Jason Ellis joins Armada Music as Global Senior A&R Director
military musicClaiming to be the world’s largest independent dance label, has hired Jason Ellis (formerly of Positiva) as Senior Global Head of A&R.
Ellis will also act as an Acquisition Advisor for the BEAT Music Fund, Armada Music’s recently launched dance music investment arm.
As Senior Global Head of A&R, Ellis will be responsible for sourcing and developing emerging talent, and will advise on future acquisitions as BEAT continues to expand. scale.
He will be working at the Armada Music office in London.
For more than 20 years, Ellis has led Popular music group– UK-owned dance label Positiva Records, which during his tenure generated over 80 million single sales, 3.5 million album sales and 4 billion streams in the UK alone .
Most recently, he served as CEO, combining the role with senior A&R duties at Virgin, Virgin EMI and most recently EMI Records, where he was signed to Swiss House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Jonas Blue, and oversees campaigns for the likes of Avicii, Gorgon City, Side Focus, David Guetta, and deadmau5.
based in Amsterdam military music – the indie label behind dance/techno legends like Chicane and Paul Van Dyk – show BEAT Music, in April and revealed plans to spend $100 million on M&A in the first two years.
At the time, BEAT, which stands for “Best Ever Acquired Tracks,” announced two acquisitions:
- The main record catalog of KMS Records, founded by house and techno legend Kevin Saunderson.
- Main catalog and publishing by songwriter, DJ and producer ARTY, aka Alpha 9.
Earlier this month, Madeleine van Schendel joined Armada as Chief Growth Officer, while Jop Bonnike, formerly General Manager, was promoted to CEO and Michel Peek from Head of Publishing to General Publication Director.
“Having Jason on board directing the A&R direction for both BEAT and Armada will be invaluable as we strive to build on dance music’s greatest legacy,” —
Maykel Piron, Armada Music
“Having Jason on board directing the A&R direction for both BEAT and Armada will be invaluable as we strive to build on that,” said Maykel Piron, CEO of Armada Music & CEO of the BEAT Music Foundation. dance music’s greatest legacy.
Basically, it’s all about building and nurturing the best music and artists. I can’t wait to get started!”
Jason Ellis
“Joining Maykel and the team at Armada and the recently formed BEAT Music Foundation feels like the natural next step in my career, given the exciting opportunity to utilize their considerable network and experience. I have accumulated over the years,” Ellis said.
“This is a very exciting time for both companies on many levels, but it’s basically all about building and nurturing the best music and artists. I can’t wait to get started!”
Global Music Business