(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has named Joe DiMuro to the post of executive vice resident, Sony BMG Strategic Marketing, and Jeff Jones to the post of executive vice resident, Sony BMG Catalog. Both executives are based in New York and report to Michael Smellie, chief operating officer of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
"Jeff and Joe have both established long and successful track records, and Sony BMG will benefit immensely from their leadership skills and numerous talents," said Smellie. "I am confident that, under their leadership, the Strategic Marketing and Catalog business units will be powerhouse entities within our industry as we extend the reach of Sony BMG's extraordinary creative assets."
Sony BMG Music Entertainment's labels and repertoire centers will work closely with the two new divisions in developing new projects and initiatives.
DiMuro will work closely with the company's labels to oversee and coordinate activities in a variety of areas, including master use licensing for television, film, and commercial use, creative product development, partnership marketing alliances, and the coordination of joint soundtrack projects between the Sony Music and BMG label groups. He will also oversee Elvis Presley content management.
Jones will be responsible for archive development for U.S. catalog titles, excluding classical repertoire, as well as international catalog. He will oversee the company's reissue divisions, including Legacy Recordings and BMG Heritage, and work with the heads of Sony BMG's various labels and label groups to identify and develop archival projects. He will also continue to oversee and manage the Columbia jazz A&R and marketing departments.
Most recently DiMuro served as executive vice president/general manager, BMG Strategic Marketing Group, a fully integrated label unit that comprised BMG Heritage, strategic marketing, direct response TV, master use licensing and compilations. Prior to creating the Strategic Marketing Group in 2003, he was senior vice president, Strategic Marketing, BMG North America. In this role he oversaw the creation and implementation of corporate marketing opportunities and strategic alliances including the company's worldwide marketing campaign for Elvis Presley's multiplatinum-selling ELV1S 30 #1 HITS, which reached number one in 26 territories. Previously he served as senior vice president, Strategic Business Development, RCA Records, where he oversaw all strategic marketing initiatives and product development for the label. Prior to joining RCA in 1998, Mr. DiMuro spent more than a decade at 20th Century Fox, where he held a number of marketing and sales positions.
Most recently Jones served as both senior vice president, Legacy Recordings, since 1998, and as senior vice president, Jazz, Columbia Records, a post he assumed in 2000. He first joined then-CBS Records in 1976 as a field merchandiser at the Boston branch and subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in director, marketing, Columbia Records. In 1988, he left Columbia to join MCA as vice president, marketing. He moved to the PolyGram Label Group in 1991 as vice president, marketing, where he was in charge of campaigns for a variety of artists on the Island, London and Polydor labels. In 1993 he moved to Elektra Entertainment as vice president, marketing. HE returned to Sony Music in 1995 as vice president, marketing and product development, Legacy Recordings. During his tenure with Legacy, he played a critical role in such projects as the critically acclaimed Miles Davis re-issues series, which earned multiple Grammy awards, and the Ken Burns JAZZ project, a sweeping overview of jazz, as well as highly successful catalog campaigns for artists such as AC/DC and Bob Dylan. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
