SANTA MONICA, May 25, 2017 — Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), the global catalog division of Universal Music Group (UMG), today announced that, effective immediately, Andre Torres, founder of Wax Poetics magazine and the former Executive Editor of Genius, has been appointed Vice President of Urban Catalog.

In this newly created role, Torres will work closely with UMe’s senior management team as well as the leadership at UMG’s labels to develop, implement and execute a global A&R, sales, branding and marketing strategy for hip-hop, rap, R&B, along with other genres in urban music. Torres will be based in Santa Monica and report to Bruce Resnikoff, UMe’s President and CEO.

In making the announcement, Resnikoff said, “At UMe, we are focused on elevating our artists and their legacies by engaging both fans and new audiences. With Andre, we are adding a very talented, innovative and entrepreneurial executive, who will collaborate closely with our labels and artists to develop unique experiences, products and releases based on our extensive and industry-leading library of urban, hip-hop and R&B music. With his unique perspective and background, Andre has the ability to authentically represent our artists and connect with their fans.”

“I’ve spent my professional career helping artists tell their stories, some for the first time and sometimes long after they are gone. This new role is the culmination of my entrepreneurial and journalism experience, my love and respect for these artists and the music they create and the opportunity to continue telling their stories,” Torres said. “I’m excited to join Bruce, the incredible team at UMe and to work first hand with my musical heroes.”

With a background in media, Torres comes with a wealth of music knowledge and entrepreneurial experience. Torres founded the highly regarded quarterly music magazine Wax Poetics in 2001, featuring an eclectic mix of artists from Public Enemy to Daft Punk. The New York Times Style Magazine named the publication, “The best and most exquisitely laid-out music bimonthly in America.” There he grew the magazine into a global movement of vinyl collectors, DJs, and music enthusiasts interested in tracing hip-hop’s DNA back through its roots. This led to an encyclopedic exploration of everything from R&B and jazz, to reggae and Afrobeat. Torres also oversaw the expansion of the brand into foreign-language Japanese editions, book publishing, and a record label.

After fifteen years at the helm of Wax Poetics, Torres joined the Brooklyn lyrics website Genius as Executive Editor. In addition to ensuring the editorial quality of the site’s crowd-sourced material, he managed a group of editors providing content for the “Behind the Lyrics” collaboration with Spotify, the world’s biggest streaming service. The fast-paced start-up environment provided a window into a highly engaged online community of urban music fans at the forefront of the shift in music consumption.

About Universal Music Enterprises

Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), a division of Universal Music Group, is the centralized U.S. catalog entity for the company Universal Music Group.  Working closely in concert with all of the company’s UMG’s record labels, UMe provides a frontline approach to catalog management, a concentration of resources, a greater emphasis on strategic marketing initiatives and opportunities in new technologies. 

Representing some of the most influential and legendary recording artists of the last 100 years, UMG has the most extensive catalog of music in the industry including:  ABBA, Louis Armstrong, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beastie Boys, The Bee Gees, Chuck Berry, James Brown, The Carpenters, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Patsy Cline, John Coltrane, The Commodores, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Def Leppard, Neil Diamond, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Genesis (outside North America), Bebel Gilberto, Guns N’ Roses, Buddy Holly, INXS (outside North and South America), The Jackson Five, KISS, Peggy Lee, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Mamas & The Papas, Bob Marley, Dean Martin, Steve Miller, Nirvana, Tom Petty, The Police, Queen, Bonnie Raitt, Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart, Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers, Rush, Bob Seger, Frank Sinatra, Smashing Pumpkins, Cat Stevens, The Supremes, The Temptations, U2, Caetano Veloso, Muddy Waters, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Barry White, Hank Williams, The Who, Amy Winehouse and Frank Zappa.  

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