SONY PUBLISHING UPS ABITBOL

Sony Music Publishing has promoted Michael Abitbol to Senior Vice President, Head of U.S. Digital.

In his new role, Abitbol manages and oversees all aspects of Sony Music Publishing’s U.S. digital business as well as the newly expanded U.S. digital team. He is based in the company’s New York office and reports to Sony Music Publishing President, Global Digital, Antony Bebawi.

“Michael has a deep understanding of the U.S. digital-licensing landscape and he has built a great team that shares the same unwavering commitment to SMP’s songwriters,” Bebawi said.

Abitbol was instrumental in securing new deals with Peloton, Soul Cycle and other fitness-related apps and extending deals with Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. He launched his career at the company in 2007, specializing in digital deals at EMI Music Publishing, and in 2012 moved to Sony Music Publishing when it took over administration of the EMI catalog.

Before joining EMI, Abitbol worked as a lawyer at Davis & Gilbert, with a focus on entertainment-related agreements. He also previously worked in artist management.