SANTA MONICA, CA - Ethiopia Habtemariam has been promoted to President of Urban Music/Co-Head of Creative, UMPG US, as announced today by Evan Lamberg, President, North America, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Ms. Habtemariam will continue to co-head UMPG’s overall creative operations in the U.S. with Monti Olson, while further developing one of the top urban music divisions in the industry with her promotion to president of that division. She will be based out of UMPG’s worldwide headquarters in Santa Monica, California and will report directly to Mr. Lamberg.
“Ethiopia has proven herself to be one of the very best, and most successful, creative executives in music publishing. She not only knows where the current hits are, but more importantly where the future hits will come from—and always seems to get there before our competitors. We are very happy she will be part of our Universal Music Publishing family for years to come,” said Mr. Lamberg.
Zach Horowitz, Chairman & CEO, UMPG added: “Ethiopia has been the key player in making UMPG’s urban division such an industry powerhouse. With her great ears and vision, and exceptional instincts, she is poised to take that division, and UMPG’s overall creative operations, to the next level. Her new role as President of Motown provides an extraordinary platform to bring added value to our songwriters. We couldn’t be more excited that she will continue to be such an important part of UMPG’s senior management team going forward.”
“Our incredible Creative team at UMPG is the best at identifying and nurturing the careers of today’s and tomorrow’s hitmakers. It is undoubtedly clear that urban music continues to be one of the strongest and most influential forces in popular culture, and I am beyond honored to lead our team,” said Ms. Habtemariam.
She has been responsible for assembling and creating a dynamic team and roster at UMPG that includes some of the world’s biggest songwriters and artists such as Miguel, J. Cole, Chris Brown, Ester Dean, Hit-Boy, Justin Bieber, Big Sean, Rock City, Jhené Aiko, Keri Hilson, Polow Da Don, Stacy Barthe, Ari Levine and Phil Lawrence of the Smeezingtons, to name a few. UMPG’s urban roster also features hit-makers such as Eminem, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Alex Da Kid, Swizz Beatz, Mary J. Blige, Nicki Minaj, Erykah Badu, Childish Gambino, DJ Khalil, Wu-Tang Clan, and many others.
Ms. Habtemariam’s leadership has contributed to several years of remarkable success for UMPG’s urban division. UMPG won Publisher of the Year at the 2013 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards in August, and its songwriters swept all major categories at the event, including Songwriter of the Year (Nicki Minaj), Producer of the Year (Hit-Boy), and Song of the Year (“Starships” by Nicki Minaj). UMPG also won Publisher of the Year at the 2011 BMI Urban Awards.
Throughout her career, Ms. Habtemariam has received many honors in recognition of her achievements as a music executive. Billboard has included her in its prestigious annual "40 Under 40" list multiple times, as well as its "30 Under 30" and Women in Music lists. She has also been recognized by The Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Music" list and Variety Magazine’s "Women’s Impact List" 2013.
