MATTHEW TILLEY JOINS DISCIPLE MEDIA TO HEAD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR NEW MOBILE SERVICE

26 March 2014 - Press release

Former EMI and UMG international marketing veteran targets global stars with direct-to-consumer mobile subscription channel

London, 26 March 2014 – Disciple Media, the London-based music technology company that enables artists to create deeper relationships with new and existing fans, has hired Matthew Tilley as Executive Vice President, Business Development, it was announced today.
 
Tilley, who was most recently Senior Vice President, International Marketing at EMI Music, will lead Disciple’s deal negotiation and artist outreach activities on a global basis. The business, which was founded by musician and producer Benji Vaughan, enables artists to launch direct-to-consumer subscription channels on iOS and Android, and provides exclusive content to fans for a low monthly fee.
 
Each artist-branded app gives artists an opportunity to create a valuable new revenue stream by fulfilling fan demand for a more intimate window into the lives and careers of their idols. Fans using Disciple-powered apps can enjoy audio-visual content unavailable elsewhere, including videos, text and photo status updates, access to music catalogues, as well as live video streams direct from the artist to all subscribers.
 
Having recently completed a multi-million dollar seed funding round, Disciple is now focused on rolling out services based on its robust proprietary technology, on a global basis. Disciple expects to launch its first artist app in the coming months, and will add a further 10-15 artists over the year. Announcements on the first artists to use Disciple’s technology will be made shortly.
 
Benji Vaughan comments: “Matthew is well known and respected among the artist and management community around the world, and bringing him onto the Disciple team will be hugely valuable as we start to show people how this technology can enable artists to create more engaging connections with fans via mobile devices.”
 
Matthew Tilley says: “Having worked with artists for the last seventeen years to help them engage with their fans across the world, joining a groundbreaking venture like Disciple which can help them create and monetize connections is a fantastic step for me. We’re already seeing huge excitement from the creative community about the potential for this technology, and I’m looking forward to spreading the word.”
 
Matthew Tilley began his career in the music industry in various international marketing roles within Universal Music Group, including positions at PolyGram, Universal Music International and Island Def Jam. He moved to EMI Music in 2006 to head international marketing from the music group’s New York offices. Over the course of his career, Tilley has led international marketing efforts for a range of superstar artists including Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, The Killers, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Norah Jones, Joss Stone and Lenny Kravitz, amongst many others.