Veteran communications exec Liz Morentin has launched Greenvalley Media & Marketing, focusing on entertainment, media and technology companies and their leaders.
Morentin most recently served as SVP and head of global communications and brand strategy at Virgin Music Group, and over the years has held top roles at Warner Bros. Records, Paradigm Talent Agency, Live Nation, RCA Records, and Dick Clark Productions. Related Stories 'Things We Never Got Over' Amazon Series Adds Six to Cast Elizabeth Banks Officially Set to Play Karen Read in Amazon Series
“Our industry has transformed so much over the years making it possible for so many more businesses and executives to achieve global success and become highly regarded global industry players, from indie record labels and distributors to tech platforms and media companies. I’m launching Greenvalley to support these businesses and executives looking to build their reputation, grow their business, and reach the right audiences,” said Morentin. Popular on Variety
+ Three Six Zero have announced a new division, Entertainment & New Media spearheaded by Rebecca Dowell. According to the announcement, Dowell, who joined Three Six Zero in 2024, will lead a strategic focus on talent across the entertainment and digital media landscape. She will be seeking dynamic, boundary-pushing talent including digital creators, multi-hyphenate creatives and IP based projects that are shaping culture across platforms and redefining how audiences engage with content.
Her roster includes Amelia Dimoldenberg, whose “Chicken Shop Date” recently secured a licensing deal for distribution on Netflix, as well as British Comedy Award winner and BAFTA-nominated comedian, actor and satirist Munya Chawawa.
Dowell previously served as talent director at YMU Group and head of talent for management company Moxie, at Studio71UK.
+ Veteran singer-guitarist and founding Runaways guitarist/singer Lita Ford has signed with Frontiers Music Srl and will debut her new single, “Dracula,” on October 27, with an album to follow.
“It’s been a long journey to create this magical dark fairytale album for everyone to enjoy” Ford said. “I needed the perfect team to make that happen and to help give this powerful record a life it deserves. I am so happy to say I have officially sealed the deal with Frontiers Music Srl!”
+ Position Music, the independent music company founded by Tyler Bacon, has appointed veteran music executive Pete Robinson as GM of creative in Nashville. Robinson will report to Bacon and President Mark Chipello.
Robinson was a founding partner of Big Deal Music, which became one of the industry’s leading independent music publishing companies before being acquired by Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs in 2020. Robinson remained with the company through its transition to Hipgnosis until 2022 before founding Pete Robinson Consulting. Over the years he also held senior executive roles at RCA and Epic Records and was owner/operator of Dumbo Studios in New York.
“We have a real vision for what we are building in Nashville, and Pete is the right person to help lead us into this next chapter,” Bacon said. “He is well equipped, both creatively and relationally, to work across Nashville’s music community as a whole, which is so important to us. He also has a strong track record of hiring great creative executives and I’m confident he will build a strong team in Nashville to support our songwriters and artists.”
Position’s Nashville roster includes Dave Cohen, Matt Geroux (in partnership with the Core), Khalid Yassein (Wild Rivers), Zach Skelton, Maya K., Steve Solomon, Hunter Metts (JV with Interscope), and Kate Morgan.
+ The ASCAP Foundation has named the winners of its 57th annual Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards for outstanding books, articles, liner notes and broadcast programs.
“The authors, journalists, and filmmakers we honor this year illuminate the soul of music creation across concert, rock, R&B, folk, musical theatre, and children’s music, ensuring the stories of music innovators are preserved with the depth and distinction they deserve,” said The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director, Patricia Leonard.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in pop music recognizes directors Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson and David McMurry for their documentary film Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, released in 2025, a unique storytelling of the legendary cult R&B musician Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams’s and his housemates’ musical creative life in Los Angeles surrounding his pool.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in concert music recognizes radio host and producer Gail Wein for “Classical Gas,” produced by Classical Voice North America, the 2025 podcast series of interviews with classical musicians available on multiple platforms.
A Special Recognition Award in the above category is given to Rick Beato for his 2025 YouTube series, Everything Music, exploring music, technology and issues facing music creators in today’s industry.
The ASCAP Foundation Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award honors percussionist Ruth Komanoff Underwood for her personal essay for “Cheaper than Cheep,” the live box set from the 1974 concert film by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, on ZAPPA RECORDS/UMe.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in pop music are presented to:
Gayle Wald for This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement, the life story of “the first lady of children’s music,” published by University of Chicago Press.
James O’Leary for The Middlebrow Musical: Between Broadway and Opera in 1940s America, an exploration of how musicals such as Oklahoma!, Beggar’s Holiday, and Street Scene embraced weighty stories in ways not seen before 1943, published by Oxford University Press.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in concert music go to:
Lucy Caplan for Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera, an account of Black innovation in American opera during the Harlem Renaissance, published by Harvard University Press.
Tim Greiving for John Williams: A Composer’s Life, the first biography of one of the most important film composers of all time, published by Oxford University Press.
Special Recognition Award in the above category is given to Steven C. Smith for Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores that Changed Cinema, published by Oxford University Press.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award recipients for articles published in 2025 are as follows:
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the pop music field goes to Ben Sisario, “The ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Music Legends’ Decaying Tapes,” on the intricate efforts to restore analog tapes with original recordings from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and more, published by The New York Times.
