Global club culture platform Boiler Room has made another significant appointment as it expands operations.
This time it’s turned to Universal Music UK’s Globe division for its latest hire: Maria Murtagh-Hopkins takes on the newly created position of chief strategy officer, effective August 1.
Murtagh-Hopkins, who most recently served as SVP, creative, innovation and strategic partnerships at Universal’s creative and commercial strategic partnerships division, will lead and implement Boiler Room’s global developmental strategy to take it into new markets, diversify revenue streams and drive joint ventures.
The announcement follows the recent appointments of Stephen Mai as chief content and marketing officer and Jodie Nicholson as MD.
Murtagh-Hopkins said: “At a time where music curation has never been more significant within culture, Boiler Room has revolutionised how global audiences can interact with and experience music anywhere in the world. Under Blaise’s leadership and vision, Boiler Room has quickly established itself as the most trusted, respected and authentic voice in music curation and I am honoured to join the senior leadership team at such an exciting time of expansion.
At Globe, she worked closely with UMG parent-company Vivendi as a core member of its UK development committee, in order to help identify external investment opportunities and strategic synergies across the group, including: Universal Music Group, Gameloft, StudioCanal, See Tickets and Havas.
Prior to Globe, Murtagh-Hopkins held positions at Island Records and Columbia Records, where she delivered campaigns for global artists including Childish Gambino, Nicki Minaj and Amy Winehouse, as well as projects for Roc Nation and Scooter Braun.
Since launching eight years ago, Boiler Room has built a global audience of more than 180 million users each month for its online platform of live music and curated content.
The company recently launched new content verticals including 4:3, which features “curated and commissioned underground film exploring themes of performance, identity, youth culture and anti-establishment”. Since its launch in May, it has reached more than 136.5 million people and generated more than 24 million views.
Boiler Room content has been viewed more than 1.1 billion times globally since launch. Since 2010, it has broadcast live from more than 150 cities around the world and has an established presence in markets including India, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China, Africa and Latin America, alongside its own permanent broadcast hubs in London, New York, LA and Berlin.