Rotor Videos hires senior business development execs, marks significant growth during pandemic

14 September 2020 - Press release

 

• Music industry heavyweights Alex Branson and Pj Dulay join the company.
• In lockdown, triple-digit revenue growth achieved and 55%+ user registrations. 
• Rotor empowers musicians to promote their songs by making their own pro-quality music, lyric and promo videos via its web app in a matter of minutes.

Rotor Videos - the AI-powered app that makes music video creation easy and affordable - has announced the hire of senior business development executives Alex Branson and Pj Dulay in a boost to its global business development capabilities. This comes as the UK-based company marks triple-digit revenue growth during the lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it continues connecting artists with fans by enabling the creation of pro-quality promotional content from the safety of home.

Bringing their combined decades of music industry experience to Rotor, Branson and Dulay are responsible for partnership development and heading up business development, respectively. Based in London, they will report to CEO Diarmuid Moloney and COO Simon Hamilton.

The industry heavyweights join as Rotor achieves significant business growth, recording a 55% increase in user registrations and a 161% increase in B2C app revenue during lockdown. Making the business of creating music videos accessible, simple and affordable across the music industry, its client base includes independent artists, managers and labels, as well as all three major labels.

Branson - formerly General Manager at Warner Music Group (leading the design and build of Level Music) and Managing Director & SVP of INgrooves (where he built the international business from the ground up) - brings expertise in sales, marketing, licensing, technology, business development, artist and label relationships, providing Rotor with a valuable resource around project collaborations and affiliate programs. Some of his recent successes include a creative project with EMPIRE as well as signing Beatchain, Label Worx, ReverbNation, and Horus Music as Rotor Affiliate Partners.

Dulay has previously worked as VP of Global Digital Business at Universal Music Group, Advisor at Music Ally, OCL, PRS and BT. He has signed multiple label deals including Universal South Africa as a Rotor Studio client. This deal includes the creation of a number of bespoke videos for Nigerian star Tiwa Savage, notably the official lyric video for her new collaboration with Sam Smith, 'Temptation'.

Diarmuid Moloney, Rotor Videos CEO and founder, says: "While the Rotor team recognises company growth during this time and is grateful for our community of users for entrusting their creations to us, we are always striving for more. Bringing in respected music industry executives in Alex and Pj means we can continue to serve, and connect with, more talent and industry partners - enhancing their creative endeavours and promotional efforts with Rotor's accessible, quality, video creation solutions.

"The video format is proving ever-more valuable in creating connections, increasing visibility, brand affinity and engagement - particularly during 2020 when much of our regular activity is restricted and safety is key. In Rotor's mission to empower artists to be seen and heard with easy video creation, we are proud to be chosen by so many creatives globally."

Branson comments: "I first met Rotor during my time at INgrooves, and I was immediately impressed. The improvements they have made since seeing their first public version are staggering. The Rotor offering is a well-honed and thoughtful solution, bridging the gap to music video creation for so many musicians and creatives. It's a pleasure to work with Diarmuid, Simon and the Rotor team on global partnership development; I'm excited to use my expertise in taking the business to the next level and helping more people to go Rotor their videos."

Dulay adds: "As music videos increasingly connect artists with fans worldwide, it's a great time to be working with Rotor in developing more valuable opportunities for the business, taking its smart music video solution to some of the world's most-loved artists and their teams."

Available via desktop and mobile browsers, Rotor is empowering users to make music videos online in a matter of minutes. After sign-up, the cloud-based AI tool enables the creation of videos in a few simple steps: upload your track, pick your video clips (your own or from the Rotor library), and choose an editing and effects style. Rotor listens to the music and cuts everything together for the artist, adjusting the timings of clips and effects based on the rhythm, tempo and intensity of the track. A preview video is created and made available to purchase and download in either SD or HD – starting at $18.

Rotor also supports labels with both DIY and service offerings. For labels wanting to create a high volume of videos themselves using the app, Rotor offers a $99/month subscription that includes access to Rotor's library of over 6,000 exclusive video clips, 50 long-form videos and unlimited 30-second promo videos. For handcrafted videos, Rotor Studio provides custom music, lyric, karaoke and promo video creation for labels as well as YouTube channel design and management services.

The IFPI Music Listening 2019 report reveals that fans consume 47% of music through on-demand video - outperforming paid and free audio streaming. As of January 2020, music videos account for 93% of YouTube's most-watched videos and the disruption of COVID-19 further into the calendar year has increased fans' reliance on video for music.

For more information on Rotor's label services and subscriptions, visit rotorvideos.com/studio and rotorvideos.com/subscription