Sony Music Entertainment Continental Europe and Africa has appointed Jean-Sebastien ‘Seb’ Permal to the position of Director of A&R for the region.
Permal will help drive the company’s A&R strategy across the region, providing creative support to the A&R teams in each of the markets and helping connect artists to Sony Music teams around the world.
Based in Berlin, Permal will report directly to Daniel Lieberberg, President of Continental Europe and Africa, taking up his position on January 1, 2021.
This newly created position follows Sony Music’s official opening of its new European headquarters in Berlin, Germany.
Born in Mauritius, Permal moved to Vienna, Austria in 2014, where he pursued his music industry career as both an independent manager and publisher.
In 2017, he joined Sony Music Germany’s label, Four Music, before broadening his A&R role for all Sony Music labels across Europe and Africa in 2018.
Over the past two years, Permal has worked closely with Sony Music’s labels on a variety of artist projects in the region, all while supporting Sony Music Continental Europe and Africa’s A&R executives.
Projects include working with German disco and house producer Purple Disco Machine; Italian dance duo Marnik; Italian electronic dance production and DJ duo VINAI; the German music project Vize and Finnish-American pop artist Kiara Nelson.
He also helped secure a label partnership between Sony Music and French-Congolese Hitmaker Julio Masidi, mostly known for his production work with French-Malian RnB star Aya Nakamura.
“He is one of the most creative and well connected executives in both regions and a most valuable source of expertise for our artists and creatives.”
Daniel Lieberberg, Sony Music Entertainment
“With his deep roots in African and European music, Seb is well positioned to connect the dots among our A&Rs across the world to help artists succeed on a global scale,” said Daniel Lieberberg, President of Continental Europe and Africa, Sony Music Entertainment.
“He is one of the most creative and well connected executives in both regions and a most valuable source of expertise for our artists and creatives.”
“I look forward to helping expand our repertoire with new talent and opportunities whilst continuing to drive our artist-centric culture forward.”
Jean-Sebastien Permal
Added Permal: “Growing up in Mauritius, which is a melting pot of diverse cultures, languages and music, made the different creative and business opportunities that Europe and Africa have to offer very attractive to me,”
“That’s why I’m delighted to take on this new role at Sony Music, supporting our A&R teams in their drive to empower artists across the two continents.
“I look forward to helping expand our repertoire with new talent and opportunities whilst continuing to drive our artist-centric culture forward.”Music Business Worldwide
