R&B/hip-hop industry veteran Lionel Ridenour has been appointed executive vp of promotion at gamma. In his new role, Ridenour will oversee the company’s radio promotion efforts across all formats and genres. The appointment comes in the wake of Ridenour’s promotional work on behalf of gamma. projects by Usher, 4batz, Sexyy Red and October London.
In a press release announcing Ridenour’s appointment, gamma. co-founder/CEO Larry Jackson said, “Early into the formation of gamma., we oftentimes heard the critique that one of things we would be challenged to deliver on is radio promotion, for any artist at the highest level. So we challenged ourselves to roll up our sleeves and debunk that theory. And it is because of Lionel, his staff and our efficient spend in this area that we now have such an unbelievably strong radio market share for a company that’s only a year old.
“Radio is still such an important mainstream access point to the heartland of so many countries, especially the U.S., and I am so happy to be able to have Lionel leading the charge for us in that regard,” Jackson added. “It’s also incredibly noteworthy that he’s the first African-American head of promotion in 40 years for any major music company (we’re not a label, of course) and I am so proud to be able to be a part of this historic moment in the overall business.”
Added Ridenour, “I’m thrilled to be joining gamma. and want to thank Larry and Ike [Youssef, gamma. president] for the opportunity to grow past the boundaries of industry norms and lead all promotion efforts on behalf of a wide variety of incredible talent. It’s gratifying to be a part of an intrepid company reshaping the manner in which careers can be magnified and propelled.”
Over the last decade, Ridenour’s Anchor Promotions has worked with various major and independent labels, including Warner Records, Alamo, Red Bull, Hitco and Geffen Records. Founded by CEO Ridenour in 2013, Anchor was the industry’s only Black-owned label services and promotion company.
Prior to Anchor, Ridenour began honing his promotional skills during his first industry gig as co-founder of the street promotion team Mainframe Records, later brought in-house by Capitol Records. His resumé since then includes supervising promotion for LaFace Records, Bad Boy and Rowdy Records. After a decade of working closely with Clive Davis at Arista Records — overseeing promotion for projects by artists such as Biggie, TLC, Usher, OutKast and Whitney Houston — Ridenour went on to lead the music departments at Virgin Records and Malaco Records. Last year, he received the Living Legends Foundation’s Music Executive Award.
