Sony Music has promoted Melissa Thomas to executive vp, international marketing, U.S. repertoire and Monica Cornia to senior vp of sales, Commercial Music Group, the company announced today.
Thomas was most recently senior vp, international marketing, U.S. repertoire, during which she served as co-head of the department. Notably, her teams have worked on such blockbuster campaigns as Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and the rollout of Camila Cabello’s sophomore album Romance in 2019 and Harry Styles’ Fine Line last year. She has also led global campaigns for U.S.-signed artists including DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, AC/DC, The Kid Laroi, Rosalía and Giveon.
Thomas will continue reporting to Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer. Along with Cornia, she was named a Billboard International Power Player earlier this year.
“Melissa knows how to harness the global power of our Company to help break our U.S. artists around the world,” said Stringer in a statement. “Her teams, in conjunction with our U.S. Record Labels, have created unique marketing campaigns that resonate with audiences and push our artists to success. I’m so happy that Melissa will be leading our U.S. Repertoire’s international marketing team for the future.”
Thomas added, “Music has no borders anymore. Our audiences are global from the beginning and hits can break from anywhere. I love bringing our U.S. artists to as many audiences as we can around the globe and I’m looking forward to the entire team continuing our unique marketing campaigns to shine a light on the creative talent coming from Sony Music.”
Thomas kicked off her longtime stint with Sony Music in 2005 after being hired at Sony Music UK, where she worked in international marketing for eight years. Prior to that, she served in roles at Universal Motown Records and Universal Music Canada.
Cornia, who will oversee all U.S. sales strategies for the Sony Music catalog, previously served as co-head of the international marketing department for U.S. repertoire for three years. In that role, she spearheaded campaigns for Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Khalid, Tate McRae, P!NK and more. She recently helped drive Doja Cat’s “Say So” to chart wins in a number of international markets.
Cornia started her music industry career at Sanctuary Group, where she worked for two years before joining RCA Music Group’s international department in 2005. She left the Sony fold to join Vector Management as Kesha’s day-to-day manager between 2011 and 2013, before returning to the company to serve as vp of international marketing for RCA Records from 2014 to 2018.
“I’m extremely proud and fortunate to work for a company that supports its employees exploring new areas of focus during their careers,” said Cornia in a statement. “I look forward to stretching my expertise into our sales and catalog businesses. I also can’t wait to develop new and innovative campaigns with our group, and help to further expand the fanbase of Sony Music’s amazing artists.”
Darren Stupak, executive vp and general manager, sales at Sony Music added, “From the very start of Monica’s career at Sony Music, she has always embodied our artist-first approach, showing fantastic insight, expertise and a strong track record in bringing our U.S. artists to new audiences. I am excited to see how Monica will lead our sales team through our Commercial Music Group.”
