John Leahy and Rupert King move to Blue Raincoat Artists

23 September 2022 - Press release

FORMER CHRYSALIS/BLUE RAINCOAT SENIOR MARKETING EXECS ANNOUNCE TRANSITION TO ARTIST MANAGEMENT TO FOCUS ON NOVA TWINS, THE MYSTERINES & OTHERS.

 

Respected music executives John Leahy and Rupert King have transitioned into full-time artist management roles, moving over to Blue Raincoat Artists, the artist management division of Blue Raincoat Music, from their former senior marketing roles within Blue Raincoat Music’s record label Chrysalis Records.

Based in London both John and Rupert will report directly to Blue Raincoat Group co-founder and CEO Jeremy Lascelles.

John Leahy joined Chrysalis Records/Blue Raincoat Music, which is part of the Reservoir Group of companies, in 2020 as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Prior to his appointment, John had worked at record labels for over 20 years with spells as General Manager at Domino, Marketing Director at Polydor and Marketing & Creative Director at EMI Records.  After leaving Polydor, he set up his own consultancy business looking after marketing campaigns for clients including Noel Gallagher, as well as building his own management roster. His current artist management roster includes The Mysterines, She Drew The Gun, Steve Mason, Laurel Smith & Fräulein. 

“I am looking forward to continuing to work with my clients on the development of their careers at Blue Raincoat Artists.  Each one is at a very different stage in the journey but all have that unique talent that sets them apart," said John.

Rupert King was one of the first employees at the inception of Blue Raincoat Music in 2014. Although originally solely an artist management company, it quickly expanded into music publishing and label activities, with Rupert holding several roles across the group, culminating in his becoming Vice President of Marketing for Chrysalis Records. Prior to joining Blue Raincoat Music, Rupert worked for the Outlook and Dimensions Festivals, as well as a London based booking agency, specialising in digital marketing. Rupert has been managing Nova Twins, who were shortlisted for The 2022 Mercury Music Prize, for over three years alongside his marketing role at Chrysalis Records.

“I’m super excited for this recent move into full-time artist management. Nova Twins are at an incredibly exciting moment in their career and being well accustomed to Amy and Georgia’s unrelenting ambition and drive, I know full well that the real hard work starts now. I look forward to continuing to support their vision as best I can,” said Rupert. 

Jeremy Lascelles said, “Both John and Rupert have been hugely important, senior members of the Chrysalis Records/Blue Raincoat team over recent years, combining full-on marketing roles with their artist management responsibilities. That they managed to do both so effectively is testimony to their dedication and hard work. But the growing success in particular of The Mysterines and Nova Twins has made it clear that they both now need to devote themselves full time to being artist managers, and I am delighted that they are doing so as part of Blue Raincoat Artists. We know how smart and capable they both are, and I see this as an important and exciting move for all concerned.”