Lawrence Mestel, Partner and CEO

Lawrence Mestel brings 20 years of entertainment industry experience to Primary Wave Music Publishing. Primary Wave is a leader in applying an aggressive and creative approach to marketing its catalog of iconic and legendary artists and songwriters as well as providing a unique home to developing artists and songwriters through its history of marketing and branding their music. Primary Wave’s extensive catalog includes the songs of Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall and Oates, Chicago, Maurice White, Steve Earle, Graham Parker, Holy Knight, Steven Curtis Chapman, Lamont Dozier, Blue October, The Airborne Toxic Event, Saving Abel, Anberlin, Shwayze, New Boyz, Taddy Porter among many others. In addition to music publishing, Primary Wave has a talent management division, a games division, and an intellectual property creation company which also includes records. Before forming Primary Wave Music, Mr. Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records, where he was responsible for all marketing, sales and business-related aspects of the company. During his tenure, Mr. Mestel worked with iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Lenny Kravitz. Prior to that, Mr. Mestel was Executive Vice President and general manager at Arista, managing sales, international and strategic marketing, A&R and marketing administration, finance and business affairs. While at Arista, he developed such artists as Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Usher, Pink, Carlos Santana, Dido among many others. Before that, Mr. Mestel was Chief Operating Officer for Island Entertainment Group, which included Island Records, Island Music Publishing and Island Pictures Mr. Mestel has co-founded numerous companies over the years and has sat on such boards as Launch Media, Island Entertainment Group, Priority Homecare and Music for Youth.

Justin Shukat, Partner and GM

Devin Lasker, Partner and Chief Imagination Officer

Devin Lasker oversees all creative initiatives for Primary Wave.  He has held senior marketing and sales positions at Arista Records and Virgin Records over the course of his 15+ years in the music business.  While at Arista, Devin struck the deal that put the cast of MTV’s “The Real World” to work at the label, garnering massive world-wide exposure for their artists.  With a reputation for always thinking of the next “big idea”, Devin has helped develop the careers of many popular acts, including TLC, Sarah McLachlan, The Notorious B.I.G., Pink, Usher and Outkast. 

Adam Lowenberg, Partner and CMO

Adam brings 17 years of music industry experience to Primary Wave. He is responsible for all marketing related activities within the organization. Most recently, Mr. Lowenberg was Sr. VP of Marketing for Island Def Jam. He also served as Sr. VP of Marketing at Virgin Records and VP of Marketing at Arista Records. Adam's career has been punctuated by the multi-platinum success of such global superstars as Avril Lavigne, Dido, Sarah McLachlan, Pink, Rihanna and Bon Jovi.

Rob Horowitz, Head of Business Development

Rob brings more than 17 years of Wall Street experience to Primary Wave.  He will oversee the firm's business development and strategic acquisitions as well as expand the company's banking relationships.  Before joining Primary Wave, Rob was a Director at Credit Suisse, where he was the architect of Primary Wave's capital structure.  Mr. Horowitz is a recognized leader in the financing of intellectual property, being responsible for a number of landmark transactions including the first and largest-ever securitization of an international catalog of music copyrights, a $100 million transaction for the Chrysalis Group, Plc, and a series of financings raising more than $1 billion for pharmaceuticl royalty aggregator Royalty Pharma.  Additionally, while at Credit Suiss, Mr. Horowitz arranged acquisition financing for clients in M&A situations in the Media, Telecom and Retail sectors and worked closely with the Bank's proprietary investing arm to deply capital and various start-up and emerging business.  Prior to Credit Suisse, Rob held senior positions with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Greenwhich Capital Markets and Oppenheimer & Co. where he pioneered the securitization of such "esoteric" assets as margin loans, residential ground leases and equipment lease residuals.

Ramon Villa, Partner and CFO

Ramon Villa manages the financial and operational functions for Primary Wave. His 14 years of experience within the entertainment field has immersed him across many platforms including music, publishing, video, film and distribution. Most recently he worked closely with Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, as CFO and acting COO of Palm Entertainment Properties where he managed daily operations and financing activities. He was part of a team that built the catalog and brand value of Manga Entertainment, an anime content and copyright holder, from its U.S. inception through 2004 when he marketed and negotiated the sale of the company. Mr. Villa also gained extensive knowledge of sales and distribution as the CFO for Ryko Distribution, a leading independent music/video distributor.

