gamma., the artist-first multimedia platform providing creative and business services across all artistic and commercial formats, today announces the appointment of music promotion pioneer Lionel Ridenour as Executive Vice President, Promotion.
In this role, Ridenour will spearhead gamma.’s radio promotion efforts across all formats and genres having already secured milestone results for gamma.’s artists across Top 40, Urban, Rhythm and R&B formats.
Highlights of his efforts include: 4Batz at #1 Urban and #1 at Rhythm; Sexyy Red securing 2 Top 10 Urban Hits with her latest “Get It Sexyy” on the way to #1; USHER as the sole recording artist in 2023 to hold the #1 position on three separate radio charts with one song; October London held the #1 position for 12 weeks at R&B and Top 10 at Urban.
Additionally, gamma.’s mid-year Mediabase Chart Share exemplifies the comprehensive success the company enjoys to date with the following Top 10 rankings: overall label #8, Top 40 #10, Rhythmic #7, Urban #7, R&B #2.
With an impressive background in street-team origination and collaborations with top executives and artists, Ridenour brings a wealth of experience and expertise to further the gamma mission. In recognition of his career landmarks, he received the 2023 Living Legends Foundation Awards’ Music Executive Award.
As a trailblazer in R&B and hip-hop promotion, Ridenour has made a lasting impact on the music industry. In 2013, he founded Anchor Promotions, the country’s only Black-owned label services and promotion company, where he served as CEO.
“Early into the formation of gamma., we oftentimes heard the critique that one of things we would be challenged to deliver on is radio promotion, for any artist at the highest level.
So, we challenged ourselves to roll up our sleeves and debunk that theory,” comments Larry Jackson gamma. Co-founder & CEO. “And it is because of Lionel, his staff, and our efficient spend in this area that we now have such an unbelievably strong radio marketshare for a company that’s only a year old.
Radio is still such an important mainstream access point to the heartland of so many countries, especially the U.S., and I am so happy to be able to have Lionel leading the charge for us in that regard.
It is also incredibly noteworthy that he’s the first African-American head of promotion in forty years for any major music company (we’re not a label, of course) and I am so proud to be able to be a part of this historic moment in the overall business.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining gamma. and want to thank Larry and Ike for the opportunity to grow past the boundaries of industry norms and lead all promotion efforts on behalf of a wide variety of incredible talent,” comments Ridenour.
“It’s gratifying to be a part of an intrepid company reshaping the manner in which careers can be magnified and propelled.”
Under Ridenour’s leadership, Anchor Promotions has played an integral role in the success of major and independent record labels seeking to gain a competitive edge in urban formats over the past decade, consistently delivering #1 and Top 10 records on urban airplay charts for the likes of Warner Records, Alamo, Red Bull, Hitco, and Geffen Records among others.
Prior to Anchor, Ridenour led the urban music departments of Virgin Records and Malaco Records, following a decade working closely with Clive Davis at Arista Records on projects with such superstars as Biggie, TLC, USHER, OutKast, and Whitney Houston among others.
He also led promotional efforts for L.A. Reid and Babyface’s LaFace Records as well as Bad Boy and Rowdy Records. Ridenour began his career as co-founder of the street promotion team Mainframe Records, later brought in house by Capitol Records.