Online retail and streaming service company The Beatport Group has promoted Matt Gralen to President and Helen Sartory to Chief Revenue Officer.
Both appointments will see them reporting to CEO Robb McDaniels at Beatport’s London office, according to a press release on Thursday (January 11).
In his expanded role, Gralen, presently the Chief Financial Officer, will collaborate closely with McDaniels on group-wide strategies while retaining his financial oversight responsibilities. Sartory, previously serving as SVP of Creator Services, will now preside over all revenue units within the company, including Beatport, Beatsource, Plugin Boutique, Loopcloud, LabelRadar, and Beatport Amp.
The move comes at a time when Beatport has experienced significant expansion under the leadership of McDaniels, who assumed the CEO role in 2017. McDaniels is best known as the founder of music distribution and services company Ingrooves, which he established in 2002 before departing in 2014.
Beatport’s annual revenue has more than tripled during McDaniels’ tenure, driven by the momentum in core DJ offerings and diversification of its product suite catering to producers, labels, and fans, the company said. The Beatport Group has launched or acquired eleven new products since 2019.
“Matt and Helen have proven themselves as trusted leaders through building out our product portfolio, supporting our diverse team and culture, and delivering profitable growth.”
Robb McDaniels, Beatport
Commenting on Gralen and Sartory’s promotions, McDaniels said: “Matt and Helen have proven themselves as trusted leaders through building out our product portfolio, supporting our diverse team and culture, and delivering profitable growth.”
“We believe that, just as streaming revolutionized the music industry in the previous decade, a significant shift to more engaged and interactive experiences is coming. DJs are the originators of this movement and all types of creators and fans are joining. I am pleased to have Matt and Helen take on expanded roles as we continue to invest in this future.”
Gralen, who joined Beatport as CFO in August 2022, brings a wealth of experience from his roles at UnitedMasters and Mass Appeal, as well as his background in investment firms Raine Group and Goldman Sachs, where he advised and invested in high-growth consumer, media and technology companies. In his new role as President at Beatport, Gralen will extend his oversight to strategic planning, new initiatives, and overall execution, while maintaining his role as CFO.
“Our team at Beatport cares deeply about the future of music for creators and fans, and we believe that strong businesses can help drive positive change,” Gralen said.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity ahead and the team I work alongside. We all look forward to delivering for Beatport’s global community.”
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity ahead and the team I work alongside. We all look forward to delivering for Beatport’s global community.”
Matt Gralen, Beatport
Sartory, who joined Beatport 18 months ago, most recently served as SVP of Creator Services, consolidating the company’s DJ and Producer brands. She has an extensive background in investment banking and a leadership role at The Rattle, an incubator for music technology startups. Sartory previously worked in investment banking at Greenhill & Co. and joined Lazard as Head of Emerging Technologies. She also holds board and advisory positions at Association for Electronic Music, Music Technology UK, International Music Summit, and Feedforward.
In her new role, Sartory will be tasked with driving the company’s growth strategy as it continues to roll out new products and services and expands to more territories.
“The last year and a half at Beatport has been incredibly rewarding,” said Sartory.
“We’ve built innovative tools and technology for artists, producers and labels, and have increased incremental revenue opportunities along the way. I am looking forward to working with the entire Beatport team in this expanded role to continue to transform our business.”
“We’ve built innovative tools and technology for artists, producers and labels, and have increased incremental revenue opportunities along the way.”
Helen Sartory, Beatport
Beatport has formed a number of strategic partnerships over the past year. In November, its label operations management platform Ampsuite partnered with San Francisco-based blockchain-powered music platform Audius to distribute their music to Audius.
In September, Beatport’s demo submission platform LabelRadar teamed up with London-born independent music company Defected Records to streamline the demo submission process for emerging talent.
In May, Beatport partnered with music metaverse gaming platform Pixelynx, founded by Deadmau5, to launch an artificial intelligence project called KORUS. Beatport also teamed up with TuneCore, a DIY music distribution company owned by Believe, to provide a new platform for TuneCore artists.
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