Rio Caraeff appointed Chief Business Officer at Musixmatch

Music data and lyrics platform Musixmatch has appointed veteran music executive Rio Caraeff as Chief Business Officer.

In this role, Caraeff will oversee all commercial activity across Musixmatch’s businesses globally, and will, according to the company, “define and execute the company’s strategic growth plans”.

Caraeff will also be responsible for managing and strengthening relationships with Musixmatch’s clients, partners, IP owners, and other stakeholders.

As the CEO of Vevo, Caraeff helped to grow the company into one of the world’s most prominent music video and entertainment platforms.

He has also served as Chief Commercial Officer at Syng, an early-stage spatial audio company that creates hardware and software products, and Chief Content Officer for Magic Leap.

Prior to Co-Founding Vevo in 2009, Caraeff spent more than 20 years in technology, strategy, and new business development across all areas of entertainment.

Caraeff worked at companies including Universal Music Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Digital Media Ventures, and Capitol Records Group.

Founded in 2010, Musixmatch claims to have assembled the world’s largest lyrics catalog. With lyrical content for millions of songs across over 80 languages, Musixmatch provides its metadata to DSPs including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google, Instagram, Spotify, and Tidal.

Musixmatch says that Caraeff joins the company “at a time of considerable momentum”, with his appointment arriving just over a year after Musixmatch secured what it says was a “significant investment” from TPG Growth.

Musixmatch says that it has expanded geographically and onboarded more than one million artists since securing that investment, as well as launching Musixmatch Pro, and a direct-to-artist SaaS product.

“With nearly three decades of experience working at the intersection of music, media, and technology, Rio brings to Musixmatch the knowledge and relationships to help accelerate our growth.”

Max Ciociola, Musixmatch

Max Ciociola, Musixmatch Founder and CEO, said: “With nearly three decades of experience working at the intersection of music, media, and technology, Rio brings to Musixmatch the knowledge and relationships to help accelerate our growth.

“Rio is deeply passionate about the entire music ecosystem and his energy and excitement about his work has enabled his success at some of the most innovative and influential companies in our industry.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Rio to the Musixmatch team and look forward to partnering closely as we continue to empower songwriters and artists, while creating a more engaging and personalized listening experience for fans.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to join and build as there has never been a more vital time than now to create opportunities for artists and further our commitment in support of creators.”

Rio Caraeff

Rio Caraeff added: “Throughout my life, my focus has always been on supporting artists & creators and that ethos entirely aligns with Musixmatch’s mission.

“Through the power of its global community, talented team, and state-of-the-art technology, Musixmatch has created one of the largest music datasets in the world.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join and build as there has never been a more vital time than now to create opportunities for artists and further our commitment in support of creators.”

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Max, Rio, and the impressive team at Musixmatch as we advance our shared goals for the company.”

Jacqui Hawwa, TPG Growth

Jacqui Hawwa, a Business Unit Partner at TPG Growth, said: “Rio’s strong leadership track record and deep business-building expertise at both start-ups and some of the largest players in the music space will position him for success as he takes on the CBO role.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Max, Rio, and the impressive team at Musixmatch as we advance our shared goals for the company.”

 Music Business Worldwide