currently serving as executive producer for Drumline 2 for VH1.

About Universal Music Publishing Group

UMPG is one of the world's leading music publishing companies and represents music in every genre from some of the world's hottest songwriters and catalogs, both old and new. These include ABBA, Adele, Alex Da Kid, Lily Allen, Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, Irving Berlin, Justin Bieber, Leonard Bernstein, Bjork, Ruben Blades, Mariah Carey, Desmond Child, The Clash, Coldplay, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Ester Dean, Jorgen Elofsson, Danny Elfman, Eminem, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Billy Joel, Juan Gabriel, Al Green, Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses), Jimi Hendrix, Hunter Hayes, Imagine Dragons, Elton John/Bernie Taupin, Joy Division, R. Kelly, BB King, Luke Laird, Linkin Park, the Mamas and Papas, Henry Mancini, Miguel, Mumford & Sons, Randy Newman, Rudy Perez, Steve Perry, Otis Redding, Darius Rucker, Carole Bayer Sager, Gustavo Santaolalla, Sex Pistols, Paul Simon, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, T-Pain, U2, Diane Warren, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Bill Withers, among many others. UMPG is also a global leader in the areas of Classical, Christian/Gospel, and Production Music. Additionally, UMPG plays a major role in film and TV, administering the music of Warner Bros Entertainment, Universal Studios, HBO, DreamWorks, NBC and Sesame Workshop, among others. For more information please visit www.umusicpub.com.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's premier music publishing operations worldwide.  Universal Music Group's labels include A&M Records, Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note Records, Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol Records, Capitol Records Nashville, Caroline, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, EMI Records Nashville, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Harvest, Interscope Records, Island Records, Machete Music, Manhattan, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group, Virgin Records, Virgin EMI Records, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes Global Digital Business, its new media and technologies division and Bravado, its merchandising company.

Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi.

SOURCE Universal Music Group