Monti Olson has been appointed by BMG to oversee the company’s music publishing operations as Executive Vice President, Publishing, North America.
The move sees Olson return to BMG after previously serving from 2018–2022, when he oversaw US music publishing and led the expansion of the company’s frontline publishing activities, business development, and was actively involved in acquisitions.
The exec will lead BMG’s publishing A&R and creative administration teams, and according to the company, will also “drive new signings and catalog acquisitions”.
He will also “oversee the development and execution of growth strategies” across the company’s US operations in Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York.
During the transition into his new role, he will report to Thomas Scherer, BMG’s President of Global Catalog Recordings and Music Publishing, North America, before later reporting directly to BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld.
Olson will also join BMG’s Global Strategy Committee, which, BMG says, “brings together key leaders from across the business to help shape the company’s long-term strategy and direction”.
Most recently, Olson served as President (founding partner) of Litmus Music, a music rights acquisition company backed by The Carlyle Group.
While there, the company executed over 10 high-profile deals, including acquisitions and partnerships with benny blanco, Opus Music Group (Juice WRLD, Ozuna, Maluma), Randy Newman, Keith Urban, and Katy Perry, among others.
New York-based Litmus launched in August 2022, with Carlyle Global Credit committing an initial $500 million for the company to focus on acquiring and managing both publishing and recorded music rights.
With more than two decades of experience across the music industry, Olson has previously held senior roles at Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Bros. Records, Global Entertainment/Global Music Publishing, and BMG Music Publishing, alongside peermusic, Windswept, and MCA Records.
Olson’s new job at BMG sees him reunite with a roster of publishing clients he partnered with during his previous tenure at the company, including the estate of Juice WRLD, Diane Warren, D’Mile, Jeff Gitelman, Rob Grimaldi, and John Legend.
“Thomas Coesfeld is building something special at BMG and I’m proud to be part of it. In addition, I look forward to working alongside my great friend Tom Scherer once again. It’s good to be home!”
Monti Olson
Olson said: “BMG has always been home to me. It is a world-class music company that is filled with great people who put songwriters and their creativity first as a core value.
“Thomas Coesfeld is building something special at BMG and I’m proud to be part of it. In addition, I look forward to working alongside my great friend Tom Scherer once again. It’s good to be home!”
“His proven leadership, deep creative network, and experience in both frontline publishing and high-profile catalog acquisitions will be invaluable as we continue to scale the future of our business.”
Thomas Scherer
Scherer added: “Monti’s return to BMG reflects our commitment to being the most effective, songwriter-first partner in music publishing. His proven leadership, deep creative network, and experience in both frontline publishing and high-profile catalog acquisitions will be invaluable as we continue to scale the future of our business.
“With Monti at the helm, we are strengthening our publishing business in North America, the world’s largest music market, and reinforcing our position as a trusted home for songwriters.”
With his expertise and passion for songwriters, we are confident Monti will play a transformative role in helping shape the next phase of growth for BMG.”
Thomas Coesfeld
Commenting on Olson’s appointment, Thomas Coesfeld, said: “We are pleased to welcome Monti back to BMG. His return comes at a pivotal moment for both our company and the industry at-large, and his leadership will be central to driving our publishing strategy.
“With his expertise and passion for songwriters, we are confident Monti will play a transformative role in helping shape the next phase of growth for BMG.”
Speaking with MBW last month after the company published its H1 2025 results, Coesfeld explained that “music publishing will likely remain the primary income driver for our business, and we plan to allocate additional resources to our successful and diversified publishing operations”.
He added: “Signings, administration and buyouts remain strong engines of growth, especially as streaming expands globally. Our strength lies in our focused model — publishing and recordings — which gives us resilience and flexibility as the market evolves.”
