Mary Catherine Kinney appointed EVP of Artist & Label Strategy at Republic Corps

Mary Catherine Kinney has been appointed Executive Vice President of Artist & Label Strategy at Republic Corps.

The news was announced on Thursday (October 3) by Republic Corps President and COO Jim Roppo.

Based in Nashville, Kinney will support artist and label strategy for the Republic Corp Collective, which includes Republic Records, Island Records, Mercury Records and Def Jam Recordings.

She also leads business strategy for the group’s labels.

Prior to joining Republic, Kinney was the Head of Artist Partnerships at Spotify, having joined the company in 2018 following roles at Sony Music Nashville and Universal Music Group Nashville.

During her tenure leading Artist Partnerships at Spotify, she launched and led the team responsible for artist and manager relationships as well as genre marketing initiatives.

Their projects ranged from partnerships with Taylor Swift, Karol G and Zach Bryan to introducing Spotify’s “Billions Club” series, “Casa Spotify” in Puerto Rico, and “Spotify House” at CMA Fest.

Prior to being promoted to Head of Artist Partnerships, Kinney held roles as Lead, Strategic Music Partnerships and Manager, Artist & Label Partnerships.

During her time at Sony Music Nashville, she rose through the ranks to Publicity Director. In this role, she worked with country superstars, including Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Maren Morris, and more.

In 2011, Kinney began her music career at Capitol Records Nashville, later becoming Universal Music Group Nashville where she worked in Marketing and Publicity.

“Her reputation and work ethic have uniquely positioned her to flourish supporting the labels at REPUBLIC.”

Jim Roppo

Roppo said: “Mary Catherine is one of the music industry’s most inspiring leaders. She’s widely respected across the business and in Nashville.

“Her reputation and work ethic have uniquely positioned her to flourish supporting the labels at REPUBLIC.  She’s the perfect executive to seamlessly facilitate our expansion in the market.”

“For over a decade, I’ve called Nashville home and I’m honored for the opportunity to steward REPUBLIC’s vision within this vibrant, ever-growing creative community.”

Mary Catherine Kinney

Kinney added: “I’m thrilled to join REPUBLIC to build with each label team on their unique mission and work with such a phenomenal roster of artists.

“For over a decade, I’ve called Nashville home and I’m honored for the opportunity to steward REPUBLIC’s vision within this vibrant, ever-growing creative community.

“I have deeply admired Monte, Avery and Jim as visionaries and esteemed leaders for many years; I thank them for this extraordinary opportunity.”Music Business Worldwide