On The Move: UnitedMasters Bolsters Leadership with Four Major Hires, Merlin Names Jon Glass General Counsel

Each week, NIF & ROSTR tracks all the industry moves you need to know about. Promotions, hirings, farewells — have one you want to share? Click here.

UnitedMasters has made four executive hires across its marketing, operations, commerce, and branding teams. Todd L. Perry II joins as VP, Head of Artist and Label Marketing, coming from the same role at Warner Records. Jason Peerless takes over as VP of Artist and Label Operations after a decade leading A&R operations at Def Jam. Luca Zanello, formerly of The Orchard and Roc Nation, joins as Head of Brand and Sync, and Goldie Harris, who has held global commerce roles at EMPIRE, comes aboard as Head of Commerce.

Merlin has appointed Jon Glass as General Counsel, where he will oversee Business and Legal Affairs and take on responsibility for the Partnerships team. Glass joins from Warner Music Group, where he served as SVP and Head of Digital Legal Affairs. He previously held digital business and legal affairs roles at Sony Music Entertainment, and practiced at several law firms including Morrison & Foerster. He is based in New York and reports to CEO Charlie Lexton.

First Artists Management, the talent agency representing composers and music supervisors, has rebranded as FAM Agency, and is expanding in tandem. Former Kraft-Engel Management agent Dan North joins, bringing a roster that includes composers behind Emily in Paris, Past Lives, and The Power of the Dog. Alexander Beltran (ex-Warner Bros.) joins as Head of Business Affairs in Los Angeles, and Julie Blake (ex-Erased Tapes) joins as Business Affairs Manager in London.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• Kenny Chesney's Nashville-based indie label HEY NOW Records has hired Dilan "Hef" Ames as VP of A&R (ex-Alamo Records, 10K Projects, Elektra) and Alyssa Ramsey as Director of Artist Development (ex-Anthem Entertainment, Play It Again Music Group).

• Marc Thomas joins The Circuit Group as Head of Artist Management, UK and Europe, bringing his dance music roster from Red Light Management to the company's London office. Thomas also previously worked at Defected Records and Rinse FM.

• Ben Farber has left his role as VP of Streaming Strategy and Revenue at Warner Records to join indie label and management company VERSION III full-time, alongside co-founder Josh Epple.

• Artist manager Vicky Dowdall — longtime manager of Nina Nesbitt and co-founder of Apple Tree Records — has joined RARE Entity, the culture-focused venture group co-founded by Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart, as Partner, Business Development. She also serves on the board of the Music Managers Forum.

• Music Venue Trust has expanded its senior leadership team with six appointments: Toni Coe-Brooker (Campaigns & Communications Manager), Sophie Asquith (Venue Support Manager), Chris Hurne (Head of External Affairs), Denzil Thomas (Partnerships Manager), Rebecca Walker (Live Projects Manager), and Adrian Norman (Financial Controller).

• The CCMA has named four new directors to its 2026–2027 Board: Kevin "Ice" White (Universal Music Canada), Chelsea O'Neill (Live Nation Canada), Katie Cheesbrough (SponsorPulse), and Damon Whiteside, the outgoing ACM CEO who covered last week's column.

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