Former Sony Music Exec Joel Klaiman Launches Ascend4m, New Marketing-Consulting Agency
Former Sony Music Entertainment executive Joel Klaiman has launched Ascend4m, described as a global music and entertainment marketing and consulting agency delivering broadscale media strategy and artist/brand-friendly direction and development.
The new company’s focus is on music, media, marketing, and full-scale day-to-day talent management, aligning services for artists and businesses via a diverse range of content and media and music spaces, as well as for artists signed to its label.
Among Ascend4m’s initial endeavors is guiding the new music/content discovery app Tunespotter, a search engine that curates optimal music sync moments across all visual media including, movies, TV, commercials, and more. Klaiman and Ascend4m were brought on to consult for the company in 2022, with Klaiman appointed CEO this past June to lead the company in all capacities and drive engagement in the marketplace.
Klaiman is an industry veteran who was with Columbia Records for six years, where he rose to executive VP and general manager, and also held senior posts at Republic Records and Hitco Entertainment; he recently oversaw the latter company’s transition after its sale to Concord.
“Years in my head, months in the making, I’m thrilled to announce my own agency and label,” Klaiman said. “Working with groundbreaking artists and culture-changing companies over the years, I’m grateful for the knowledge and skills gained from those experiences. I’m excited to partner with new and established artists and a broad range of media businesses as we lift for takeoff.”
Along with Tunespotter, Ascend4m’s current roster of clients include the Asian-American pop band North Star Boys, signed by Klaiman at Hitco, whose second EP is slated for an October release; the singing sister trio Sorelle, finalists on the NBC TV series ‘The Voice’; and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Casey Baer
“We’ve been hard at work since January putting a team together that understands a growth-driven mindset and collaboration with purpose,” Klaiman concluded. “We want to empower creators so that they can ascend to heights never dreamed possible.”
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