Vinyl brings in former Seven revenue chief after digital media buying spree

Vinyl has spent the past 12 months snapping up some of Australia's largest youth and culture media businesses and is now hiring heavyweight executives to monetise it.

Former Seven West Media chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette has joined the ASX-listed company as interim chief commercial officer, while global music rights and partnerships executive Lucie Caswell has been appointed chief business strategy officer.

The hires follow Vinyl’s acquisition of Pedestrian Group, its long-term franchise agreement with Time Out Australia and the expansion of its publishing portfolio through the Val Morgan Digital transaction, adding brands including LADbible Group, BuzzFeed, Fandom and Vox Media.

Burnette is the heavyweight appointment. During more than three decades in media, he served as Seven West Media’s chief revenue officer and led a 450-person national sales team responsible for more than $1.2 billion in annual advertising revenue.

Vinyl said he will lead a strategy spanning advertising, branded content, partnerships and platform revenue. His remit includes building a unified market proposition for Vinyl, strengthening agency and direct advertiser relationships and overhauling pricing across digital advertising and branded content.

Caswell will oversee Vinyl’s global publisher and partner relationships while supporting business development and potential M&A opportunities. She has previously held senior roles at ERA, Songtradr, Bandcamp, 7digital, the Music Publishers Association and the Featured Artists Coalition.

Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons said the company had scaled rapidly and was now focused on turning its expanded footprint into a more integrated commercial business.

“Vinyl has scaled its reach quickly, and the next phase is about turning that expanded platform into a more integrated, efficient and commercially powerful business,” Simons said.

“Kurt brings deep senior commercial leadership across media, digital, major events and agency relationships. He has operated at a level very few commercial leaders in this market have, and his experience is directly relevant to the opportunity in front of Vinyl Media.”