Sony Music Entertainment has named Jean-Sebastien (“Seb”) Permal director of A&R for Continental Europe and Africa, a newly created position, it was announced Tuesday (Dec. 8).
In his new role, Permal will help drive Sony Music’s A&R strategy across the region, offering creative support to A&R teams in each of the covered markets while connecting artists with Sony Music teams across the globe. Permal will assume the position on Jan. 1, 2021.
Permal, who was born in Mauritius, moved to Vienna in 2014 to pursue a career in music management and publishing. He joined Sony Music Germany’s label Four Music in 2017 before expanding his A&R role to encompass all of Sony Music’s labels across Europe and Africa the following year.
“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 Sony Music president of Continental Europe and Africa Daniel Lieberberg, whom Permal will directly report to. “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.”
Since 2018, Permal has worked with Sony Music’s labels on a number of artist projects while also supporting A&R executives in the region. Those projects have included working with German disco and house producer Purple Disco Machine; Italian dance duo Marnik; Italian electronic dance producers and DJs VINAI; German music project Vize; and Finnish-American singer Kiara Nelson. He additionally helped secure a label partnership between Sony Music and French-Congolese producer Julio Masidi.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
Permal’s hiring follows the October opening of Sony Music’s new 86,000-square foot European headquarters in Berlin.
