HarbourView backs Michelle Jubelirer and Arjun Pulijal’s new venture, Soft Shock

Michelle Jubelirer and Arjun Pulijal have launched a new venture backed by a strategic investment from HarbourView Equity Partners.

Their new company, Soft Shock, is described as “a management and media collective that reimagines how talent is developed and empowered across the entertainment landscape”.

Soft Shock offers talent management, creative marketing services, brand creation, and creative development/production/distribution across all mediums.

Beyond music, Soft Shock also represents comedians, filmmakers, actors, creators, athletes, visual artists, designers, chefs, makers, and “generative talent with a distinct creative POV and an ambition to challenge convention,” the company said.

“The name Soft Shock exemplifies our approach to everything,” said Soft Shock Co-Founder Michelle Jubelirer on Thursday (September 18). “We are humanistic and empathetic first… but we are going to fiercely protect artists and fight to make things happen for them.”

Today’s announcement noted that Jubelirer and Pulijal have a combined five decades of experience as “talent-facing operators driving creative and execution”.

Jubelirer is the former Chair and CEO of Capitol Music Group (CMG), where she was named Billboard’s 2024 ‘Women in Music’ Executive of the Year.

Prior to CMG, Jubelirer’s career spanned roles as a mergers and acquisitions attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and partner at entertainment law firm King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner, where she represented clients including Tyler the Creator, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pharrell Williams, Nas, Frank Ocean, M.I.A., and others.

Prior to overseeing all aspects of artist development as President of CMG, Pulijal headed the marketing for the label group, creating “groundbreaking, commercially successful, and critically acclaimed” campaigns for artists such as Paul McCartney, Beck, Troye Sivan, Halsey, Nine Inch Nails, Maggie Rogers, Norah Jones, and many others.

Under their leadership, today’s announcement noted, CMG “achieved new heights”, including the signing of Grammy Award-winning artist Doechii, Sam Smith’s record-breaking single Unholy, Ice Spice’s “meteoric rise to fame,” the release of the Beatles’ last-ever single, Now & Then, and “historic profitability.”

During their tenure, Jubelirer and Pulijal represented artists who have collectively sold over 400 million albums globally.

HarbourView was established in 2021 by former Tempo Music CEO Sherrese Clarke, with backing from Apollo Global Management.

Just a few months ago, the company secured $500 million in additional debt financing from investment giant KKR via a private securitization backed by its music portfolio.

It followed a previous $500 million in debt financing secured by HarbourView in March 2024, through a private securitization backed by its catalog of music royalties, and led by KKR.

“The name Soft Shock exemplifies our approach to everything. We are humanistic and empathetic first… but we are going to fiercely protect artists and fight to make things happen for them.”

Michelle Jubelirer, Soft Shock

Said Jubelirer: “It’s a volatile time for the creative psyche – that applies to talent as well as those on the business side trying to build careers – these are people’s lives.

“We believe creative intention, personal fulfillment, and commercial success can all co-exist. It just takes curation and bravery, or as we say, ‘a soft touch with the courage to shock.’”

“All artists are creators and Soft Shock is ready to provide them with the tools, resources, and creative freedom they need to build sustainable, multi-faceted careers.”

Arjun Pulijal

Arjun Pulijal, Co-Founder of Soft Shock, added: “It may not always feel like it, but artists have the power now and it’s never going back.

“Telling talent ‘go viral and then we’ll care’ is a race to the bottom. We combat that by building scale on the side of talent through a diverse network that offers thought partnership and collaboration.

“All artists are creators and Soft Shock is ready to provide them with the tools, resources, and creative freedom they need to build sustainable, multi-faceted careers.”

“At HarbourView, we look for partners who not only shift culture but expand it – with Soft Shock’s focus on artistry, equity, and impact in entertainment, they perfectly embody that.”

Sherrese Clarke, HarbourView 

Sherrese Clarke, CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, said: “Michelle and Arjun lead with both vision and conviction. I’ve watched Michelle fight for artists with the same courage she brings to every table we’ve shared, including our shared passion for the most vulnerable, and Arjun is equally relentless in reimagining what’s possible.

“At HarbourView, we look for partners who not only shift culture but expand it – with Soft Shock’s focus on artistry, equity, and impact in entertainment, they perfectly embody that.”

Acquisitive HarbourView has acquired over 70 music catalogs encompassing over 35,000 songs across both master recordings and publishing income streams.

The company’s portfolio includes music from T-Pain, James Fauntleroy, George Benson, Noel Zancanella, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Nelly, Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa, Kane Brown, Full Force and more.Music Business Worldwide