Michelle Belcher, Partner and Head of Film & TV / GM, West Coast Operations

Ms. Belcher heads the Film & TV department for the company and facilitates new business development and marketing strategies as GM for the companies west coast operations. She has over 16 years experience having started in the world of soundtrack production with Morgan Creek, Columbia Records and Arista Records. She then moved on to BMG Music Publishing where she pitched, placed and closed deals for the likes of Coldplay, The Who and Christina Aguilera, among many others. She is a member of NARAS, FIND, the AIMP and the CCC and routinely speaks on industry panels and at UCLA and USC. She is also music supervising films; District 9 (Produced by Peter Jackson) and The Resident (a Hammer Film starring Hilary Swank).

Gregg Hamerschlag, Partner

Gregg Hamerschlag is a founding partner and branding and licensing entrepreneur who launched Primary Wave Media, an intellectual property licensing and branding company, with Mr.Mestel. Primary Wave Media has signed long-term IP agreements with Time Warner, AT&T Wireless, Comcast, MediaCom and VoIP, Inc. while also introducing the concept of a daytime television audience for “The Rolling Stones” through a branded entertainment agreement with NBC Universal.

Randy Miller, Partner

Randy Miller, one of the most respected marketing executives in the music industry, has held senior positions at Jive, Sire, MCA and RCA. Most recently, Mr. Miller was head of marketing for Virgin Records. Over his 25-year career, Mr. Miller has worked with many top-selling artists, including Britney Spears, R. Kelly, N’ Sync, The Backstreet Boys, The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz.

David Simoné , Partner

David Simoné has been President of Arista, Mercury and MCA Records in the UK before moving to the U.S.  He was the President of UNI Records, President of Polygram Music Publishing and EVP of Geffen Records.  Mr. Simoné then joined his current partner Winston Simone and formed Deston Songs, which became a very successful independent publishing company.   Mr. Simoné has worked with the world's greatest artists and songwriters from Elton John to Jon Bon Jovi to Desmond Child to Bono.  

Winston Simone, Partner

Winston Simone has been in the music industry for over 30 years.  As a manager, his clients have included Jan & Dean, Carly Simon, Joe Jackson, Curtis Stigers, Desmond Child, Michael Beinhorn, Michael Feinstein and Ricky Jay.  Mr. Simone has put on shows with his clients at venues ranging from Broadway to the West End, from the Bottom Line to Wembley Stadium and from Brisbane to Paris.  He has also produced television specials for his clients on the BBC, HBO, PBS and Cinemax.  With his partner, David Simone, Winston founded Deston Songs which became a highly successful music publishing company.

Robin Joseph, Partner and Sr. Director, Film & Television

Robin Joseph brings 10 years of Music Licensing, Clearance and Supervision experience in the Film & Television world to her position today, where she is responsible for pitching and placement.  She has worked with New Line Cinema, Artisan Pictures and on numerous productions as an independent Music Supervisor.  Robin's music clearance credits include The Notebook, A History of Violence, Friday After Next and the box-office smash, Wedding Crashers.  She was also responsible for music clearances in the promotional campaigns of films including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Austin Powers in Goldmember and Elf.  As a Music Supervisor, her credits include Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and most recently, the hit NBC show, American Gladiators.

Ryan Barkan, Partner and Sr. Director, Advertising & Video Games

Ryan Barkan is responsible for creating innovative and integrated campaigns within the advertising and video game spaces. Most recently, Ryan worked with Pontiac on an integrated music campaign that featured the new artist Shwayze’s hit single “Buzzin’,” and starred the artist himself. He has also placed songs in games such as Guitar Hero, SingStar, Rock Band, American Idol: Karaoke Revolution, LIPS, and more. When not at work, Ryan spends his time checking out new bands and attending shows. He chronicles each show with his trusty camera and writes about them on his music blog, http://freshbread.blogs.com.  His photos have been picked up by publications such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice and blogs like Brooklyn Vegan.  Lastly, Ryan does a mean back spin...but not on request. 

Evan Duby, Partner and Sr. Creative Director

Evan Duby is responsible for creating content that leverages Primary Wave’s copyrights. He is currently creating an animated series called J.Stache that stars John Oates of the rock n’ soul super duo Hall & Oates. As a songwriter, arranger and producer, Evan is also responsible for various recording projects and music initiatives at Primary Wave. Evan is a songwriter, has composed for independent films and has strategic relationships with several recording studios. Through his company Words With Management, Evan also represents recording artists and producers.

