Driift has appointed former Island Records head of digital Claire Mas as chief operating officer.
The livestream company made headlines last year for a series of ticketed online shows by a range of acts including Nick Cave, Niall Horan, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Marling, Dermot Kennedy, Kylie Minogue, Courtney Barnett and Biffy Clyro and will be taking part in the Music Week Tech Summit later this month.
Claire Mas had been working in an advisory role for Driift since last summer, playing an increasingly important role in the expansion of its operations.
At Island, she led campaigns for artists such as Sigrid, Mumford & Sons, Giggs, Ariana Grande, Robyn and Hozier. Mas was previously head of digital at Communion Music Group and set up Music Ally's digital training business. More recently, she started a consulting company advising clients such as Platoon and DreamTeam on marketing and managing campaigns for artists such as Princess Nokia and Victoria Monét.
In less than a year since launching during the coronavirus pandemic, Driift has sold almost 500,000 tickets to music fans in more than 150 countries, while last month the company was among the winners at the Artist & Manager Awards.
Driift is building something utterly distinctive in the livestream space
Claire Mas, Driift
Ric Salmon, CEO, Driift, said: “Since formally launching Driift in August 2020, Claire has played an absolutely pivotal role in our successes - combining creative zeal, commercial acumen and an innate understanding of the digital landscape. She’s an absolute linchpin of our team, and we’re over the moon to appoint her formally as COO as we enter what’s going to be another hugely exciting year filled with incredible shows.”
Claire Mas said: “I’m absolutely delighted to take on the role of COO and it’s an honour to be working alongside Ric and Brian [Message, co-founder]. Driift is building something utterly distinctive in the livestream space, and our focus remains always around the artist and how to compel their audience into this new experience. It's really inspiring to be at the heart of creating a critical new format in the industry. My background in digital means I love creating new opportunities in an ever-changing environment, and it’s been really enjoyable exploring the unknown. We believe passionately that this is a unique format of the future, capable of tapping into the global dynamics of streaming while delivering all the value and excitement associated with live performance.”
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