After the arrival of Paul Harris as SVP A&R of Warner Music Australasia last year, WMA has announced its new look A&R team based in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
Developing the local AU/NZ domestic roster and finding the next global superstars is a company priority for WMA and company President, Dan Rosen. With new signings already in place – Jessica Mauboy, Boy Soda, daine, Budjerah, Rory Noble and Kinder and an exclusive partnership with Matt Corby’s Rainbow Valley Records, that roster is only set to grow as the company continue to look for the next wave of dynamic Australian and New Zealand artists.
Dan Rosen comments “I’m committed to breaking more artists from Australia and New Zealand on the global stage. To do that, we’ve assembled an amazing team to support our talent and help develop their careers. Their diverse backgrounds and interests reflect the different types of artist we’re looking to sign and they’ll have their ears to the ground to help us find the freshest and most creative new talent.”
Paul Harris can be credited for his work with some of the country’s most successful exports including Gang of Youths, Tash Sultana, Tones & I, Amy Shark and having brought The 1975 to Australia. In late 2020, he became SVP A&R Australasia at Warner Music Australasia, and now in 2021 he has brought together an incredible A&R team.
“When I was approached to join Warner Music, I knew it was the right move for me. The company is so strongly focused on identifying the best new talent from Australia and New Zealand, and breaking them not just here at home, but worldwide. I have spent the past 11 years in Australia trying to do exactly that, and now with Dan Rosen at the helm, I know I have the best team around me to make that a reality.” says Paul Harris.
Christopher Kevin Au joins WMA as A&R manager with a wealth of experience as a writer (Highsnobiety, Complex and The Guardian) and the manager of emcee/producer Nerve. Not to mention his work having broken Triple J favourites, Triple One. As a host on MTV and Spotify Original podcast A1: The Show, Kevin has been an omnipresent voice for the burgeoning rap, drill and grime scenes. He continues to bring those brasher sounds to the forefront on Warner’s A&R team, where he also hopes to ignite a nu-metal renaissance.
Earlier this year, Larissa Jane Ryan made The Music Network’s 30 Under 30 List, for her work as an artist manager and co-founder of Hutch Collective. Larissa has guided the careers of artists like Odette, Didirri and Kat Edwards. She is also a Director of live session and editorial project baked, a member of the Association of Artist Managers, the working group for cultural change in the music industry and recently has been working on the Our Soundtrack Our Stories initiative. She joins the Warner Music Australia team as an A&R Manager, based in Melbourne on Wurundjeri country.
Also signing on at WMA as A&R Manager is Jackson Christie. Christie began his career at Sony Music Australia, first working as an intern with artists including Peking Duk, Cosmo’s Midnight and LDRU. He was promoted to A&R Manager and signed GRAACE and Carmouflage Rose.
Mohamed Komba has been an artist, label owner, producer, writer, engineer, mentor, and is now an A&R Consultant at WMA. First appearing as a member of hip-hop group Diafrix at the turn of the millennium, he later delved behind-the-scenes and has been a pivotal force behind homegrown artists like Kaiit, Lisi and receiving multiple ARIA nominations for his work with Miiesha.
Over in Auckland, Stevi Hill has joined WMA as an A&R Manager. Hill has worked as a label manager in Melbourne at dance imprint Xelon Entertainment and then at Cooking Vinyl Australia. Hill joined Warner Music New Zealand as a marketing manager in 2020 and joins the A&R team, where she now oversees the creative and A&R direction of locally signed artists.
On the A&R Manager front, Chris Kev, Larissa Jane Ryan, Jackson Christie and Mohamed Komba join WMA A&R manager, Marcus Thaine, who has been at the helm since 2019, signing artists like daine, flowerkid, Budjerah, Jessica Mauboy and Kinder. Prior to that Marcus spent five years working at Spotify as an artist & label marketing manager, liaising with the industry and exporting Australian music to the world.
Rose Sejean joins the team in the newly created role of A&R production manager. In 2018, Rose began her label career at Warner Music Australia, working in the Sync & Licensing team. Sejean now joins the A&R team as a Production Manager, keeping the A&R engine running across communication, logistics and creative.
Finally, Jess Peach completes the A&R team as creative producer, based in Sydney. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts and Production at UTS, Peach has used her skills in production, editing and art direction to lead her career in production. Working across video, content production, photoshoots and styling, Peach brings a myriad of creative input and ideas to the entire Warner roster as creative producer.