Republic Records has named Dave Rocco to the newly created role of chief creative officer, label founders Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman announced on Wedesday. According to the announcement, Rocco “will bring his creative vision, innovative thinking and strategic expertise to Republic and its world-class roster of artists.”
“In many ways, Dave is an artist trapped in an executive’s body,” said Monte Lipman. “He’s an amazing storyteller with a vivid imagination and an ability to break boundaries and completely rewrite the rules. He brings an inimitable spirit to the table. I am thrilled to have him join our team.”
Rocco added, “I have tremendous respect for the Republic team and their world-class acts and couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come. Monte and Avery’s desire to expand the value of a music company is inspiring, and I’m thrilled to work with them, and the new leadership team of Jim Roppo and Wendy Goldstein to facilitate this vision.”
Most recently, Rocco served as executive VP of creative at Universal Music Group, reporting to chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge since 2018. He collaborated with various UMG labels and dozens of artists in terms of development, artist narrative, and creative.
Before joining UMG , he spent two years at Spotify, rising to global head of artist and label partnerships. Prior to joining Spotify in 2016, Rocco was the executive VP and music creative director at advertising agency Deutsch, where he created music campaigns for brands and artists including Target, Imagine Dragons, Adele, Luke Bryan and Sprint. Before Deutsch, Rocco worked at BBDO and held positions at Epic and Atlantic Records.