Stone Irr, sr. producer at BUTTER Music + Sound in Los Angeles and an accomplished recording artist and producer in his own right, has been elected president of the West Coast chapter of the Association of Music Producers, better known as AMP. In his new role, Irr joins AMP national board president Carol Dunn, who was elected by AMP members in May of this year along with new East Coast chapter president Jean Scofield, in a retooled leadership slate that will guide the association going forward as it addresses key issues facing the advertising music and sound community.
“I’m thrilled to step into the role of AMP West president and spearhead the board’s mission in advocating for the music community in the advertising space,” said Irr, who succeeds Dunn in this post. “I’ve always been impressed with the group’s ability to take action in providing transparency and education to its members and collaborators within our industry. As West Coast chapter president, I hope to bring more awareness to AMP by highlighting its educational offerings while also providing more of an open forum within our community.”
Dunn, West Coast executive producer of the music studio Human, succeeded Georg Bissen of MetaTechnik in New York as AMP national president. Scofield, who previously served on the AMP East chapter board, is executive creative producer at Mophonics. Both were active in the Association prior to taking on these new positions, with Dunn serving on its Diversity & Inclusion committee, which she will continue to do going forward, and Scofield serving on the AMP Awards committee.
“We’re delighted that Stone has been elected to lead our West Coast chapter,” said Dunn. “We have a vibrant group of companies that sit at the intersection of the advertising and entertainment industries, and Stone is well suited to helping further our mission of advocating for music providers and creators while underscoring the important role we play in the success of any ad campaign.”
Irr, Dunn and Scofield bring extensive industry experience to their roles at AMP. Irr has worked in the music industry for nearly a decade. As sr. producer at BUTTER, he’s overseen music production for a variety of campaigns and projects for brands like Lexus, Uber, adidas, Liberty Mutual, Amazon, Toyota, and Taco Bell. In addition, Irr led music production for the documentary For Love & Country, as well as the creation of the fictitious band “Bad Randoms” for the mobile gaming company Supercell. As a producer and musician, he’s signed to the label Darling Recordings.
A veteran of three decades in the music industry, Dunn got her start with Capitol Records, eventually working on soundtracks for major motion pictures as a music supervisor. She later segued into music publishing, where she continued to work as a music supervisor, before making the transition from entertainment into advertising. Prior to joining Human, she worked at music companies like Amber Music, Asche & Spencer and Squeak E. Clean. She also took a career detour into postproduction for a time as the West Coast EP at creative editorial and post house PS260, a position she said helped expose her to the wider post arena while confirming her love for the music industry.
Scofield has served on the East chapter board since 2019. Prior to joining Mophonics she spent almost a decade as an agency music producer, mostly at mcgarrybowen (now part of Dentsu Creative), but also at BBDO New York. She’s also spent time working in music supervision and on the label side of the business.
Dunn said one of her main goals at AMP will be “to elevate and highlight the role of AMP’s members in the advertising creation process. Our expertise is immensely valuable. The irony is that music is often the last thing that’s thought of in the process, but it’s the first thing you hear!”
Another of Dunn’s top objectives will be to increase the breadth and scope of AMP’s roster of member studios. “I believe expanding our membership is key, not just for AMP, but for our ability to make significant changes in our industry,” she said. “And that includes thinking about expanding beyond music houses. At our AMP Awards Show in New York last May, our board members were approached by several publishers, as well as agency folks, who were not only blown away by the success of the awards ceremony, but the genuine expansiveness of our reach. I can see a role in our organization for companies that AMP members partner with all the time, such as film and TV companies. And I’d love to up our collaboration with AICP on areas of mutual concern.”
“There’s so much expertise and knowledge within our membership, and beyond,” Scofield added. “I’m interested in AMP crafting more means of sharing that knowledge and encouraging mentorships and internships, as well as outreach and camaraderie, so we’re all stronger and more savvy in our production and business practices. Whether it’s regarding license versus work for hire, navigating the unions, PRO collection, the matter of NDAs and E&O coverage, you name it, our collective knowledge and understanding will help raise the bar industry-wide.”
Recent AMP initiatives include an informational and educational webinar aimed at the ad agency community, revealing some of the fundamental building blocks of creating music and sound for ad content, as well as a series of panels focusing on Latino, Black and women artists and producers, discussing their career paths and the opportunities that working in advertising presents for them.
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