Robb McDaniels is CEO of digital music service Beatport.
He founded INgrooves in 2002.
McDaniels previously served as the Executive Chairman of FACTION Entertainment, which he founded in 2015.
Robb MacDaniels: Career history
Robb McDaniels got his start in investment banking and structured finance at Marsh & McLennan Securities, ultimately serving as a Vice President at the firm.
During his time with the company, McDaniels helped build out the risk securitization team and focused on new business generation.
McDaniels also worked with corporations and investment companies to securitize and sell credit risk on capital markets. McDaniels left the investment banking industry after nearly five years, citing his creative discontent in the industry.
In the winter of 2002, McDaniels co-founded and became CEO of INgrooves Music Group, an independent music marketing service and distribution company.
McDaniels and his co-founders grew revenues to over $150 million per year, also launching divisions for book publishing and enterprise software development.
INgrooves importantly developed proprietary distribution systems with a focus on analytics for artists.
McDaniels led negotiations with many of INgrooves retail and content partners, including Apple, Spotify, Google, Disney, and Scholastic.
Most notably, McDaniels spearheaded negotiations with Universal Music Group in 2008 to digitally distribute their entire music catalog in North America.
Prior to McDaniels departure from the company, INgrooves took control of Fontana Distribution, which was previously owned by UMG. The deal added 200 labels to INgrooves distribution roster. The company later launched their own Artists Services and Rights Services divisions. McDaniels left the company in 2014.
In 2015, McDaniels founded and became Executive Chairman at FACTION Entertainment, a tech-focused management services company for talent managers. FACTION developed and provided proprietary plug-n-play tools aimed at helping talent managers scale their businesses.
FACTION further developed a communication and information sharing platform to streamline scheduling, daily operations, and cross-business interactions for managers. Aside from technology development, FACTION also included an in-house incubator program that mentored and guided clients’ brands.
In 2016, McDaniels and FACTION partnered with Kobalt Music Group. The deal led to FACTION’s talent managers’ use of Kobalt as their preferred partner for publishing and label and digital distribution services.
McDaniels remained in an active capacity with FACTION until 2018.
In October 2017, McDaniels was appointed as Beatport’s CEO. Beatport is an online electronic music store focused on the DJ community.
Since its founding, Beatport has expanded operations to include different DJ programs and brands, including Beatsource, Loopmasters, Loopcloud, and Plugin Boutique.
In his Chief Executive role, McDaniels concentration revolves around strengthening the company’s position in the DJ music store business and continuing to drive the company’s recent return to profitability.
McDaniels remains with Beatport and continues to serve as an advisor to Socialive and Audius. He is also the Chairman of Crowdmouth.
McDaniels was born in the UK to American parents.Music Business Worldwide