beatBread has added advisers from Meta and Suno to its advisory board, with members drawn from indie music, publishing, streaming, technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and music rights investment. The additions come as new chief executive officer (CEO) Andreea Gleeson shapes the indie music financing platform’s future, the company said on Thursday (Nov. 12).
Who joins the advisory board#
The board includes the following members:
- Scott Sellwood, director of music business development at Meta
- Jeremy Sirota, chief commercial officer at Suno
- Johan Ahlström, CEO and co-founder of Kobalt Capital, originally the investment arm of Kobalt
- Oana Ruxandra, formerly investments and partnerships lead for Warner Music Group, now CEO and founder of PopHatch
- Adam Parness, Spotify’s former global head of music publishing
Leadership change and rising competition#
beatBread has had a difficult year since the death of its founder and CEO, Peter Sinclair, in 2025.
Former TuneCore CEO Gleeson says the advisory group will help guide beatBread’s thinking on new, more flexible advance and loan products, long-term strategy and market positioning. The company faces increased competition for providing advances.
“Independent artists, songwriters and music companies are building increasingly sophisticated businesses, but the financial tools available to them haven’t always kept pace,” said Gleeson, who was installed as beatBread’s CEO in September. “I’m excited to have [the advisory board’s] experience and perspectives to help us think through what’s next for beatBread.”
Funding and track record#
beatBread was founded in 2020 to issue capital to independent artists, labels and songwriters who want to maintain ownership of their music. The company says it has issued around $100 million in advances through some 2,000 transactions with creators.
Last year, beatBread raised $124 million in credit and equity capital from Citi, longtime investor Deciens Capital and others. The funds are intended to scale its AI-enhanced underwriting technology, chordCashAI, internationally.
AI and machine learning adviser#
In March, beatBread added Jameson Toole as a board adviser on AI and machine learning. Toole was previously a staff machine-learning engineer at Spotify and co-founder of Fritz AI.
