EMPIRE names Tina Davis as new president

Founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami, the company represents a huge roster of global stars. In February last year, the company launched operations in Africa, securing the signatures of the likes of Ghana’s Black Sherif, KiDi and Yaw Tog, as well as Nigeria’s Olamide, Fireboy DML and Kizz Daniel.

Davis, who previously held the role of senior vice president of A&R, will maintain her leadership of the company’s A&R team while also contributing to the its strategic planning and day-to-day operations. 

“Tina has been instrumental in the overall growth of EMPIRE since joining the team in 2018,” Ghazi said. “With her experience, she has a unique understanding of the creative journey of our artists.

“Working closely with Tina and seeing the continued growth of our team makes this extremely rewarding and there couldn’t have been a better person for the role.”

Before joining EMPIRE, Davis headed Def Jam’s A&R department for more than a decade, working closely with popular acts like rapper Jay-Z and Chris Brown. She also works with Live Nation’s Femme It Forward initiative for young women.

“I am honoured to continue to build out the culture of EMPIRE and shape the future talent that we partner with in years to come,” Davis said. “The EMPIRE team embodies what it means to champion artist development and advocate for artist control and creativity.”

In related news, EMPIRE last week joined several other digital music companies including CD Baby, TuneCore, DistroKid, UnitedMasters, Symphonic, Downtown and Vydia, as well as popular digital service providers Spotify and Amazon Music, in a historic alliance called Music Fights Fraud, a task force to combat streaming abuse.