MARCH TO LEAD CMG; PARSA TAPPED AS CO-PREZ
John Janick has tapped Tom March as chairman/CEO of Capitol Music Group and brought aboard Lillia Parsa as co-president. The two will be based in Hollywood’s storied Capitol Tower and report to Janick in his new capacity as head of UMG’s West Coast portfolio of labels.
March, hitherto president of Geffen as part of Janick’s IGA, will oversee CMG-affiliated labels Capitol Records, Blue Note, Motown, Astralwerks, Harvest and Capitol Christian Music Group. Before joining Geffen two years ago, he spent six years at UMG U.K. label Polydor.
Parsa will aid March in mapping the company’s creative direction and growth, including partnerships with artists and entrepreneurs. She will form a tandem with fellow co-President Arjun Pulijal, who will continue to focus on artist development. She most recently served as SVP of A&R at Jody Gerson’s UMPG.
The new leadership team will be dedicated to ensuring the continuity of the legendary Capitol brand and making sure it flourishes in an evolving ecosystem.
CMG Chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer announced her resignation on 2/6 after serving in the post for two-plus years.
Janick mentored March during the latter's tenure leading Geffen, during which time they broke Olivia Rodrigo and helped guide her to superstardom; had big success with Kali Uchis; scored hits with Jung Kook, V and more via their partnership with HYBE; made strong inroads with newcomer Yeat; and shepherded the first album of new material by the Rolling Stones since 2005, which scored a #2 chart bow.
As co-president of London-based Polydor, March played a vital role in the careers of The 1975, ABBA, Avicii, James Blake, BLACKPINK, Billie Eilish, Eminem, Sam Fender, Florence + The Machine, Selena Gomez, Glass Animals, Ellie Goulding, Haim, Juice WRLD, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Michael Kiwanuka, Lady Gaga, Pop Smoke, the Rolling Stones, Swedish House Mafia, The Who and more. Before his Polydor stint he was GM of Virgin EMI (now EMI Records). March also chaired the 2022 BRIT Awards.
Under the dedicated tutelage of Gerson, Parsa, who joined UMPG in 2018, signed, developed and cultivated relationships with such creators as Renee Rapp, Ice Spice, Julia Michaels, Billy Walsh, Blake Slatkin, Gracie Abrams, Omer Fedi, Nija Charles, Louis Bell, Cirkut and Jimmy Napes.
OK, let’s get to those quotes!
“I’ve worked closely with Tom for the better part of a decade, first as he looked after IGA repertoire in his role as co-president of Polydor in the U.K. and more recently in his position as president of Geffen,” said Janick. “He is a passionate and savvy executive who is a relentless advocate for artists and is committed to building successful executive teams. I know he will thrive in this important new role.”
Janick was similarly ebullient in praise of Parsa. “Lillia is a gifted creative executive with very strong relationships throughout our business,” he said. “I’ve gotten to know her over the years through artists we’ve signed together and via the amazing roster of songwriters she’s assembled at UMPG. I’m excited for her to take on this key position at Capitol, working alongside Arjun to continue to build a powerful platform for Capitol Music Group.”
“I’m thrilled to be charged with leading Capitol Music Group,” reads March’s quote. “The company’s deep legacy includes so many iconic artists and records that have long played important roles in my life, and the opportunity to help write CMG’s next chapter is a dream come true. I’m excited for Lillia to be joining me to define the creative direction of the company; she is spectacularly talented and one of the most respected A&R executives in the business today.
“Together, we’ll work with Arjun and the brilliant CMG team to enhance the careers of artists on our current roster, as well as of those who will be joining us in the future. John Janick and I have forged a great working relationship over the past decade, and it’s only become stronger with our amazing run at Geffen. That will absolutely intensify as we take CMG to the next level and share in even greater success together. I’m grateful to all of the artists at Geffen for the incredible music I’ve had the privilege to work on these past two years and for the teams at Geffen and IGA who've been so supportive along the way.”
“I’m excited to be working with Tom to write the next creative chapter for Capitol Music Group and to work with an array of artists who currently call CMG home, as well as those who will be joining us in the near future,” Parsa said. “I’m also looking forward to working alongside Arjun as co-president of a company with such an illustrious and ongoing legacy. I thank John Janick for this great opportunity and my longtime mentor [UMPG Chairman & CEO] Jody Gerson for always supporting me and encouraging this next important step in my career.”
Per tradition, March, Parsa and company are looking forward to sending our calls to voice mail.
