Executive Turntable: SoundCloud Veteran Gets EVEN, Plus Saturn Stops Spinning at SESAC

EVEN, the direct-to-fan music sales platform, appointed industry veteran Lauren Wirtzer as chief operating officer. A 20-year leader at the nexus of music and technology, Wirtzer has held senior roles at SoundCloud, UnitedMasters, Instagram and Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment. 

As COO, she will oversee operations, strategic partnerships and platform growth as EVEN expands its remit to help artists monetize through superfans. Her appointment follows some big milestones, including distribution deals with Too Lost and Secretly and becoming the first superfan platform to report sales to Luminate for Billboard chart eligibility. Launched in April 2024, EVEN enables artists to sell music, merch and experiences directly to fans before streaming, with daily payouts and full data ownership.

Before joining EVEN, Wirtzer was chief content and marketing officer at SoundCloud from 2021 to 2023, where she led artist relations, brand partnerships and the rollout of fan-powered royalties. She joined SoundCloud after serving more than two years as president of UnitedMasters. Earlier, as head of music partnerships at Instagram, Wirtzer helped connect artists with over a billion users and drove landmark campaigns for Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Before that, she led digital strategy at Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment and previously held senior roles at Def Jam and Zynga. Named to Billboard’s Power 100, she has chaired the Music Business Association board. 

“Lauren’s career is defined by uncompromising artist advocacy,” said Mag Rodriguez, founder and CEO of EVEN. “From the surprise launch of Beyoncé’s visual album to building UnitedMasters’ independent infrastructure and evolving SoundCloud’s artist-first strategy, she’s consistently been ahead of where music is going. Her operational rigor and strategic vision are exactly what EVEN needs as we scale direct-to-fan infrastructure globally.”

Wirtzer added: “Throughout my entire career, I’ve believed that artists deserve ownership, access, and the ability to thrive on their own terms. EVEN is creating a parallel economy by giving artists daily payouts, direct fan relationships, and ownership of their data. I’m thrilled to join Mag and the team to scale this vision globally and help artists at every level build sustainable careers.”

Check out a full rundown of this week’s staffing news below.