Universal Music UK has appointed Grammy-nominated exec Stefan Demetriou as Managing Director of Globe Productions.
Demetriou, who founded Warner‘s ‘Firepit’ creative hub last year, will join the major’s London office in October – ahead of its 2018 move away from its current base in Kensington to a ‘state-of-the-art’ HQ in the city’s Kings Cross area.
The exec will be able to take advantage of an array of film-making and editing tech in the new office, which Universal says will help him and Globe ‘take audiovisual A&R to the next level’ in the UK.
Demetriou (pictured) will provide support to UMG’s label teams and artists in the UK, creating visual short- and long-form content.
Universal Music UK chairman David Joseph said: “The synergy between the worlds of music and visual has never been more relevant, with story-telling visual A&R now an essential part of any successful creative campaign.
“Our investment in this area will give artists and managers something way ahead of any current offering.”
“Our investment in this area will give artists and managers something way ahead of any current offering.”
David Joseph, Universal Music UK
That may or may not be a subtle reference to Warner UK’s ‘Firepit’ project – which also handles in-house audiovisual projects for a major music company in London.
Earlier this year, Warner’s (incoming) worldwide recorded music boss, Max Lousada, poached two award-winning Channel 4 creatives – Chris Bovill and John Allison – to take over the running of the division.
Demetriou’s own credentials, however, are mightily impressive: he spent 20 years across EMI and Warner, working on visual output for artists including Ed Sheeran, Muse, Gorillaz, Blur, Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Kylie Minogue, Tinie Tempah and Iron Maiden.
An alumnus of the prestigious film industry programme Inside Pictures, Demetriou is a multiple Grammy nominee for a range of feature documentaries, including his acclaimed work with Coldplay – with whom he has worked closely since they signed, producing or exec producing all their audiovisual and longform projects since 2003.
Most recently, Demetriou produced Ed Sheeran’s feature-length programme “Jumpers For Goalposts” for NBC and Sky, which has played theatrically in more than 95 countries.
Demetriou will report to Globe President Marc Robinson when he joins Universal in October.
“As we build on our current slate with different platforms and broadcasters, alongside the ground-breaking work being done in the branded content space, we are excited to welcome Stefan to the team so we can continue to pioneer and lead the pack in this field as part of UMG’s global audiovisual strategy.”
Marc Robinson, Globe
Robinson said: “Globe’s strength has always been its ability to collaborate and co-produce with talent and experts across the board in bringing ideas to life, offering creative, commercial and career-defining moments to our artists and managers.
“As we build on our current slate with different platforms and broadcasters, alongside the ground-breaking work being done in the branded content space, we are excited to welcome Stefan to the team so we can continue to pioneer and lead the pack in this field as part of UMG’s global audiovisual strategy.”
Demetriou said: “I’m delighted to be joining Marc’s Oscar-winning team at Globe. It’s an exciting time for Universal Music, particularly with the move to its new state-of-the-art headquarters next year. I am looking forward to collaborating with external producers and partners as well as developing the existing team to create compelling and creative content.”
Globe, which launched in 2012, brings sync and brand partnerships together with content creation under one roof at Universal.
In the past year alone, successful music partnerships brokered by Globe have included House of Vans, Jaguar Land Rover, Coca Cola, Carling and Samsung whose pairing with Polydor artists Years & Years resulted in an award-winning VR campaign.
In addition to its sync work, Globe Productions has produced long-form content for Queen, Take That, Paul Weller and Elton John as well as the long-running Launched with Red Bull/Future Sounds series on Channel 4.
Globe Productions also partnered with Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees’ On The Corner for the Oscar and Bafta-winning AMY.Music Business Worldwide
