Rock icon Dan P Carter joins Spinefarm as Director of Artist Development

24 April 2024 - Press release

Key appointments also made across UK Marketing Team

Spinefarm Music Group, one of the most successful and best-known rock labels in the world, has announced a major global hire alongside a new UK marketing team.

Dan P Carter, the longtime curator of BBC Radio 1’s flagship rock and metal show ‘The Rock Show’ and host of the ‘Someone Who Isn't Me’ podcast, has joined the label group as Director of Artist Development.

Carter, who will be based in London and whose appointment is effective immediately, has held a consultancy position at Spinefarm in recent years and will now report directly to Jonas Nachsin, General Manager, Spinefarm Music Group. His new full time role will see him signing artists to the company’s labels and working with the Spinefarm team internationally across the company’s global roster in an artist development capacity.

Alongside his broadcast work, Carter continues to curate stages at major UK music festivals (including Reading & Leeds), has co-written and remixed music from artists including McFly, My Chemical Romance and Puscifer, and has painted album covers for releases by HIM, Dillinger Escape Plan, Behemoth, Empire State Bastard, Frank Iero and more. He was also awarded the first ever 'Icon Award' at last year’s Heavy Music Awards.

Carter will work alongside the Spinefarm team including long-time and highly respected UK Director of A&R Dante Bonutto, who has helped oversee exponential growth for the company’s labels in recent years, Lailah O’Donnell, Worldwide Head of Publicity, and new marketing intern Sara Alfano.

“Starting this new role as Director of Artist Development at Spinefarm is an exciting new chapter where I feel I can contribute as part of a fantastic team at one of the foremost Rock and Metal labels in the world,” said Dan P Carter.
 
“Dan P Carter’s reputation speaks for itself.  For years he has been a well-known and highly respected champion of Rock music in all its forms in the UK.  We couldn’t be more excited to add Dan to our worldwide team as we fuel Spinefarm’s ascent through its continually evolving association with some of the best artists on the planet,” stated Jonas Nachsin.

Spinefarm has also made two additional key hires in its UK marketing team in recent months. Leah Devine and Tristan Pratt, reporting directly to Maria Ouellette, Spinefarm Music Group Vice President of International, have both joined the label as Marketing Managers.
 
Prior to joining Spinefarm, Devine was Product Manager for Rock & Metal Catalogue at BMG and a Creative Marketer for Music for Nations/Sony.  Devine is a professional graphic designer who recently contributed her graphic skills to the acclaimed ‘Women In Revolt’ exhibition at London’s Tate Modern Gallery.

Pratt joins Spinefarm from Snapper Music where he held the position of Press and Marketing Coordinator. His previous positions include working for both Marshall Records and The Noise Cartel. He is a renowned Rock music content creator on YouTube and Instagram, under the moniker ‘The Metal Tris.’

Carter, Devine, and Pratt will be based in the company’s London offices.
 
Founded in Finland in 1990, Spinefarm quickly established itself as an independent powerhouse for successful European metal acts from Nightwish to Children Of Bodom. In 2016, Spinefarm acquired legendary metal label Candlelight Records (Emperor, Opeth, Winterfylleth) and, a year later it launched the blues, country and roots offshoot Snakefarm (Marty Stuart, Kyle Daniel, Austin Meade, and UK home to an elite UMG Nashville roster).

Spinefarm’s artist roster has grown significantly in the last decade to include globally successful acts such as Bullet For My Valentine (with over 3 billion streams), American stalwarts Atreyu, Aussie hard rockers Airbourne, alt-rock legends Killing Joke, pioneers While She Sleeps, the legendary Black Label Society, as well as fast-rising young artists like Dayseeker, Dead Poet Society, Kid Kapichi, BRKN LOVE, and Creeper. Spinefarm also developed the rapidly rising breakthrough act Sleep Token through signing and releasing its first 3 albums.

Spinefarm Music Group, which continues to operate out of its global headquarters in New York, was acquired by UMG in 2002 and subsequently joined the [PIAS] Group’s roster of independent labels. Spinefarm is distributed on a worldwide basis through the [PIAS] services division [Integral] and has, over the years, grown from its independent origins into a true global rock powerhouse. In addition to its sizable and impressive roster of genre leading artists, there are exciting new signings on the horizon, ensuring that the future is very bright at the ‘farm.