Venice Music has appointed Shawna Spears, who has over 10 years of music industry and artist relations experience, as Vice President of Brand Marketing.TikTok where as the lead of artist and manager partnerships (HipHop and R&B),
Spears joins the music distribution platform from TikTok, where she spent over a year leading the short-form video platform’s artist and manager partnerships (HipHop and R&B).
At TikTok, Spears identified and activated collaboration opportunities, provided resources for the unmanaged emerging artist community and executed global marketing campaigns.
She oversaw a roster of Hip Hop and R&B artists at TikTok and served as a relationship manage for artists and managers, according to her LinkedIn page.
Prior to TikTok, Spears held marketing and artist-facing roles at Epic Records and Interscope.
Spears also has her own creative agency, Leo Arrow Agency.
At Venice, she will report to Fadia Kader, the company’s newly appointed Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Kader, who was appointed about two weeks ago, previously served as the Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at Clubhouse.
“Shawna is a rock star with an unmatched track record of successfully building the brands of some of music’s most notable names. We met at the beginning of her career and I have always been impressed with her unique ability to merge her creativity with a strong business sense.”
Fadia Kader, Venice mUsic
Commenting on Spears’ appointment, Kader said: “Shawna is a rock star with an unmatched track record of successfully building the brands of some of music’s most notable names. We met at the beginning of her career and I have always been impressed with her unique ability to merge her creativity with a strong business sense.”
“I’m thrilled to have such a well-rounded strategist and marketer who can take things from ideation to execution at Venice as we continue to expand our position as the leading home for independent artists.”
In her new role, Spears will build and lead Venice Music’s brand marketing team, develop and implement the marketing roadmap for execution across distribution channels and ensure a consistent and holistic brand experience for independent artists, partners and more.
“I am thrilled to join Venice Music in a role that merges my experience and passion for artist advocacy in the independent space.”
Shawna Spears, Venice mUsic
“I am thrilled to join Venice Music in a role that merges my experience and passion for artist advocacy in the independent space,” said Spears.
“A critical piece to an artist building and growing their career is their brand authenticity and the ability to connect with their audience in fresh ways. As a storyteller, this opportunity feels like a true full-circle moment.
The appointments of Kader and Spears follow a string of recent hires at Venice Music.
In December, the company appointed Dani Oliva — who received a platinum record (triple platinum in Canada) for his legal work on Ariana Grande’s 2x Grammy nominated album Positions — as Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs.
Venice Music was founded in early 2021 by Q&A co-founders Troy Carter and Suzy Ryoo. Its community members include Aminé, Verité, Moses Sumney, Riot Games, KOTA the Friend, and thuy.
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