Universal Music Group Announces Strategic Promotions In Global Classics & Jazz Division

Universal Music Group has announced a series of strategic promotions across the executive management team within its Global Classics & Jazz division. These appointments reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to growth and will provide focused resources to accelerate further transformation of its international business and market-leading classical and jazz labels.

Over the past two years Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz artists have garnered worldwide attention including Andrea Bocelli’s record-breaking livestream at Milan’s Duomo and Jon Batiste’s landmark 11 Grammy Award nominations. The Global Classics & Jazz team worked closely with their partner labels to build on their success to achieve broad international reach. Jazz and classical music listenership grew significantly during the pandemic as both new and long-term fans explored the genres.

Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz division works with the company’s market leading and iconic classical and jazz labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Blue Note, ECM, Verve/Decca US and Mercury KX, and is committed to growing the international profile for their genre-leading artists and labels.

“These new appointments represent the constant evolution of our international business”

“These new appointments represent the constant evolution of our international business,” said Sam Jackson, EVP, Global Classics & Jazz. “This exceptional team will support expansion and diversification across the pivotal areas of international marketing, communications, artist strategy and audience analytics. Focused on delivering our artists’ diverse creative ambitions, they will work together with our labels and partners, offering their global expertise and unrivalled insight.”

“These changes mark the latest step in our mission to deliver best-in-class service for our incredible artists”

Dickon Stainer, President & CEO, Global Classics & Jazz added, “These changes mark the latest step in our mission to deliver best-in-class service for our incredible artists, and for these genres of music which hold global cultural significance and are of great importance to us at UMG.”

Liz Chew, based in London, takes on a new role as Senior Director, Global Priorities – Marketing, having spent two years as Director, International Marketing. Chew joined Universal Music Group in 2011 from EMI Classics and has delivered highly successful marketing campaigns for Andrea Bocelli, including his number one album Si and Ludovico Einaudi’s Cinema, featuring scores from his Oscar- and BAFTA-winning films. Chew has masterminded international campaigns for superstar artists including Ennio Morricone, Luciano Pavarotti, Cecilia Bartoli and Ólafur Arnalds. She will lead a team spanning London and Berlin, creating global campaigns for a wide range of high-profile projects across Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz roster, as well as supporting new, emerging and developing artists.

Rachel Tregenza expands her role to become Senior Director, Global Priorities – Communications & Artist Strategy, after two years leading on PR for the division and shaping international album campaigns for classical and jazz artists including Max Richter, Lang Lang, Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, Víkingur Ólafsson and Gregory Porter. She also worked alongside Chew on Bocelli’s Music For Hope event which became one of the biggest musical live stream performances of all-time, with three million peak concurrent viewers.

Tregenza joined Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz division after five years at Decca where she worked across numerous key media campaigns. She will focus on new audiences for classical and jazz, driving artist strategy while working with label colleagues, artists and UMG Global Communications.

George Irwin is promoted to the newly created role of Audience & Analytics Manager, reporting to Paul Moseley, SVP, Content & Data. He will inform and elevate worldwide digital campaigns.

As the classical and jazz genres continue to grow, focus remains on expanding creative opportunities. The simultaneous emphasis on engaging current listeners whilst attracting new fans worldwide remains at the heart of Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz division, ensuring remarkable artists and their music are shared with the broadest possible listener base.

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