Music Industry Moves: Live Nation Hires Cindy Agi, Leslie Hermelin Joins Marauder

Live Nation has announced that Cindy Agi has joined its Concerts team as a Global Tour Promoter. In her new role, Agi will be responsible for building relationships with global touring artists and booking major international tours around the globe.

Agi was previously the co-head of the hip-hop department at WME and was their first black female partner. She represented Rihanna, Big Sean, Andra Day, Demi Lovato, Jazmine Sullivan, Snoh Aalegra, Cordae, 2 Chainz, Blxst, and other globally-renowned hip-hop, R&B, and pop stars. Agi began her career with WME in 2009, working in the mailroom before rising through the music department ranks to become an agent.

She will report to Omar Al-joulani, who leads Live Nation Concerts’ Talent & Touring team along with Chairman of Global Touring Arthur Fogel, and will work alongside Live Nation’s existing promoter team to continue to best serve artists as they ready themselves to go on tour throughout North America and the globe.

“Agi brings an incredible breadth of knowledge and years of experience in the music industry,” Al-joulani said. “The respect that she has throughout the industry and her undeniable work ethic made her a must-have promoter on our expanding global team.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the amazing team that has made Live Nation into the incredible business it is today,” said Agi. “With events returning, we’re entering an exciting new chapter, and I’m looking forward to contributing to the company’s continued evolution through impactful initiatives.”

+ New York-based producer and promoter Marauder has hired veteran publicist Leslie Hermelin as director of communications. Hermelin brings 18 years of experience to the fast-expanding organization. Prior to her work as an independent publicist, Hermelin served as head of publicity for Astralwerks Records under Capitol Music Group and Mute Records North America, working with artists including Halsey, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Knife, Moby and more, as well as organizations including the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), New York Independent Venue Association (NYIVA), Jägermeister and more.

“I’ve known Leslie for years, but have only recently had the good fortune of working directly with her,” said Marauder Managing Partner & Co-Founder Rev. Moose. “Her professionalism and dynamic personality will be invaluable to the needs of Marauder’s growing roster. Leslie brings deep relationships and knowledge that will raise the bar for the work we do and our ability to do it.”

“For the past year I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Marauder team on advocacy efforts through the National Independent Venue Association,” Hermelin said “I’ve seen firsthand what this team can accomplish and could not be more thrilled to join the organization.”

During 2020 Marauder helped enable the fast formation of NIVA, which played a key role in ensuring the passage of the Save Our Stages act into law in December. Rev. Moose is Executive Director of NIVA, while the entire Marauder team has donated their time to the organization.

+ Medium has launched the Medium Writers Challenge – an essay contest to showcase and reward a new generation of quality writers. Judged by Medium editors and an esteemed panel of cultural leaders including Natalie Portman, Roxane Gay, Imani Perry, Susan Orlean and others, the competition spans four weeks with a different writing prompt and winners announced at the end of the challenge. Writing prompts have been really popular on Medium, with the #StopAsianHate and Pandemic Reflections blogs as recent examples of writers offering different perspectives on a variety of timely topics.

The prizes – totalling in $100,000 – include:

• One grand prize winner will be awarded $50,000
• The winners of each prompt will be awarded $10,000
• The top 100 essays will be awarded $100.

Medium VP of Content Jermaine Hall says, “When was the last time you read a great piece of writing? What quality made you want to share it far and wide? Why did it strike such a powerful chord? If you were asked to replicate that feeling—to craft an essay that leaves readers caught up in the rapture of an unforgettable narrative—could you do it? We believe you could. Great ideas can come from anywhere. And the Medium Writers Challenge was created to extract the best writing out of you.” For more information, check out Medium’s blog.

+ The Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund has appointed Lorelei Williams as its first executive director. Based in New York, Williams will serve as an employee of Moore Impact, the Fund’s fiscal sponsor, and report to the organization’s President, Yvonne Moore.

According to the announcement, Williams will work closely with the Fund’s Board to bring to life its vision of building more equitable communities and creating real change in the lives of historically underserved and marginalized populations through investing in organizations at the forefront of this work.

“We’re thrilled to have Lorelei join us to help lead our grantmaking strategy, which is focused on three guiding pillars – education, criminal justice reform, and culture and the performing arts,” said Mark Baker, WMG/BFF SJF Board member and SVP, Public Policy & Government Affairs, WMG. “Her extensive background in social justice philanthropy on a global scale and community development make her a perfect fit for this role.”

“Structural racism, economic inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic have converged with devastating impact, especially for Black communities in the U.S. and the African Diaspora,” said Williams. “We have a powerful opportunity – and obligation – to radically reimagine and rebuild a more just society. In partnership with our dynamic Board, I look forward to building an innovative Fund that leverages the power of culture, advocacy and direct action to create real change in the lives of historically underserved and marginalized populations.”

Prior to joining the WMG/BFF SJF, Williams served as Senior Vice President of Grant Programs at Comic Relief U.S., a nonprofit that uses the power of entertainment to help eliminate world poverty. While there, she launched a new grantmaking pillar focused on economic empowerment, providing thousands of low-income youth with access to job training, job placement and investment in youth-led social enterprises. Williams was also instrumental in increasing Comic Relief’s investment in BIPOC organizations by 25%. Before Comic Relief, Williams spent more than 15 years working as a philanthropic strategist with a focus on the U.S., South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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