Swiss Music Tech Company Utopia Expands to Nashville
Swiss music tech company Utopia Music is expanding its presence in the United States—particularly in Nashville—with the hiring of Steve Markland as vice president for Nashville. Markland will report to Utopia Music chief operating officer Roberto Neri.
Markland previously served as executive vp creative, Downtown Music Publishing Nashville, and was among the employees affected after Concord Music acquired Downtown Music’s 145,000-song publishing copyrights.
During his nearly 30-year career, Markland has been involved in the careers of songwriters and artist-writers including Brett James, Jeffrey Steele, Randy Houser, Brothers Osborne, Kacey Musgraves and more. Prior to joining Downtown, Markland served as vp, A&R, Nashville for Warner Chappell. From 1996-2006, he served as vp, Creative Affairs at Windswept Music Publishing. Markland, a Belmont University graduate, began his music publishing career working at Patrick Joseph Music in Nashville.
Joining Markland at Utopia is Natalie Osborne, who will serve as director, Nashville. Previously creative director at Downtown Music Publishing Nashville, Osborne was instrumental in signing and developing writers such as Fancy Hagood, Sarah Buxton, Lucie Silvas and more at Downtown Nashville. Osborne also played a key role in developing the international writer travel program Writers Across Borders.
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“We are so pleased to welcome Steve and Natalie to Utopia Music,” Neri said via a statement. “I have known Steve for many years and throughout his career he has worked passionately for Nashville’s songwriter and artist community, championing local talent and growing the city’s global profile as a Music destination. Steve’s commitment to creators chimes perfectly with Utopia’s mission to deliver ‘Fair Pay for Every Play’ on a global scale and we are so excited to start this journey with him.”
“I’m delighted to join Utopia on its mission towards ‘Fair Pay for Every Play’ and ultimately create new income streams for Creators,” Markland added. “Utopia’s vision is to focus on all sides of the Music Industry in a way that will immensely benefit Writers and Artists. As the number one Growth Partner worldwide Utopia will leave a lasting positive impact on the wider Music ecosystem.”
Utopia, which was founded in 2016, has been on an acquisition spree in recent months. Last January, the company announced its acquisition of UK physical distributor Proper Music Group, marking Utopia’s fifth acquisition since September, when it acquired artificial intelligence startup company Musimap. It also acquired Lyric Financial, a Nashville-based provider of royalty-backed cash advances, as well as industry directory ROSTR and data analytics firm ForTunes.
