Tom March has been appointed chairman & CEO of Capitol Music Group (CMG). He reports to Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA) chairman & CEO John Janick.
In his new position, March is responsible for the overall management and direction of the company, which encompasses Capitol Records, Blue Note Records, Motown Records, Astralwerks, Harvest Records and Capitol Christian Music Group.
Universal Music Group announced yesterday that Michelle Jubelirer had resigned as chair & CEO of Capitol Music Group (CMG).
Janick has also appointed Lillia Parsa as co-president of Capitol Music Group, joining co-president Arjun Pulijal, who will continue to focus on the company’s artist development efforts.
Parsa will work closely with March in planning the company’s creative direction and future growth. Both March and Parsa will be based in Hollywood, within the Capitol Tower.
John Janick said: “I’ve worked closely with Tom for the better part of a decade, first as he looked after IGA repertoire in his role as co-president of Polydor in the UK and more recently in his position as president of Geffen. He is a passionate and savvy executive who is a relentless advocate for artists and is committed to building successful executive teams. I know he will thrive in this important new role.”
He added: “Lillia is a gifted creative executive with very strong relationships throughout our business. I’ve personally gotten to know her over the years through artists we’ve signed together and via the amazing roster of songwriters she’s assembled at UMPG. I’m excited for her to take on this key position at Capitol, working alongside Arjun to continue to build a powerful platform for Capitol Music Group.”
Tom March said: “I’m thrilled to be charged with leading Capitol Music Group. The company’s deep legacy includes so many iconic artists and records that have long played important roles in my life, and the opportunity to help write CMG’s next chapter is a dream come true. I’m excited for Lillia to be joining me to define the creative direction of the company; she is spectacularly talented, and one of the most respected A&R executives in the business today.
“Together, we’ll work with Arjun and the brilliant CMG team to enhance the careers of artists on our current roster, as well as those who will be joining us in the future. John Janick and I have forged a great working relationship over the past decade, and it’s only become stronger with our amazing run at Geffen. That will absolutely intensify as we take CMG to the next level and share in even greater success together. I’m grateful to all of the artists at Geffen for their incredible music I’ve had the privilege to work on these past two years, and for the teams at Geffen and IGA who have been so supportive along the way.”
Lillia Parsa said: “I’m excited to be working with Tom to write the next creative chapter for Capitol Music Group; to work with an array of artists that currently call CMG home, as well as those that will be joining us in the near future. I’m also looking forward to working alongside Arjun as co-president of a company with such an illustrious and ongoing legacy. I thank John Janick for this great opportunity, and my longtime mentor [UMPG chairman & CEO] Jody Gerson for always supporting me and encouraging this next important step in my career.”
March was most recently president of Geffen Records, having joined two years ago after six years as co-president of Polydor Records in London and nearly 20 years within Universal Music Group. Geffen has had huge success with Olivia Rodrigo, while the company’s partnership with HYBE has delivered hits for V, Jung Kook and others. Kali Uchis is currently experiencing a global hit with Igual Que Un Ángel, K-pop superstars JK and Jimin both had No.1 Hot 100 singles, and the Rolling Stones' new album, Hackney Diamonds, hit No.2 in the US.
During March’s tenure as co-president of Polydor, the label won Record Company Of The Year at the Music Week Awards three years in a row. March has been integral to the careers of a diverse array of artists, leading projects for The 1975, ABBA, Avicii, James Blake, BlackPink, Billie Eilish, Eminem, Sam Fender, Florence & the Machine, Selena Gomez, Glass Animals, Ellie Goulding, Haim, Juice Wrld, Lorde, Lana del Rey, Michael Kiwanuka, Lady Gaga, Pop Smoke, Rolling Stones, Swedish House Mafia, The Who and many others.
He was previously GM of Virgin EMI (now EMI Records) for three years before joining Polydor. March was the chair of the 2022 BRIT Awards.
Prior to joining CMG, Parsa was SVP of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group, based in New York, having joined the company in 2018. Parsa signed, developed and built relationships with artists, writers and producers including Renee Rapp, Ice Spice, Julia Michaels, Billy Walsh, Blake Slatkin, Gracie Abrams, Omer Fedi, Nija Charles, Louis Bell, Cirkut and Jimmy Napes.
In the five years that Parsa has been at UMPG, her clients have worked across songs that have accumulated billions of streams, Grammy Award wins and nominations, and Hot 100 No.1s. These songs include Kid Laroi’s Stay (feat. Justin Bieber), Lizzo’s About Damn Time, Sam Smith’s Unholy, Halsey’s Without Me, Lil Nas X’s Montero and That’s What I Want, 24k Goldn’s Mood, and Ariana Grande’s Positions.
PHOTO CREDITS: Leo Cackett/Abigail Ross
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