Ashley Newton Named President Capital Music Group, EVP UMG Special Projects

Universal Music Group has named Ashley Newton as President of the Capital Music Group and Executive Vice President of Creative/Special Projects for UMG.  He will report directly to UMG CEO Lucian Grainge.

In the newly created CMG Presidency, Newton will work with CMG Chairman and CEO Steve Barnett to oversee management of its day-to-day operations.  In his UMG role, Newton will work with Grainge and his executive team on a variety of creative endeavors, including music, film and television projects.  Newton will be based in Hollywood at the iconic Capitol Tower.

Newton's arrival at CMG reunites him with Barnett who, as Co-Chairman and COO of Columbia Records, appointed him to the Columbia Presidency in 2010. During his time at Columbia, Newton signed and worked with Daft Punk , whose 2013 release, Random Access Memories, sold 8 million worldwide and won Grammys for Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, as well as, Pharrell Williams, whose "Happy" single was the most successful recording of 2014.

"The revitalization of Capitol is no longer an aspiration, it's a reality," said Grainge. "And now, as we embark on Capitol's next phase of growth, we do so with Ashley Newton, a great addition to the company's stellar management team led by Steve Barnett. With Ashley, we continue our strategy of having our company's key positions held by executives with incredible creative track records and with deep artist development experience. "