The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the concert music field goes to Esteban Meneses, “Revolución: Mexican Composers on the Rise,” a look at Mexican composers whose works are being performed, commissioned, and recorded by orchestras around the world, published by Symphony Magazine.
Special Recognition Award in the above category is given to Max Keller, “Does It Matter How A Cello Is Held? It’s a Centuries-Old Debate,“ published by The New York Times.
The Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism is presented to Gabriel Kahane for his article, “A Love Letter to Music Listings,” published by The Atlantic.
After a five-decade career with BMI, Barbara Cane has announced that she will retire from the company at the end of this year. While she is leaving her current role as BMI’s Vice President of Worldwide Creative, Cane has agreed to serve in an advisory capacity to BMI, working directly with CEO Mike O’Neill.
“After more than five decades, BMI is not simply where I have built my career — it is part of who I am,” Cane said. “It gave me the opportunity to grow, to discover, and, most importantly, to uncover the soul within the songwriter. Through every chapter of my journey, I have come to understand that creativity is not simply a profession; it is the heart of who songwriters are and the force that moves our industry forward. What has made this journey so meaningful is that my own values remain deeply aligned with those of BMI – to believe in creators, to nurture their gifts, and to create an environment in which their careers can flourish. After fifty years, that purpose still lives in my heart—and it is why this work has never felt simply like a career, but like a calling.”
O’Neill added, “Barbara is one of the first people I met when I joined BMI almost 32 years ago, and her kindness, caring nature and warm welcome showed me exactly why she is so loved by so many in our industry. She has demonstrated that same care and attention time and again to the many songwriters she worked with, nurtured and supported, and it’s why her relationships in this industry have endured. While Barbara and I started out as colleagues, we’ve ended up as family, and I don’t know many who can say that about the people they work with. The beautiful thing for me is that Barbara has agreed to continue working with me as an advisor, allowing BMI and our writers to still have her insight and counsel, while also allowing her to enjoy some time away from us for the first time in fifty years.”
Cane began working at BMI part-time in 1970 while she was still in high school and has dedicated her entire professional career to the company. She held numerous roles throughout her tenure, starting in BMI’s “Song Research” department and holding a number of creative roles including General Manager of the Los Angeles office as well as Vice President of Creative in New York, Los Angeles and London, directing the creative activities for BMI’s Pop, Rock and Indie teams.
+ Electric Feel Publishing has signed songwriter and producer Naila to the company’s UK roster.
Naila is a London-based, multilingual writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Barcelona who has worked with Joel Compass, H.lls, P2J, Gabzy, Moon Willis, Rimon, BenjiFlow, Mahalia, AoD, Dinos, JJ and ColeYoursTruly, among others. She has worked closely with and developed Spanish artists Violeta, Paula Cendejas, Chiara Oliver and Olivia Bay, as well as French artist Anaïs Cardot.
“I am incredibly excited to become a part of the amazing team at Electric Feel, it’s a blessing to be surrounded by this amount of talent and skill and I cannot wait for the music and experience ahead with the EF family!” said Naila.
+ Warner Chappell Music Nashville has struck a global publishing deal with Kentucky-reared singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nichols, known for her breakout single, “I Got a New One.” She made her Grand Ole Opry debut last November and has performed at Stagecoach, Lollapalooza, C2C and CMC festivals and has opened for Little Big Town, Jason Aldean, Russell Dickerson, and Jordan Davis.
“I’m very excited to join Warner Chappell, where I can finally monetize my questionable taste in men. I have the best team in the world. Here’s to many more songs.”
Katy Wolaver, SVP, A&R, Warner Chappell Music, shared: “Elizabeth is a breath of fresh air… witty, clever, and unabashed in taking authentic life experiences and turning them into irresistible lyrics and melodies. Her songs embrace a wide range of moods and emotions, from unique takes on relationships to political satire. In just a short time on the country landscape, she’s moved her career into high gear, and all of us at Warner Chappell are delighted to join her on what is sure to be an incredible ride.”
+ Sony Music Publishing Nashville, in partnership with Taycan Entertainment, has signed rising songwriter and producer Jared Conrad to a worldwide publishing deal. Conrad has earned cuts with Cody Johnson, Lee Brice, Brothers Osborne, Ian Munsick, Randall King, Mitchell Tenpenny and Austin Snell, among many others. His credits also include co-writing Pentatonix and Meghan Trainor’s “Kid On Christmas” from Pentatonix’s Grammy-nominated album “Holidays Around the World.”
+ Columbia Records has announced the expanded role of Manos Xanthogeorgis as Executive Vice President, Creative & Digital, leading a newly formed creative team while continuing to oversee digital across the labe
In his expanded role, Xanthogeorgis will oversee creative and art direction, short- and long-form content, and the label’s digital functions, including audience development, viral marketing and social.
“What I love about music is that something deeply personal to an artist can become just as personal to someone they’ve never met. Finding new ways to help that happen is what keeps this work so exciting for me,” said Xanthogeorgis.
