Riptide Music Group (Riptide), a synchronization and rights management company that provides music to advertising, movie trailers, TV programming and promos, major motion pictures, videogames, and multi-media productions, has named Mark Ross as a partner. Concurrently, Riptide has secured a $4-million dollar investment from Ross to finance the future growth of the business. The announcement was made by Riptide executives Rich Goldman, president, and Keatly Haldeman, CEO.
Riptide will use the infusion of funds to expand operations, acquire additional music, and sign and develop songwriters, producers, and recording artists.
Ross is the son of legendary music executive Steve Ross, founder and CEO of Warner Communications, and former CEO of Time Warner, Inc. Mark Ross has been active over the last three decades at the highest level of virtually every facet of the music and film business, including serving as executive director of Quincy Jones Productions.
Riptide Music Group is a full-service, sync-focused music publishing company with broad relationships across the media spectrum. Recent placements include commercials for Apple, Carl’s Jr., and Google Chromecast; film campaigns for “John Wick 2,” “Valerian and the City Of a Thousand Planets,” and “Get Out!;” and numerous additional placements in TV shows and promos with the top broadcast, OTT, and cable networks.
Riptide’s pop music development division, Incubator, scored some wins over the past year, including Atlantic Records artist Terror Jr.’s hit single “Come First,” with over 85 million Spotify plays. Incubator also scored numerous singles on labels such as Armada Records, Revealed Recordings, and CR2.
Additionally, Riptide has further developed its DIVER division, which is focused on record label and artist sync services. DIVER exclusively represents Dine Alone Records, Canada’s largest indie label, for worldwide sync representation. The DIVER roster is filled with new label releases, providing music supervisors and brands with access to current touring and “buzzing” artists.
“Mark and I both cut our chops in recording studios and as music producers, which, for me, enabled us to bond immediately,” said Goldman. “Mark’s a music guy to the core, and he brings a world of knowledge, relationships and enthusiasm to the table. He shares our vision in the unlimited potential of Riptide Music Group.”
Dan Silver, Riptide’s VP of Creative, said, “This new partnership with Mark Ross fuels a broader reach for us to brands, studios, and music supervisors with our various catalogs. It will also help us to increase our artists’ value in the marketplace, which will ultimately broaden the audiences for those artists. Mark’s investment, depth of experience, and extensive industry relationships are sure to power an energetic new growth phase for Riptide.”
“Riptide is a dynamic company with a seasoned team, a tremendous catalog, and solid media connections. I’m thrilled to be joining them, and to help support their growth during this exciting new era across all aspects of the global music industry,” said Ross who over the course of his career has worked with creative luminaries such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, Alicia Keys, Ray Charles, AC/DC, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, Metallica, Frank Sinatra, and Sir George Martin. In the process, he’s forged strong personal and professional relationships with entertainment professionals of every stripe.
Starting his career as a tape librarian at Atlantic Studios, Ross went on to work closely with Quincy Jones for more than 20 years, ultimately as executive director of Quincy Jones Productions. Ross also ran his own imprint label with Universal Records.
In addition, Ross has produced a number of films, and was an early backer of the groundbreaking independent film endeavor, InDigEnt. He produced one of the largest concerts ever in Moscow, “Monsters of Rock,” prior to the fall of the Soviet Union. The concert featured AC/DC, Metallica, and Pantera, whom he signed to ATCO Records.
Ross is also currently an advisor and investor in Music Audience Exchange, a technology company that helps consumer brands and music artists form mutually beneficial partnerships.
