UnitedMasters Adds Four Executives as Its Roster Posts Record Chart Numbers
UnitedMasters hired four executives to its leadership team on Monday, August 10, as first reported by Billboard. The independent music distributor, led by CEO Steve Stoute, brought in leaders from Warner Records, Universal Music Group and The Orchard to fill roles across marketing, sync, commerce and operations.
Todd L. Perry II joined as vice president and head of artist and label marketing, the same role he held at Warner Records. Jason Peerless was named vice president of artist and label operations, arriving from Universal Music Group, where he spent 12 years at Def Jam overseeing A&R operations — the department that scouts and develops signed artists.
Luca Zanello took the post of head of brand and sync, bringing more than two decades of experience from The Orchard, Roc Nation and MSM Group. Sync licensing, the placement of recorded music in films, television and advertising, is a revenue stream that independents have aggressively built out in recent years. Goldie Harris was appointed head of commerce, responsible for the company's global commerce strategy and direct-to-fan initiatives — the merchandising and ticketing channels that let artists sell straight to listeners without a retailer in between.
The hires land against a run of commercial results for UnitedMasters artists. Brent Faiyaz's album ICON debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and No. 6 on the Billboard 200, the all-genre album ranking — the highest a UnitedMasters release has climbed on that tally, according to Billboard.
RIAA certifications, the US body's measure of sales and streaming thresholds, tell a similar story across the roster. BigXthaPlug's album I Hope You're Happy was certified gold, his single "Hell at Night" featuring Ella Langley went platinum, and "All the Way" featuring Bailey Zimmerman reached two-times platinum. FloyyMenor's single "GATA ONLY" was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA.
UnitedMasters also added La Reezy, Grace Carter, Kid Apollo and Elise Elvira to its roster.
The company has been building its executive bench steadily. David Reich was named president in December 2021, succeeding Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood. LaTrice Burnette was appointed executive vice president and head of music in June 2024. Jesse Morav serves as vice president of A&R. The latest four appointments round out a structure designed to support a growing catalogue and an artist base whose releases are now charting alongside those of the three major labels.
UnitedMasters positions itself as an alternative to the major-label system, offering artists distribution and services while allowing them to retain ownership of their masters — the original sound recordings that generate royalties. How those services scale as the roster grows is the question these hires are meant to answer.
