Bicoastal music company Heavy Duty Projects has added Maura Gaudio as director of business development and Sebastian Ade as associate producer, both based out of New York. The two new positions at the music-for-picture studio were announced by Josh Kessler, founding partner of Heavy Duty Projects, and Kate Urcioli, its New York-based EP and partner.
Gaudio’s newly-created role underscores Heavy Duty’s ongoing expansion; she’ll lead business development, strategy and partnerships.
As associate producer, Ade will be joining the HP’s heavy-hitting team of producers as they broaden their work with blue-chip-brands and agencies while fueling the careers of producers and songwriters.
Prior to joining the Heavy Duty Projects team, Gaudio served as founder and managing partner at Happening Entertainment, an experiential and marketing studio based in New York. While leading Happening Entertainment’s growth, she brokered partnerships and produced on behalf of festivals, artists and brands, including Bumble, CAVA, Participant Media, Focus Features, Hypebeast, Calvin Klein for Something Special Studios, Time’s Up, Moncler, All Things Go Festival and many more.
Before that she worked on partnerships for Cara Lewis Group and at MAC Presents, and also spent time on the agency side at IPG Mediabrands. Her previous work includes Uber’s Grammy “Road to Best Nominee” commercial featuring Khalid, Hollister’s Back-To-School anti-bullying campaign featuring Noah Cyrus & Khalid, and Foo Fighters Cal Jam music festival, as well as pitching artists such as Travis Scott, Eminem and Chance the Rapper. Gaudio’s previous clients and artists include Unilever, USTA/US Open, Sony, Uber, Metallica, Childish Gambino, Phoenix and many more.
Ade comes from varied production experiences in advertising and entertainment, including stints at Saatchi & Saatchi, The Webby Awards and Ogilvy. At Ogilvy he helped usher in the careers of songwriters and producers through facilitating syncs for Ikea and Xfinity, as well as the 2020 IBM x Grammy’s spot.
A Brooklyn native who’s always been inspired by connecting people through music, Ade has consistently championed brilliant creative voices that are often overlooked. A musical artist himself, he spends free time performing and collaborating with local artists. Last year, one of his tracks was featured in TIME Magazine’s “Top 5 Songs to Listen To” list, amongst superstar company Solange Knowles, The Jonas Brothers and Zara Larsson.
Heavy Duty is capping a busy summer with some high profile projects. Tapping an ominous remix of “Get Free” by Major Lazer, it scored the trailer for the much-anticipated new HBO series The Vow, which recounts the scandals surrounding the cult NXIVM.
And in a truly excellent endeavor, Heavy Duty composed the six-minute, head-banging epic at the heart of Bill & Ted Face the Music, in which the time-traveling stoners return as middle-aged dads, tasked with cranking out a hit song to save the universe.
