Republic Records has appointed Eddie Sears as its new EVP, Creative.
The news was announced today by Republic President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Roppo. Sears is based in the Republic Records New York Headquarters.
In his new role, Sears will oversee the Creative team, collaborating closely with the entire label roster. According to the announcement, he and his team “will facilitate visual presentation, brand storytelling, and world-building for superstar artists and developing talent alike”.
The department is responsible for creative strategy, packaging design, short and long form visuals, photo shoots, logo creation, immersive fan experiences and more.
Italy-born Sears served as the Creative Director at Ultra Records for nearly a decade.
His projects spanned Grammy Award-winning Black Coffee and Benny Benassi and Grammy Award-nominated Sofi Tukker, and Steve Aoki, to name a few.
Prior to that, he owned and operated his own creative agency based in Milan, Italy. The company handled creative for clients across multiple categories such as consumer products, fashion, and sports, among others.
Simultaneously, he worked as a singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist in his own right. Republic noted that under the moniker of Rocket Pengwin, he “generated millions of streams” across his releases, performed at Governor’s Ball and Nameless, and performed DJ sets at Inter Milan Annual Holiday Event and Amsterdam Dance Event. He also teamed up with wildlife preservation organization The Nature Conservancy.
“His spirit, energy and creative expertise are unmatched, and I’m honored to welcome him to the Republic Records family.”
Jim Roppo
Regarding this hire, Roppo said: “Eddie doesn’t just dig into the music; he completely entrenches himself within each artist’s vision.
“He studies every detail and proactively devises a creative strategy befitting of that vision. His spirit, energy and creative expertise are unmatched, and I’m honored to welcome him to the Republic Records family.”
“Jim Roppo, Monte and Avery Lipman know the importance of creative, and they’ve placed it at the forefront of Republic Records.”
Eddie Sears
Sears added: “Nothing is as powerful as an idea. On a daily basis, our team builds ideas for our artists, and we do so with an entrepreneurial mindset.
“Jim Roppo, Monte and Avery Lipman know the importance of creative, and they’ve placed it at the forefront of Republic Records. Moreover, they’ve given us the latitude and support to really make an impact. It’s an honor to work with such an incredible team.”
In March, Universal Music Group confirmed that its East Coast-based labels, including Def Jam, Island, Mercury, and Republic had been officially restructured around a “central operational hub” called Republic Corps.
According to the official announcement, as part of this new “collective”, each individual label “maintains and operates with full independence and creative autonomy”.
Jim Roppo was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Republic Corps, reporting directly to the co-chiefs of the label group, Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman.
New York-based Republic Corps confirmed that Roppo would “spearhead strategy and operations working with [our] individual labels; leading the Corps team and integrated departments”.Music Business Worldwide