The news was announced on Wednesday (February 7) by Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA) Chairman & CEO John Janick, to whom March reports.
In his new position, March is responsible for the overall management and direction of the company, which encompasses Capitol Records, Blue Note Records, Motown Records, Astralwerks, Harvest Records and Capitol Christian Music Group.
Concurrently, Janick has appointed Lillia Parsa as Co-President of CMG, joining Co-President Arjun Pulijal, who will continue to focus on the company’s artist development efforts.
Parsa will work closely with March in planning the company’s creative direction and future growth, including “the pursuit and nurturing of partnerships with artist and executive entrepreneurs to broaden and strengthen CMG’s connections within the creative community”.
Both March and Parsa will be based in Hollywood, within the Capitol Tower. CMG and IGA are divisions of Universal Music Group.
March’s appointment to the role of Chairman & CEO of CMG follows yesterday’s news that Michelle Jubelirer had stepped down from her role as Chair & CEO of the Universal Music Group-owned company.
News of Jubelirer’s exit yesterday, and today’s announcement, follow the recent restructuring announcement from Universal Music Group that affects Capitol Music Group.
Janick will provide support and leadership to Blue Note, Capitol, Geffen, Interscope, Motown, Priority and Verve; Lipman will take responsibility for Def Jam, Island, Mercury and Republic.
Elsewhere at Universal Music Group, the company was reported last month to be planning to make a number of layoffs this quarter (Q1 2024).
March was most recently President of Geffen Records, having joined that company two years ago after six years as Co-President of London-based Polydor Records and nearly twenty years total within the Universal Music Group global system.
Under March’s leadership at Geffen, Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album GUTS, achieved No.1 status in 14 countries, while the company’s partnership with HYBE delivered hits for V, Jung Kook.
Kali Uchis, who is also currently experiencing a global hit with Igual Que Un Ángel, and has achieved two Top 3 albums, Red Moon In Venus and Orchideas, in 10 months.
K-pop superstars JK and Jimin both had No.1 Hot 100 singles, while newcomer Yeat delivered his third Top 10 album in the last 16 months, and the Rolling Stones new album, Hackney Diamonds, hit No.2 album in the US.
Prior to joining CMG, Parsa was Senior Vice President of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), based in New York, having joined the company in 2018.
Among the many superstar artists, writers and producers Parsa has signed, developed and built relationships with are Renee Rapp, Ice Spice, Julia Michaels, Billy Walsh, Blake Slatkin, Gracie Abrams, Omer Fedi, Nija Charles, Louis Bell, Cirkut, and Jimmy Napes.
“[Tom March] is a passionate and savvy executive who is a relentless advocate for artists and is committed to building successful executive teams. I know he will thrive in this important new role.”
John Janick
“I’ve worked closely with Tom for the better part of a decade, first as he looked after IGA repertoire in his role as co-President of Polydor in the UK and more recently in his position as President of Geffen,” said Janick.
“He is a passionate and savvy executive who is a relentless advocate for artists and is committed to building successful executive teams. I know he will thrive in this important new role.”
Added Janick: “Lillia is a gifted creative executive with very strong relationships throughout our business. I’ve personally gotten to know her over the years through artists we’ve signed together and via the amazing roster of songwriters she’s assembled at UMPG.
“I’m excited for her to take on this key position at Capitol, working alongside Arjun to continue to build a powerful platform for Capitol Music Group.”
“John Janick and I have forged a great working relationship over the past decade, and it’s only become stronger with our amazing run at Geffen. That will absolutely intensify as we take CMG to the next level and share in even greater success together.”
Tom March
March said: “I’m thrilled to be charged with leading Capitol Music Group. The company’s deep legacy includes so many iconic artists and records that have long played important roles in my life, and the opportunity to help write CMG’s next chapter is a dream come true.
“I’m excited for Lillia to be joining me to define the creative direction of the company; she is spectacularly talented, and one of the most respected A&R executives in the business today.”
Added March: “Together, we’ll work with Arjun and the brilliant CMG team to enhance the careers of artists on our current roster, as well of those who will be joining us in the future.
“John Janick and I have forged a great working relationship over the past decade, and it’s only become stronger with our amazing run at Geffen. That will absolutely intensify as we take CMG to the next level and share in even greater success together.
“I’m grateful to all of the artists at Geffen for their incredible music I’ve had the privilege to work on these past two years, and for the teams at Geffen and IGA who have been so supportive along the way.”
“I’m excited to be working with Tom to write the next creative chapter for Capitol Music Group; to work with an array of artists that currently call CMG home, as well as those that will be joining us in the near future.”
Lillia Parsa
Parsa stated: “I’m excited to be working with Tom to write the next creative chapter for Capitol Music Group; to work with an array of artists that currently call CMG home, as well as those that will be joining us in the near future.
“I’m also looking forward to working alongside Arjun as co-president of a company with such an illustrious and ongoing legacy. I thank John Janick for this great opportunity, and my longtime mentor [UMPG Chairman & CEO] Jody Gerson for always supporting me and encouraging this next important step in my career.”
