LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — WME is reportedly changing the way its music department operates as part of a push to expand the company’s concert bookings.
According to Billboard’s David Brooks, the changes were outlined in a memo to WME employees from the agency’s head of contemporary music Lucy Dickins, and global co-head of contemporary music Kirk Sommer, which detailed the operational changes that were introduced earlier this year.
The changes include moving new artist signings and development to a unified structure that will coordinate across all genres and regions.
“Given the globalization of our business and the speed at which new artists break today, we believe this is a critical piece to identifying new talent. Kevin Shivers will be leading these efforts on behalf of the team, working with regional and genre leads,” the memo said, according to Billboard.
For bookings, WME will expand on its regional service group model, with Ron Opaleski taking point on global bookings and international touring strategy in North America. Tony Goldring will serve in a similar capacity for international clients, while Josh Kurfirst will oversee festivals. Clint Mitchell will guide non-traditional touring while Ryan Jones will handle private and corporate events.
Additionally, the memo stated that WME partner Keith Sarkisian will step in to coordinate the agency’s roster for non-touring services, collaborating with other divisions across WME and their parent company, Endeavor.
Dickens and Sommer also announced the creation of new office leads that will be overseen by Brian Ahern. The newly appointed office leads include Kevin Shivers (Beverly Hills), Michael Coughlin (Nashville), Stephanie LaFera (New York), Josh Javor (London) and Brett Murrihy (Sydney), Billboard reported.
Along with the organizational changes, Billboard reported that seven agents have been promoted to partner, including Kyle Bandler, Mark Claassen, Andrew Colvin, Beth Hamilton, Sloane Logue, Austin Mullins, and Travis Wolfe.
Additionally, multiple WME team members were minted as agents, including: Sam Dolen, Janelle Flint, Jacob Fox, Josh Green, Lindsey Hastings, Carly Huffman, Dan Kuklinski, Sean McHugh, Meera Patel, Adam Sherif, John Showfety, Jeremy Upton, Carlile Willett, Laura Williams, Cecilia Yao and Ben Yekuel.
A rep for WME did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
