In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.

This week's entrants will also find their faces in our most recent mag. Lucky for them, this feature—and $28.95—will get them a "special" Erewhon smoothie, whatever that means.

Ritz McCain
Senior Editor, Christian & Gospel, Spotify

Back when McCain worked at RCA Inspiration, she helped preview Snoop Dogg’s Snoop Presents Bible of Love to streaming partners at The Compound, where he played the unreleased music in the Mothership room. This year, she and her teammates attended the Stellar Awards (Spotify was an official partner) and helped host a fireside chat with Kirk Franklin, DOE and Pastor Mike Jr. and the master class “The State of Gospel Music and New Media Players.” A sprinter in college, McCain is confident she can outrun most people, which will come in handy if she spots us.

Ryan Faus
VP of A&R and Research, Arista

Faus is a witness to music history, having observed firsthand the Spotify-driven explosion of streaming while a researcher at Warner Music. Since joining Arista, he’s seen Tai Verdes’ multiplatinum “AOK” go from demo to Lollapalooza singalong, delivered Beach Weather its platinum plaque for “Sex Drugs Etc.” and thrift-shopped with carolesdaughter. He’s now excited about Måneskin’s upcoming Madison Square Garden show and Arista’s new signing Rec Hall. Faus has come a long way since growing up in Pennsylvania Amish country. We’ve come no way from nowhere.

Kierra Felton
Director, Media, Republic

Felton was delighted when cover stories and other press moments she facilitated for Coi Leray made it onto Spotify/Hulu’s RapCaviar Presents, confiding, “It was incredible to see my work on TV.” She’s also been busy spreading the word about new music by Joy Oladokun (Proof of Life), Big Boss Vette (Resilience) and Sekou (Out of Mind), as well as advancing the careers of Ski Mask the Slump God, ATL Jacob, Ka$hdami and Yung Gravy. Felton interned every year from the age of 13 until she found her path in PR. We’re living proof that all press is not good press.

Gunner Safron
Marketing & Artist Development, Range Media Partners

Among other Range endeavors, Safron helped guide brand development for the Friends Keep Secrets label, which included partnering with benny blanco for a series of events, handling a merch collab with Saint Luis and brainstorming ad campaigns for blanco x Halsey x Khalid’s “Eastside.” He’s presently focused on expanding Eddie Zuko’s fan base ahead of his tour and working on marketing campaigns for Saweetie. Safron, whose first job was in the kitchen of his grandparents’ restaurant, is a partner in two eateries. Tragically, we’re banned from both.

Peter Kurczaba
Director, Creative Sync, Primary Wave Music

In a major coup, Kurczaba placed “Faith,” by Skip Marley (Bob’s grandson), in a trailer for Netflix’s Our Great National Parks, which, like the docuseries, was narrated by Barack Obama. Lately, Kurczaba has been A&R’ing covers and remixes of PW’s catalog for sync opportunities; new versions of songs by Stevie Nicks, Alice Cooper, Chris Isaak and Smokey Robinson are all in the offing. Kurczaba’s two-year-old mini schnauzer/poodle mix, Alfie, is named after al pastor (“shepherd style”) tacos. Despite our own deliciousness, no one has named anything after us.

Paul Wright
Director, Creative Marketing, Red Bull Records

Wright has put Blxst and guests Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga on the 50-yard line at L.A.’s John Marshall High School for the “Chosen” video, helped enact Blxst’s Clio-winning partnership with Apple Maps for his “Guide to L.A.” and worked in Madrid with Red Bull’s Spanish-language freestyle-competition champ Arkano. He’s currently setting up Beartooth’s new album, collaborating with Toronto rapper JUGGER on WondaGurl’s imprint and upgrading the label's YouTube channel. Wright marched snare drum in college. We’ve been drummed out of various things.

Erin D. D. Burr
VP, Media Relations, Gold & Platinum Awards, RIAA

Burr was thrilled to host Caitlyn Smith and her all-female team on International Women’s Day for a talk about working in a male-dominated field. She’s also advocating for the responsible use of AI to respect and support human creativity (the RIAA is a founder of the Human Artistry CampAIgn). John Prine jokingly referred to Burr—who spent a decade at Nashville’s Big Machine, working extensively with Reba—as “Reba” (“a badge of honor”) for years after Burr’s karaoke performance on a Cayamo cruise. We, too, have been accused of dueling Alexander Hamilton.

Paul Thom
Founder, The Thom Brand PR

In 2021, Thom directed publicity for The Rose Fest Music Festival, which was the first Covid-compliant fest in California and featured performances by Mozzy, Eric Bellinger, Rubi Rose and more. Fast forward to 2023, and now he’s leading global PR for the first-ever Caribbean Music Awards (8/31), hosted by Wyclef Jean, as well as spearheading publicity for projects like Fridayy’s debut album, Zae France’s new EP and Lola Brooke’s debut project. Thom, alongside his cousins, once dropped a song called “Searchin’” on Myspace and YouTube. We just drop F-bombs.