Christine Pepe has joined the Swiss music fintech company Utopia Music as its VP, Business and Legal Affairs.
Pepe will report directly to Paul Stuart, Chief Legal Officer.
She will be based in the New York Metro area.
Pepe joins Utopia from NBCUniversal, where she focused on digital and technology transactions and served as lead product counsel for CNBC’s subscription services.
Prior to this, Pepe headed up Business and Legal Affairs at TIDAL, where she negotiated and structured global music licenses and streaming integration partnerships, including for the TIDAL/MTN Uganda expansion.
Later, she served as commercial counsel to Twitter providing legal advice from the initial stages of product development to launch, including for Twitter Blue (the Twitter subscription service).
Pepe spent over eight years with The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), where she rose to VP, Business and Legal Affairs.
There, she was responsible for negotiating and structuring music licenses with digital streaming and OTT services, broadcast and cable networks, cable operators, and radio stations.
Pepe also managed several ‘rate court’ proceedings that established license fee structures for various emerging digital services, and advised on copyright (including DMCA) and related digital law matters.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Christine to Utopia.”
Paul Stuart
Paul Stuart, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Christine to Utopia.
“Her diverse experience working across multiple sectors of the Music Industry, including collection societies, streaming services, and global media companies, makes her ideally placed to help us realize our goal of servicing all sides of the Music Industry.”
“I’m very excited to join Utopia.”
Christine Pepe
Christine Pepe, added: “I’m very excited to join Utopia.
“Here, I can combine my tech and music backgrounds, and contribute to the company’s mission to deliver ‘Fair Pay for Every Play’ to deserving Creators.
“Through its innovative business model, Utopia is in a position to positively impact the entire Music Industry and all players in the value chain.”
Utopia hit 2022 running with a series of company acquisitions.
In January, the company expanded into physical and digital music distribution by acquiring the UK-based distributor Proper Music Group.
On February 3, Utopia acquired Liverpool-based music publisher and publishing administration company Sentric Music Group.
Later that month (February 22), UK-based distribution and services provider Absolute Label Services also came under the Utopia umbrella.Music Business Worldwide
