Our 2025 Community Spotlight Roundup
To close out the year, we’d like to take a moment to spotlight some of the exceptional accomplishments from members of our community. Cheers to an even better 2026!
Mel Curley: Amazon Music’s Head of Indies
Mel Curley, Head of Independent Label Relations at Amazon Music, spent 2025 working to build global opportunities for the independent sector and cement Amazon Music as a pillar of independent culture. She worked on campaigns like launching Odeal as an Amazon Music Breakthrough Artist, The Lumineers Songline, and Mumford & Sons City Sessions in Manchester, to name a few. This year she focused on championing indie artists working with Studio 126 in NYC and L.A. to foster curated programming, creative resources, and community-building for the independent community. Follow Mel here.
Drew Maniscalco: Atlantic Music Group & Variety Hitmakers
Drew Maniscalco, executive VP of streaming, Atlantic Music Group, was named among Variety’s 2025 Hitmakers report. This year, Drew achieved chart-topping success with multiple artists across Atlantic Music Group’s roster, including Rosé, Alex Warren, The Marias, and Bruno Mars. Follow Drew here.
Annie Warren: Earslug Discovery
Annie Warren, Manager, Music Supervision at Peloton Interactive, leaned into her passion for music discovery and started a new media brand, Earslug.
Earslug is a New York City-based media company focused on promoting live music and music discovery. Earslug tackles three critical challenges facing the music industry: we help independent artists find meaningful ways to express themselves in the new media landscape, we raise awareness of live music experiences, and we are a trusted destination for music discovery.
Since launching in May 2025, Earslug has interviewed over 25 artists (including Annie DiRusso, Spill Tab and Renny Conti), highlighted over 250 live shows, and steadily built a following of fans, industry professionals, and artists. Follow up on Substack and all socials.
Davey Argov: Strategic Marketing at TikTok
Davey Argov, Lead, TikTok Commerce SMB Marketing, Senior Regional Marketing Manager, is an integrated strategic marketing leader renowned for blending Cannes Lion-winning creative execution with massive business scaling. He successfully managed high-stakes advertising moments, including leading Super Bowl programs for iconic brands (notably the viral "untimely death of Mr. Peanut").
Davey leverages this big-brand, high-impact strategic expertise to drive digital transformation and substantial growth for small-medium businesses (SMBs) on the TikTok platform. He is also deeply committed to fostering an inclusive environment, serving as the co-lead of the TikTok North America Pride ERG for nearly three years.
This year, Davey led several programs for TikTok, including experiential events such as the 2025 TikTok Holiday Emporium Digital Gift Guide & Market in Grand Central Terminal, Back To School A+ Finds in LA, and, of course, the Pride ERG Pride month partnership with Queer Capita, highlighting emerging queer musicians. More on Davey here.
Leah Kraft: Author of "A Guide for the Perplexed"
Leah Kraft, Member Relations Manager - North America, Merlin, added a new hyphenate to her name as an author. Her forthcoming debut book, A Guide for the Perplexed, is a roadmap for anyone feeling stuck in the fog of modern life—overwhelmed, disconnected, or just plain “meh.” Drawing from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, and lived experience, it offers science-backed tools to help you uncover what truly matters and build a meaningful life around it. Pre-order the book here.
Stephen Daw: Excellence in Queer Music Journalism
Stephen Daw, the former Pride Editor of Billboard, spent his 2025 writing, reporting, and editing globe-spanning stories about LGBTQ+ artistry in the modern music industry. His work saw him interviewing stars like Lady Gaga, Lucy Dacus, Orville Peck, and Cynthia Erivo, the latter of whom he profiled for the June 2025 cover of Billboard. Keep up with Stephen here.
Todd Tescher: Commerce Leadership at UnitedMasters
Todd Tescher, Head of Commerce at UnitedMasters, achieved significant charting and RIAA certification milestones, spearheading commerce for BigXthaPlug’s I Hope You’re Happy genre-bending album, and supporting successful campaigns for Sarz, Brent Faiyaz, Anycia, and Bay Swag, with artist recognition through YouTube Foundry and Vevo DSCVR’s Class of 2026. Follow Todd here.