Universal Music Group’s former president of global digital business Rob Wells has joined music video content company LoveLive in an advisory role.
Wells exited Universal in February this year after 15 years with the major. At the time of his departure, the British exec gave no indication of his future plans although an internal farewell memo to colleagues did contain a reference to “whatever entrepreneurial opportunity I explore next.”
His appointment at LoveLive follows the June 4 announcement that Wells was taking up a similar advisory role with Revelator, a cloud-based platform that provides sales and marketing analytics to artists, labels and music companies in return for a subscription fee. Joining Wells on Revelator’s advisory board is Tom Ryan, former SVP digital strategy and development at EMI, while Island Records founder Chris Blackwell is also a board member.
The addition of Wells to LoveLive’s staff comes on the heels of the company being named a key music video partner for Spotify as the Swedish streaming service diversifies into a multi-faceted entertainment platform.
Among the formats that LoveLive is currently developing for Spotify is a video series called “A Full English” that will feature artists and other personalities conversing over breakfast. Last month also saw the expanded roll-out of LoveLive’s own publisher-serving global video service, the ad-supported embeddable LPlayer, which serves original music video programming to web and mobile sites, including AOL, Bauer Media, CBSi, and Condé Nast Entertainment’s The Scene.
Recent productions that have featured on LPlayer include a backstage documentary by Swedish DJs Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso and the much-reported launch of Zedd’s new album, True Colors, which featured a live performance and synchronized light show from the Empire State Building.
Rihanna, Madonna, Muse, Blur, Bastille, Charli XCX, Jessie J and Sam Smithare among the artists that have previously partnered with LoveLive for exclusive video content. The company, which has offices in London, New York and Los Angeles, claims a combined global reach of 750 million monthly users.
“I’ve been a long-time admirer and supporter of LoveLive, so the opportunity to work closely with them at such an exciting time in their development really appealed to me,” said Wells in a statement confirming his appointment.
“The music business is going through another unprecedented period of transformation, and I believe innovative business models such as LoveLive’s, based on the production of high quality content that leverages digital technologies to benefit all parties, is how the industry will thrive once more,” he went on to say.
Paying tribute to its new employee, LoveLive CEO and founder Richard Cohen called Wells a “true leader and visionary.” He went on to say: “The wealth of experience Rob brings will enable LoveLive to target and progress international commercial opportunities at the very highest levels. Choosing LoveLive is a real endorsement of our business, and we’re excited that Rob’s as enthusiastic about what we’re doing as we are.”
