Jeff Vaughn Named President of Capitol Records
By Variety Staff
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – As reported last week by Variety, veteran A&R executive Jeff Vaughn has been named president of Capitol Records, it was officially announced today by Capitol Music Group Chairman & CEO Steve Barnett, to whom Vaughn will report. Vaughn will assume his new position on January 1, 2020 and will be based in Hollywood at CMG’s Capitol Tower.
According to Barnett, “I’m thrilled that Jeff is joining our team as President of . He has forged strong relationships within the artist community and has proven time and time again that he knows how to work with talent to create hit records that impact our culture in a big way. He is a tremendous addition to our CMG team and I know that everyone in the company joins me in welcoming Jeff to the Tower.”
Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said, “We’re so pleased to welcome Jeff Vaughn to the Capitol Tower and the UMG family. With Jeff’s strong A&R track record, he has a unique opportunity to build upon Capitol’s reinvigoration that we’ve seen over the past several years.”
Vaughn commented, “I want to thank Steve and Lucian for giving me the opportunity to shape the future of such an iconic label. As an A&R executive, I am driven by an intense devotion to artists and songs that defy expectation and challenge us to think differently. I could not be more excited to champion this perspective in my new role at Capitol.”
Prior to being named Capitol Records President, Vaughn was Vice President of A&R at the Los Angeles-based Artist Partner Group (APG) — a division of Warner Music Group’s Atlantic Records —and Artist Publishing Group, having joined the multi-faceted company at its founding in 2013.
Promoted to the VP position in 2017, he was responsible for many of APG’s urban signings, developing such acts as Kehlani, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Skies and Kevin Gates. He also identified 2016 viral sensation “JuJu On That Beat.” He also worked closely with rapper Sage the Gemini served in an A&R capacity, along with APG chief Mike Caren and Atlantic Records’ Kevin Weaver, on the 2017 soundtrack “The Fate of the Furious: The Album.”
