The Magazine

Kobalt Music Group continues moving forward with their planned restructuring and expansion, as today Founder/CEO Willard Ahdritz ( No. 88 in Billboard's Power 100) announced that Pete Dodge, formerly the Managing Director at IODA UK and Vice President of IODA International, would take over as its new General Manager/Vice President of Artist and Label Services.

The appointment follows the company's announcement in January that they had purchased digital distributor AWAL and were expanding their scope with two new divisions, Artist and Label Services and Kobalt Neighboring Rights Limited. Those moves gave Kobalt the ability to serve their artists in a more comprehensive manner, rather than just the publishing arm they began as.

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At the time of the expansion, Ahdritz said in a statement that it represented "a response to our clients' needs and to a major shift in where we see the market is heading," and Dodge's hiring marks a further statement in that direction.

Dodge's background in distribution and marketing at IODA saw him in charge of all digital distribution in the UK, while he also previously worked at digital distribution pioneer Uploader, and as manager of European Operations at hip hop label Definitive Jux and General Manager for PIAS Recordings.

At Kobalt, he will be working to implement sales and marketing strategies for recording rights, and will work with another new Kobalt recruit, Managing Director of Artist & Label Services Paul Hitchman (who Dodge will report to), and AWAL's management team to expand the company's digital and physical distribution around the world.

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Echoing his previous statement, Ahdritz added this time, "The future is now, and in response to our clients' needs we are investing on many levels including the hiring of top experienced and dynamic executives such as Pete Dodge and Paul Hitchman. We are committed to empowering artists and labels with the same high level of transparency, creative, technology, accuracy and efficiency for their recording rights as Kobalt has successfully provided to songwriters and other owners of copyrights."

Kobalt, the subject of a recent Billboard cover story (Jan. 28), will begin steering its Artists and Label Services division toward maximizing revenues from digital retail, subscription, and social media services within the next year.