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Someone like you: Universal hires partnerships chief. September 30, 2026 8:47 am Universal Music Group, the home of artists from Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Bob Marley to Elton John, Adele and Coldplay, has made its second senior appointment this week, recruiting its first president of global brands and commercial partnerships. Libby Bush joins from Creative Artists Agency, where she served as global head of entertainment partnerships and was a member of the agency board; she starts her new role in November. Bush, who has more than two decades of experience driving growth and cultivating relationships at the highest levels of the industry, lead a new global function that brings together UMG's brands, media, and commercial partnership businesses, including Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB). She will report to UMG's chief operating officer Boyd Muir. Drawing together the expertise and relationships across UMG's labels and businesses, Bush has been tasked with making ambitious collaborations easier to develop and deliver worldwide. Spanning digital platforms, physical products and live experiences, these collaborations will be rooted in artists' originality and authentic connections with fans. Bush joined CAA in 2020, when the agency bought Tandem Entertainment, a business she had founded in 2015. She went on to launch and build CAA's entertainment partnerships division, establishing it as a leading business connecting entertainment, brands and media. Prior to that, Bush worked in senior partnership roles at Marvel Entertainment, ABC Television and the National Basketball Association. Muir said, "As the ways fans experience music evolve, the opportunities for its artists multiply. Bringing its brand, media, and commercial partnerships together under Libby's leadership will help extend its artists' reach and grow their revenues, while giving its partners new ways to build relationships with fans and collaborate with the world's most influential voices. "Libby brings exceptional creative and commercial expertise to the world's leading music company. She'll work with our talent, teams, and partners to create memorable experiences for fans, lasting value for brands, and new possibilities for artists." Bush added: "Music has never been more central to culture, and what artists can build around it has never been bigger. Today's artists are storytellers, founders, and brands in their own right. "UMG has the greatest artists and songwriters in the world, extraordinary label teams, and incredible global reach. I am excited to bring those strengths together to give artists even more ways to reach fans and build lasting businesses, and to give brands a meaningful role in something people love. "I look forward to working with Boyd, our leadership and teams around the world on collaborations that artists are proud of and fans want to be part of." Bush's appointment is the latest in a series of moves to strengthen UMG's central operations under Boyd Muir's leadership, including the appointments of Òscar Celma as senior vice president of applied AI and machine learning earlier this week and Hannah Poferl as chief data officer in January.

'Mr. Robot' creator Sam Esmail jumps from CAA (exclusive). Esmail's latest feature, 'Panic Carefully,' has been mired in post-production and recently saw it release date push from February 2027 to April 2027. September 29, 2026 1:34pm Sam Esmail has left CAA, the agency he has called home since 2015. The writer-director-producer, who became a hot commodity thanks to his TV series Mr. Robot, is now on the hunt for a new agency, sources the The Hollywood Reporter. It is unclear why he left the agency although sources say it could stem from delays with his latest feature, Panic Carefully. The movie wrapped production a year and a half ago, and has seen its release date pushed from February 2027 to April 2027. He still remains with his managers at Anonymous Content and lawyer at McKuin Frankel. Esmail burst onto the scene with Robot, the hit USA Network series that ran from 2015 to 2019. It was the first series for the rising writer, who was repped by ICM before the show established Esmail as a TV writer and producer to be reckoned with. He went on to exec produce series or mini-series Briarpatch, Homecoming, Gaslit, Angelyne, The Resort, each of them attracting top talent, including movie star Julie Roberts, who became an Esmail regular. His relationship with Roberts led to the feature Leave the World Behind, an apocalyptic thriller he wrote and directed for Netflix. The movie, which also starred Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, was in the top 10 of most watched movies on the streamer for a while. With his transition to features underway, he then set up thriller Panic Carefully, also with Roberts, at Warners, giving him a shot at a big theatrical release. The movie wrapped production in March of 2025 and became mired in post-production. It is now due to open April 9, 2027. You May Like

Universal Music Group appoints Libby Bush as President, Global Brands and Commercial Partnerships. Sep 29, 2026, 10:00 ET Entrepreneur and CAA Global Head of Entertainment Partnerships to drive growth for artists and brands and create new experiences for fans across digital platforms, physical products, and live experiences Newly created role further expands UMG's capabilities to accelerate innovation and create new possibilities for artists and songwriters SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the appointment of Libby Bush to the newly created role of President, Global Brands and Commercial Partnerships, starting in November. Bush will lead a new global function that brings together UMG's brands, media, and commercial partnership businesses, including Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB). Based in Los Angeles, Bush will report to UMG's Chief Operating Officer Boyd Muir. Great artists create worlds around their music, attracting fans and inspiring loyalty. Today, those worlds reach well beyond recorded music, into original content, live experiences, products and new ventures, and the world's leading brands and platforms want to be a part of them. Bush will draw together the expertise and relationships across UMG's labels and businesses to make ambitious collaborations easier to develop and deliver worldwide. Spanning digital platforms, physical products and live experiences, these collaborations will be rooted in artists' originality and authentic connections with fans. Bush joins UMG from Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where she served as Global Head of Entertainment Partnerships and was a member of the Agency Board. She founded and built CAA's Entertainment Partnerships division, establishing it as a leading business connecting entertainment, brands and media. She brings more than two decades of experience driving growth and cultivating relationships at the highest levels of the industry. Bush said, "Music has never been more central to culture, and what artists can build around it has never been bigger. Today's artists are storytellers, founders, and brands in their own right. UMG has the greatest artists and songwriters in the world, extraordinary label teams, and incredible global reach. I am excited to bring those strengths together to give artists even more ways to reach fans and build lasting businesses, and to give brands a meaningful role in something people love. I look forward to working with Boyd, our leadership and teams around the world on collaborations that artists are proud of and fans want to be part of." Muir said, "As the ways fans experience music evolve, the opportunities for our artists multiply. Bringing our brand, media, and commercial partnerships together under Libby's leadership will help extend our artists' reach and grow their revenues, while giving our partners new ways to build relationships with fans and collaborate with the world's most influential voices. Libby brings exceptional creative and commercial expertise to the world's leading music company. She'll work with our talent, teams, and partners to create memorable experiences for fans, lasting value for brands, and new possibilities for artists." Before CAA, Bush founded Tandem Entertainment, an entertainment partnerships agency acquired by CAA in 2020. Previously, she led impactful global brand partnerships at Marvel Entertainment, delivering partnerships and co-marketing across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and held roles at ABC Entertainment, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and the National Basketball Association. Across her 20+ year career, Bush has developed and negotiated innovative partnerships involving leading brands, talent, producers, studios and platforms. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Turtle Beach Corporation and was named one of Ad Age's Leading Women in 2025. Bush's appointment is the latest in a series of moves to strengthen UMG's central operations under Boyd Muir's leadership, including the appointments of Tseyin Foo as President, Global Supply Chain, and Hannah Poferl as Chief Data Officer. Together, these appointments strengthen the specialist support UMG provides to its labels and teams to drive innovation, develop artists, and grow revenues worldwide. About Universal Music Group At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com. SOURCE Universal Music Group