UTA’s music division has new blood courtesy of rep hires Aaron Arkin, Vatana Shaw and Mary Allen. Arkin, a music crossover agent, and Shaw, a music brand partnerships agent, will be based at agency headquarters in Los Angeles while Allen, a music rep, will work from UTA’s Nashville office.
David Zedeck, partner and co-head of global music, said the team is thrilled to welcome the trio to UTA. “Their combined expertise in touring, development of music-driven content and brand partnerships will be integral as we continue to expand the scope and resources of our music department,” he added.
The hiring marks a homecoming for Arkin who started his career at UTA as an assistant working in both the digital and talent departments. He departed and spent the past five years working in development and production at Complex Networks, the brand known for ComplexCon and the viral sensation Hot Ones. During his tenure there, he worked on series for major streamers and led creative development of premium series for Twitch, Snap Originals and Spotify.
Also in L.A., Shaw will lead artist brand strategy and music brand partnerships with a focus on the metaverse and Web3 in a newly-created role, working in tandem with UTA’s digital assets team. It’s a sweet spot for her as she joins from Q&A, where she led Web3 strategy and partnerships, and before that, she founded and led music management firm Earthtones which repped multi-disciplinary artists like Moses Sumney and Kelela, among others.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, Allen comes to UTA after serving as a founding agent at Mint Talent Group. Prior to that post, she spent six years building a career as a booking agent at Madison House in Boulder, Colorado. Her roster includes CloZee, the Polish Ambassador, the Funk Hunters, Apashe, Tripp St., MEMBA, Rome in Silver, NotLö, VEIL, sumthin sumthin, Player Dave and others.
The three are not the only new faces at UTA. Over the last 18 months, UTA has hired Scott Clayton, Nashville office co-heads Jeffrey Hasson and Matthew Morgan; Nashville-based Brett Saliba, Matt Korn, Zach Hartley, Emily Wright, Emily LaRose, Marissa Smith, Elisa Vazzana and Buster Phillips; senior vp of global music operations Erika Savage; Los Angeles-based Janet Kim, Scott Schreiber, Matt Meyer and Robbie Brown; and London-based director of growth and strategy Rebecca Prochnik, director of artist brand strategy Irene Agbontaen and agents Carlos Abreu and Max Lee.
UTA reps established and emerging artists across all genres including Post Malone, Lizzo, deadmau5, Bad Bunny, YG, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Marshmello, Bebe Rexha, Young Thug, Common, Tyga, Offset, Lil Wayne, Burna Boy, Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, James Blake, Florence and the Machine, Tierra Whack, Toby Keith, Alesso, Jimmie Allen, Tori Kelly, Young the Giant, 21 Savage and many others.
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
