NYC music startup UnitedMasters poaches new execs from top firms

New York City music startup UnitedMasters has poached a new slate of executives from tech firms including Uber, Twitter and Adobe. 

The Brooklyn-based startup, which helps musicians place their songs on streaming services like Spotify in exchange for fees or a cut of their revenue, has raised $170 million to date from high-profile backers including Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz. 

UnitedMasters’ hires include new head of engineering Pablo Jablonski, who previously spent seven years at Twitter working on the site’s live video and audio streaming features, among other projects.

He is one of hundreds of Twitter employees to leave the company in recent months as the company fights a knock-down, drag-out legal battle with Elon Musk. 

Matt Wing, who has left Uber’s communications department after seven years, is joining UnitedMasters as head of communications. 

Prior to joining Uber, Wing worked for then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press team from 2011 through 2014.

UnitedMasters — which was valued at $550 million in its latest fundraising round in Oct. 2021 — is also bringing on new chief people officer Nicole Keller from Adobe-owned software firm Frame.io, new marketing head Meg Donovan from online education site MasterClass and commerce chief Andre Howard from Warner Music Group.

Additionally, the startup is hiring on Damien Scott as head of brand strategy.

Scott previously worked as president of rapper J. Cole’s Dreamville Holdings and was the editor in chief of Complex Media. 

“We are growing fast and these new additions to our leadership team will help us continue to scale and democratize the music industry,” said UnitedMasters founder and CEO Steve Stoute, the record executive who has managed stars including Nas and Mary J. Blige.

UnitedMasters said it has more than doubled its headcount over the past two years.