Jami Stigliano, Sr. Director Marketing

Jami Stigliano comes to Primary Wave with 10 years of music industry experience in digital, grassroots and strategic marketing, as well as product management. For six years, she was a rising star at the JIVE Label Group where she launched innovative marketing campaigns and developed a strong digital presence for the entire JIVE roster including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Chris Brown, Ciara, Three Days Grace, Jordin Sparks, OutKast and many more. Jami most recently served as a pop/rock product manager at JIVE, handling multi-platinum acts, as well as developing artists Allison Iraheta and Livvi Franc, among others. Prior to her stint at JIVE, she ran grassroots marketing campaigns for clients such as Arista, Columbia and Capitol Records, playing a fundamental role in the success of Avril Lavigne, Jimmy Eat World, and Michelle Branch. Some “fun facts” in her bio, Jami was named after the Bionic Woman, her first concert was New Kids on the Block, and she knows all the choreography to Single Ladies.

Marty Silverstone, Sr. Director, Film & Television

Marty is part of the West Coast film & TV team, cultivating and securing creative synch opportunities for the company’s songwriters and artists. Most recently, he headed the creative department of music publisher North Star Music Group, where he managed and promoted song catalogues featuring works by Collective Soul, Butch Walker and Bruce Hornsby. While at North Star, he helped found the company’s Independent Artist / 1-Stop Music Licensing division by building a roster of compelling, emerging bands for whom he secured placements in major film/TV projects, as well as in the advertising world. Before transitioning into music publishing and artist development, Marty launched his career in music as part of the Queen's University Department of Psychology music research team in Kingston, Canada, leading studies on the psychology of pop music and music technology. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Marty is also an accomplished musician and producer, working with emerging artists and songwriters in his spare time. He is an instructor at Berklee College of Music’s Los Angeles Program (Current Issues in the Music Industry), a member of NARAS, and regularly speaks on music industry panels.

Tavit Geudelekian, Director, Advertising & Video Games

Tavit is responsible for developing and directing Primary Wave Games, our new interactive software label. With four years of global experience producing console, mobile and PC games for Atari, Tavit brings his awards-winning experience to the music industry in a unique and exciting way. Primary Wave Games offers its artists and partners a doorway into the digital world through the conception and production of high-quality games, apps, widgets, websites and other fun stuff. With his intimate knowledge of the game development process, Tavit also creates exciting new opportunities on the advertising front, placing music in various games and creating/implementing new integrated campaigns. Tavit’s New Year’s resolution was to become a streak of light racing across the horizon and in this author’s humble opinion, he’s almost there…

Matt Jones, Partner and Controller

Matt Jones is responsible for all accounting functions for Primary Wave. Most recently he worked at Palm Entertainment Properties as Royalties Manager, where he oversaw the implementation of rights management and royalty systems for both its music and film divisions. He has extensive knowledge in copyright matters and in mechanical and compilation licensing. Mr. Jones previously worked as Finance Director of Ultra Records, the country’s leading independent electronic music label.

Seth Faber, Director, Marketing/Artist Development

Prior to joining Primary Wave, Seth was Manager of Artist Development at the Island Def Jam Music Group, where he oversaw the promotional and commercial touring activity for a roster of platinum and developing acts including Bon Jovi, Sum 41, The Rocket Summer, and Jon McLaughlin. Previously, Seth worked at the RCA Music Group, under the tutelage of current A&M / Octone Records CEO James Diener. In this role, Seth coordinated both A&R and Marketing initiatives for a number of successful artists including Maroon 5, Flyleaf, and Gavin DeGraw. In 2009, Seth was named to Billboard Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list of industry power players. He always finds the Afikoman.

Alex Stein, Marketing Coordinator

Alex decided to focus his talents on the music publishing industry and is responsible for planning Primary Wave’s annual Pre-Grammy party amongst various other events for the company’s diverse roster of artists. He is also involved in the execution of many of Primary Wave’s strategic marketing initiatives and the coordination of brand partnerships.

Primary Wave Talent Management

Michael "Blue" Williams

Cody Simpson, Khalil, Big Sean, D Smith, Thundercatz, Lords & Lady, Hard County

Jerry Blair

Ebony Bones, Laughing Pizza

Scott Frazier Saving Abel, Taddy Porter, Volbeat, Brent James, Crowfield

Rick Smith Saving Abel, Taddy Porter, Volbeat, Brent James, Crowfield

Aimee Berger

Aimee oversees the Camplified tour, a concert and branded experience inside summer camps for emerging artists and sponsors interested in targeting a captive audience of tween and teen campers. Her management clients include artists, Michael and Marisa, songwriter/producer Russ Desalvo and Ric Robbins.

Consultants

The Estabrook Group

The Estabrook Group (EG) is a strategic communications and branding firm that provides Primary Wave Music Publishing with a wide range of services, including strategic marketing campaigns, brand imaging programs and media relations consulting. EG’s client roster includes MSN (a division of Microsoft), NBA All-Star and Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James and Reveille, a television and film production and distribution company run by Ben Silverman.