Sony Music Entertainment appoints Jean-Sebastien Permal Director of A&R, Continental Europe and Africa

08 December 2020 - Press release

With knowledge of African and European music markets, Permal will work with in-country A&R leads to drive the company’s A&R strategy across the two regions 

Based at the new flagship regional head office in Berlin, he will report directly to Sony Music’s President of Continental Europe and Africa 

 

Sony Music Entertainment Continental Europe and Africa announced today the appointment of Jean-Sebastien (‘Seb’) Permal to Director of A&R for the region. Building on his experience of the music industry in both Africa and Europe, Permal will help drive the company’s A&R strategy across the regions, providing creative support to the A&R teams in each of the markets and helping connect artists to Sony Music teams around the world. He will report directly to Daniel Lieberberg, the President of Continental Europe and Africa, taking up his position on January 1, 2021. 

“With his deep roots in African and European music, Seb is well positioned to connect the dots among our A&Rs across the world to help artists succeed on a global scale,” said Daniel Lieberberg, President of Continental Europe and Africa, Sony Music Entertainment. “He is one of the most creative and well connected executives in both regions and a most valuable source of expertise for our artists and creatives.”

Born in Mauritius, Permal moved to Vienna, Austria in 2014, where he pursued his music industry career as both an independent manager and publisher. In 2017, he then joined Sony Music Germany’s label, Four Music, before broadening his A&R role for all Sony Music labels across Europe and Africa in 2018. 

Over the past two years, Permal has worked closely with Sony Music’s labels on a variety of artist projects in the region, all while supporting Sony Music Continental Europe and Africa’s A&R executives. Projects include working with German disco and house producer Purple Disco Machine; Italian dance duo Marnik; Italian electronic dance production and DJ duo VINAI; the German music project Vize; the Finnish-American pop sensation Kiara Nelson; and helping secure a label partnership between Sony Music and French-Congolese Hitmaker Julio Masidi, mostly known for his production work with French-Malian RnB star Aya Nakamura.

“Growing up in Mauritius, which is a melting pot of diverse cultures, languages and music, made the different creative and business opportunities that Europe and Africa have to offer very attractive to me,” added Permal. “That’s why I’m delighted to take on this new role at Sony Music, supporting our A&R teams in their drive to empower artists across the two continents. I look forward to helping expand our repertoire with new talent and opportunities whilst continuing to drive our artist-centric culture forward.”  

This newly created position follows Sony Music’s official opening of its new European headquarters in Berlin, Germany. The Company is actively hiring in the capital to support connection points between Continental Europe and Africa for international artists, with jobs spanning from A&R management, to marketing to operational functions. The new 8,000m² space includes new recording studio and state-of-the art music rooms to record and play new tracks.