Jessica Rivera is an American entrepreneur and music and entertainment executive. She signed Imagine Dragons and a pre-fame, 16-year-old Rihanna. As an A&R music executive, her influence can be heard on records by Eminem, Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, and Kanye West, among others.[citation needed]
Jessica Rivera | |
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 Rivera in 2024 | |
| Born | Parkchester, Bronx, New York, U.S. |
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Career
editEarly career
editRivera began her career at several recording studios, including Soundtrack, Quad, Battery, and Hit Factory.[citation needed] This led to an opportunity to work directly for Kamaal "Q-Tip" Fareed of A Tribe Called Quest as his assistant. Rivera assisted Q-Tip with his day-to-day duties until leaving for an internship at the then-newly established Roc-A-Fella Records.[citation needed] She worked at other record labels, namely Bad Boy Entertainment and Def Jam. At Bad Boy, her first multi-platinum A&R project was the 2001 album Part III by R&B group 112. At Def Jam, Rivera worked with Kanye West. Kanye pays his tribute to Rivera in the song "Last Call", a 20-minute call-out song on his 2004 debut album The College Dropout, where the rapper name-checks some of the industry executives who recognized his talent early on.[1] Rivera then joined EMI Music Publishing, where her first signing was Rihanna, then an unsigned artist.[2]
Universal Music Publishing Group
editRivera worked at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) for 11 years.[2] In 2012, she was promoted to Senior Vice President / Co-Head of East Coast Operations.[3] In 2015, she was promoted to Executive Vice President / Head of East Coast Operations and Creative.[4][5]
Rivera signed an unknown producer named Alex da Kid , who went on to co-write Eminem's biggest song, "Love the Way You Lie", under the creative direction of Rivera, which was a copyright controlled completely by UMPG. Rivera spearheaded a joint venture that paved the way for the breakout success of a then-unknown Imagine Dragons. Her selected signings at UMPG included Alex da Kid, Imagine Dragons, Emile Haynie, Take a Daytrip, DJ Khalil, Bekon, Pop Wansel, and Phil Lawrence.[5]
YouTube
editAt YouTube, Rivera was head of artist relations for YouTube's West Coast territory.[2] She headed a livestream-based marketing campaign that helped take Mariah Carey’s "All I Want for Christmas Is You" to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.[citation needed] She also executed a deal for livestreaming rights to the 13th annual Roots Picnic in partnership with Michelle Obama's voter-registration nonprofit When We All Vote, an online festival that successfully registered voters, which was the most highly-streamed event broadcast on The Roots' channel, and won a 2021 Webby Award for Best Festival or Concert (Virtual & Remote Features).[6] In addition, Rivera contributed to the production of YouTube Originals shows like Stay Home with Yungblud with pre-famed artist Yungblud, and HBCU Homecoming 2020: Meet Me On The Yard, a global livestream event produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment and Live Nation Urban and aired in association with BET.[citation needed]
Other executive roles
editIn 2021, she was named General Manager at the media company Mass Appeal.[2] She joined SoundCloud in 2022, serving as Global Senior VP and General Manager there.[7][6]
In 2024, Rivera was named President of Issa Rae's audio content company, Raedio.[6]
Philanthropy
editRivera is a member of the board of directors at a non-profit animal advocacy organization, Humane World for Animals,[8] and the Humane World Action Fund.[citation needed]
Honors
editReferences
edit- ↑ Lewis, Brittany (February 10, 2014). "THE COLLEGE DROPOUT! A Look Back At The 17 Important People Kanye West Mentioned On The Outro Of "Last Call" (LIST)". Global Grind. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Aswad, Jem (June 29, 2021). "Mass Appeal Names Jessica Rivera GM of Music". Variety.
- ↑ Menyes, Carolyn (June 11, 2012). "Jessica Rivera Promoted to SVP of East Coast Operations, UMPG". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Jessica Rivera Rises At Universal Music Publishing Group". Billboard. July 1, 2015.
- 1 2 "Jessica Rivera Steps Up To EVP At UMPG In New York". Music Business Worldwide. July 2, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Jessica Rivera Named President of Raedio". Billboard. February 14, 2024.
- ↑ Needham, Jack (July 14, 2022). "Jessica Rivera joins SoundCloud as Global SVP & General Manager". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Board of Directors". Humane World for Animals. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Billboard 2020 R&B Hip Hop Power Players". Billboard. November 12, 2020.