Sony/ATV Music Publishing has promoted Jennifer Knoepfle to the role of Senior Vice President and Head of West Coast A&R, based in the company’s Los Angeles office.
At the same time Amanda Berman-Hill has been elevated to the new role of Senior Vice President and Head of West Coast Writer Relations, also based in Los Angeles. Both take up their new roles with immediate effect and report into Sony/ATV Co-President, U.S. Rick Krim.
Martin Bandier, Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO, said: “Working on behalf of our songwriters is at the heart of what we do at Sony/ATV and in Jennifer and Amanda we have two exceptional A&R executives with a gift for maximizing the opportunities for songwriters. These promotions recognize the hugely important contribution they both make to our West Coast office and I look forward to them achieving many more successes with both our new signings and our existing roster in the future.”
Rick Krim said: “When I joined Sony/ATV last year, I was very lucky to have had two gifted executives like Jennifer and Amanda already at the company. Jennifer has consistently shown her talent for A&R with her string of quality signings, and has also demonstrated her ability to be a leader. Amanda has proven herself time and time again with our writers, both in helping them to develop their skills and in finding them the best opportunities to showcase their talent. Together with the rest of our fantastic A&R team, I am excited to be working closely with Jennifer and Amanda as we look to take Sony/ATV to even greater heights.”
Jennifer Knoepfle said: “I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Sony/ATV in this newly appointed role. I am thankful to Marty and now Rick Krim for supporting my growth as an executive here and I look forward to continuing to develop and nurture amazing talent for Sony/ATV.”
Amanda Berman-Hill said: “I am excited to continue working closely with our great songwriters and artists, and thankful to Marty and Rick for their continued support. Sony/ATV is home to the best songwriters in the world and it’s a privilege to work with them.”
Knoepfle, who was previously Senior Vice President, Creative, joined Sony/ATV in May 2009 in the role of Senior Director of Creative and has gone on to sign acts including Grammy-winning songwriters Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost of the bands Bleachers and Fun along with Grammy-nominated artist Leon Bridges, Grimes, Clams Casino, Band of Skulls, Lord Huron, Broods, up-and-coming artists Grace Mitchell and Kelela as well as signing jointly with Berman-Hill multi-platinum songwriter Tim Pagnotta.
Knoepfle has also worked closely with many of the writers on Sony/ATV’s roster, including Joel Little who co-wrote Lorde’s debut album Pure Heroine, which featured Grammy Song of the Year “Royals”, Charli XCX whose own success as a recording artist has run alongside penning global hits such as Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” and four-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Joy Williams. Knoepfle was named in December by Billboard as one of the 50 most powerful women executives in the music industry.
Prior to joining Sony/ATV she spent four years as Senior Director of Membership at ASCAP where she brought in a number of top songwriters to the organization, including The Killers, Lana Del Rey and Greg Kurstin.
Amanda Berman-Hill joined Sony/ATV in 2012 in the role of Vice President, Creative following the takeover of EMI Music Publishing where she had worked since February 2005. She was previously at Warner Bros. Records.
Her signings at Sony/ATV include Jesse Shatkin, who co-wrote Sia’s Grammy-nominated worldwide Top 10 hit “Chandelier” and One Direction’s current single “Perfect”, 3Oh!3, Martin Johnson and Rachel Platten who under her guidance scored a breakthrough hit last year with “Fight Song”, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. where it sold 2.5 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. She also signed the song’s co-writer Dave Bassett who also co-wrote Elle King’s Top 10 hit “Ex’s & Oh’s”, which has been shortlisted for two Grammys.
She has additionally worked closely with writers including Greg Kurstin who co-penned Adele’s 2015 single “Hello”, which was a No. 1 hit around the world, including in the U.S. where it has sold 4 million downloads and spent its first 10 weeks leading the Hot 100. Kurstin contributed two further songs to Adele’s album 25, which sold 7.4 million copies in the U.S. and 2.5 million copies in the U.K. last year and was the year’s biggest-selling album worldwide.
