Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood has been announced President of New York-based UnitedMasters by Steve Stoute, the company’s founder and CEO.
In her previous role as Head of Music Partnerships at Instagram, Wirtzer-Seawood (pictured) served as liaison to the music world and helped artists across genres maximize the platform’s potential.
UnitedMasters, a digital distribution, services and insights company, took on a $70m investment led by Alphabet/Google in November 2017.
Stoute commented “Lauren is a modern visionary in the music and tech industries. Her deep understanding of both ecosystems makes her perfectly suited to steer UnitedMasters as it rewrites the narrative of what it means to be an artist today. Lauren has always been a trailblazer and will be integral to the continued growth of UnitedMasters. I could not be more excited to welcome her to our team.”
Said Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood: “UnitedMasters represents the future. It is building an alternative model to facilitate success for artists who choose independence. More so than ever before, UnitedMasters is enabling new and exciting opportunities for artists to flourish on their own terms. I am thrilled to join Steve and the team to continue to drive his vision forward.”
“Lauren has always been a trailblazer and will be integral to the continued growth of UnitedMasters.”
Steve Stoute, UnitedMasters
Prior to joining Instagram, Wirtzer-Seawood, a 20-year music industry veteran, held a number of prominent roles in the business.
During her time at Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, she served as Head of Digital and held a key role in the surprise launch of Beyoncé’s first self-titled visual album.
Wirtzer-Seawood has also been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in business and featured on Billboard’s Power 100.
She has held roles at social-gaming platform, Zynga, and also spent over 10 years at Def Jam Enterprises.
In a press release, UnitedMaster said: “Lauren will guide UnitedMasters toward its goal of operationalizing independence and enabling artists to augment their creative and economic potential.
“As a new industry alternative, UnitedMasters provides artists with premium music distribution services, the tools and support they need to directly connect with fans and facilitates partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands including the NBA, Bose, and iHeartRadio.”Music Business Worldwide
