Haute 100: Spotify Announces New Head of Global Licensing

The digital music streaming service Spotify has announced a new head of global licensing. According to Music Business Worldwide, Francis Keeling is joining Spotify’s London office as VP, Global Head of Licensing in just a few short weeks.

Keeling will report into Stefan Blom, Spotify’s Chief Content Officer. In a statement, Blom said, “Francis is one of the very best in the business – we’re super excited to have him join the band as we continue to evolve and bring together artists and fans by delivering the most compelling and engaging music and media experience.”

Prior to joining Spotify on June 1^st, Keeling was the Global Head of Digital Business at Universal Music Group. He assumed the role March 2012. While at Universal Music Group, Keeling was responsible for generating growth and new revenue for Universal Music’s digital businesses worldwide. He worked closely with Universal Music’s digital partners, including retailers, telecom operators, ISPs, device manufacturers and social networks to create and license new digital propositions, according to Bloomberg. Keeling has been with Universal Music Group since 2002, where he held the VP Digital position as well as content and business development posts with Vivendi, Launch.com, Pearson and the Financial Times.

Just last month, the music streaming service announced the acquisition of CrowdAlbum, a photo aggregator company that brings together social photos shared from awesome events without the use of a hashtag.

“We’re working every day to find ways to tighten the connection between artists and their fans,” said Charlie Hellman, VP Product at Spotify. “The CrowdAlbum acquisition is the latest way Spotify is investing in helping artists find and engage their audiences on and off Spotify, especially around the ever important business of touring.”

CrowdAlbum will focus on building products for artists. Spotify hopes it the photo photo aggregator company will enhance the development of products that help artists understand, activate, and monetize their audiences.