Dean Gillard has been appointed EVP of Heldeep Records, the electronic house record label owned by DJ/producer Oliver Heldens.
Heldeep Records is led by Heldens’ management company, Milk & Honey, and is based within the firm’s new UK offices in Kings Cross, London.
Gillard comes to Heldeep from Universal Music Group where he was Vice President, International Marketing and A&R for Universal Music’s global dance network, PM:AM Recordings.
At Universal, Gillard (pictured) worked on global releases for Tiesto, Avicii, Jonas Blue, Meduza, Jax Jones, Martin Solveig and Axwell Ingrosso amongst others.
His newly-formed Nocturn Music Group will now join Heldens and Milk & Honey, with the aim of “transforming Heldeep Records from a startup into a mainstay electronic label brand”.
Gillard will work closely with Alex Harrow & Dave Frank who are co-heads of electronic music for Milk & Honey Management.
Oliver Heldens. said: “I’m very happy having someone with so much experience in the label business like Dean strengthen the Heldeep team. He’s also a really nice person with the right mindset, so I think we’ll have a great future together.”
“In the coming years, Heldeep will become one of the top destinations for the best dance records throughout the UK and Europe, and onward to the global presence we plan to build while maintaining the great integrity of Oliver Heldens and his brand.”
Lucas Keller, Milk & Honey
Lucas Keller, founder and President of Milk & Honey, said: “I couldn’t be more excited to have Dean on the team. In the coming years, Heldeep will become one of the top destinations for the best dance records throughout the UK and Europe, and onward to the global presence we plan to build while maintaining the great integrity of Oliver Heldens and his brand. There is not a stronger fit than Dean Gillard to take that torch. Looking forward.”
Added Dean Gillard: “I’m very happy to be working with Oliver and the Milk & Honey crew, making Heldeep one of the first clients on the books at Nocturn Music Group. Heldeep is in great shape with huge potential to expand even more globally. I’m looking forward to creating exciting future partnerships with the label.”
Alex Harrow, Co-Head of Electronic Music at Milk & Honey said: “We are incredibly excited to have Dean Gillard involved at Heldeep Records. He will provide the foundation and guidance needed to grow the Heldeep label into an even bigger force in the dance music industry than it already is. The label has accomplished a lot in its 5 short years in existence and now with Dean at the helm we feel that the sky is the limit.”
And Dave Frank, Co-Head of Electronic Music at Milk & Honey, said: “I first worked with Dean back in 2013 while he was overseeing PM:AM Recordings for Universal Music Group, and was immediately struck by his forward thinking approaches to both A&R and marketing. He is one of the best record men in the space, and we are excited to collaborate with him to continue breaking records and acts on a global scale.”
Lucas Keller founded Milk & Honey six years ago and has since opened offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and now London.
Milk & Honey, with approximately 60 clients, claims to be the fastest-growing songwriter/producer management company in the world. The company’s roster has collectively sold over 400 million records worldwide.
The first signings with the opening of Milk & Honey UK are producer artist Stuart Price, best known for his hits with The Killers and Madonna, and songwriter Andrew Jackson who has worked with Dua Lipa, Eminem, Kygo, Alicia Keys and Hailee Steinfeld (amongst others).
Milk & Honey Management has also signed M22, the British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders and look forward to expanding their roster in 2020 and beyond.Music Business Worldwide