March 3, 2025
Shane Friedman
Director of A&R & Artist Development, Photo Finish Records
Friedman cherishes attending the inaugural When We Were Young fest and hanging with all the artists he grew up on, like Taking Back Sunday, The Maine, 3OH!3 and Jimmy Eat World. Having joined Photo Finish during the pandemic, he’s currently rolling out she’s green’s debut project on the label, with their first U.S. tour alongside Glixen and Suzy Clue, and gearing up for Colby T. Helms’ debut LP, produced by David “Fergie” Ferguson. Now based in the U.K., he was formerly a competitive chess player. We swallowed a pawn once.
Marita (Kelnhofer) Niemiec
Manager, Digital Marketing, Warner Music Nashville
Niemiec led digital marketing for Cody Johnson’s Leather and Leather Deluxe Edition, a campaign that culminated in an Album of the Year win at the 58th CMAs. She was also thrilled to see Johnson sell out his first headlining stadium show, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Tex. She’s now steering digital strategy for Chase Matthew’s Chase (2/21) and Redferrin’s Some City, Somewhere (2/28), while continuing work with Cole Swindell, Randall King and more in 2025. This Wisconsin native is an avid runner training for her fourth marathon. Alas, she couldn’t outrun us.
Guillermo Parra
Director of Artist Relations & Strategy, Warner Music Latina
Parra has worked as a label manager for stars like J Balvin and Karol G, which includes the campaign for the latter’s #1 album Mañana Será Bonito. Presently, Parra is focused on projects from Danny Ocean, Tokischa, Elena Rose, Sofia Reyes, Jesse & Joy and Kim Loaiza, and helped launch Ocean’s The REFLEXA Sessions to connect him with fans through an exclusive album showcase. He also worked on Rose and Ocean’s Latin Grammy-nominated “CARACAS EN EL 2000.” A former opera student, Parra can still hit the high notes. We can shatter glass, but only with our faces.
Roxy Sun
Director, International Marketing, EMPIRE
Sun has played a key role in shaping global marketing strategies for the likes of PJ Morton, Tyga, Fat Joe, Olamide and Fireboy DML—helping their music transcend borders. Most recently, she led the international rollout for G-DRAGON’s Übermensch (2/25), expanding its reach beyond K-pop. Born in China and now based in the Netherlands, her journey has been a cultural remix. Fittingly, her Chinese name means “good music.” If we had one, it would probably translate as “idiot.”
George D'Errico
SVP of DSPs, ONErpm US
D’Errico is proud to have played the long game with Chance Peña—executing a two-year plan that took him from 2m to 14m monthly Spotify listeners with a perfectly timed EP-to-album rollout. Now, he’s focused on breaking a new wave of artists, including Goldie Boutilier, Roll Mega, Susannah Joffe and Porsh Bet$. Before all this, he was in a punk band that dropped one vinyl EP in ’89—and broke up the same day. The label wasn’t thrilled, but it made for a great story. If we’d broken up in ’89, it would’ve been three years too late.
Alaina Lester
Associate Director of Sync Marketing, Epic Records
Lester’s career hit a high note when Meghan Trainor thanked her onstage at a sold-out Forum show for landing “Criminals” in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple. She also secured Madison Beer’s first Fortnite Emote—a dream come true for the artist—and helped forge Sony Music’s exclusive partnership with Duolingo’s music learning course. Up next, she’s excited to work on Zara Larsson’s album and new music from GIVĒON and Joy Crookes. When not diving into the latest show or book, she’s likely on a hike with her pup, Lucy. We may have just stepped in something of Lucy’s.
Megh Vakharia
Co-Founder & CEO, SymphonyOS
Vakharia’s career has come full circle—he first collaborated with SZA on CTRL, turning her sketches into a digital world, and later leveled up for LANA, transforming a physical ant farm into an interactive experience. Now, he’s focused on launching Maestro, an AI-powered Chief Marketing Officer within the Symphony app, billed as “an agency in people’s pockets.” In college, he built a weed delivery app, which led to a chance meeting with Metro Boomin. Six months later, he was in L.A. working on CTRL. Can we still get that order of pre-rolls?
Nina Travers
GM, Night Bass Records; PR Director, Rephlektor Ink
Travers turned a love for L.A.’s underground scene into a decade-long career at Night Bass, where she was just promoted to GM. She’s led key moments like a 10-date North American tour for Night Bass’ 10th anniversary, with AC Slater, Anna Lunoe, A-Trak, Chris Lorenzo and more, plus a 2,500-cap Night Bass City L.A. Block Party. At Rephlektor, she’s working on campaigns for Grammy-nominated Above & Beyond as well as labels like Defected and Insomniac. Her bat mitzvah party favors were custom-burned CDs featuring Tupac Shakur, Ludacris and 50 Cent. We ad-libbed our Torah portion.