Blue Raincoat Music has unveiled four new appointments with Dan Walton, Ben Asplin, James Batsford and Tian Anderson joining the London-based team in key roles.
Dan Walton has joined the company as project manager (catalogue) from his previous position as product manager at Demon Music Group. Walton will report to Dermot James, senior vice president, Chrysalis catalogue.
After beginning as a label assistant at Repertoire Records, Walton moved on to Demon Music Group, where some of the notable release campaigns he headed included releases by Pixies, Bob Mould, Suede and Tony Visconti.
He also project managed many reissues from acts such as Frank Black, The Yardbirds, Simple Minds, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Fall. Additionally, Walton led on the launch of the half-speed master vinyl range in collaboration with AIR Studios, as well as Demon’s annual Record Store Day campaign.
Also joining the company’s catalogue team as project manager is James Batsford, who will report directly to Dermot James. Starting in music retail at Rough Trade West, Batsford moved into the live sector, independently promoting shows across London before joining Domino Records where he coordinated D2C releases and campaigns across both front line and catalogue.
Batsford subsequently moved into a freelance role working for a number of catalogue clients while founding two labels, hip-hop reissue specialists Omerta Inc and high-end jazz imprint New Land Records.
Ben Asplin has been appointed copyright manager, commercial music operations, and will report to Tina McBye, vice president, commercial music operations. He has joined Blue Raincoat Music from BMG where he was royalties manager.
Asplin started his music industry career in the public performance department at PPL in 2013, subsequently joining the organisation’s member relations team and overseeing a large roster of high-value performers and record labels. He joined BMG in 2020, helping to build a neighbouring rights service as a part of a small team with a fast-growing VIP roster.
Tian Anderson has been hired as management assistant for Blue Raincoat Artists, the artist management division of Blue Raincoat Music. Reporting jointly to Amy Frenchum and Rupert King, Anderson will be assisting both across their roster of artists, which include Ezra Collective, Nova Twins and Yazmin Lacey.
Launched originally as an artist management company, Blue Raincoat Music diversified into music publishing in 2016. Later that year, it acquired iconic independent record label Chrysalis Records, which added recorded music operations to the BRM portfolio.
Since then, Blue Raincoat Music’s management, publishing, and recorded music divisions have operated as Blue Raincoat Artists, Blue Raincoat Music Publishing, and Chrysalis Records, respectively. It is part of the Reservoir group of companies.
Alison Wenham, chief operating officer at Blue Raincoat Music, said: “As Blue Raincoat Music continues to enjoy growth across all of its divisions, finding the right people to help oversee our strategy and steer our projects is mission critical. In Dan, James, Ben, and Tian we have added four hugely talented and passionate members to our team.”
PHOTO: (L-R) Alison Wenham, James Barton, Tian Anderson, Dan Walton, Ben Asplin and Dermot James
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