Centricity Music, an independent Christian music company based in Franklin, TN, announces the hiring of acclaimed touring and studio worship guitarist James Duke as Director of A&R. Justin Nicolet has also been promoted to Creative Director, Centricity Publishing, and Andrew Lambeth has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing.
Duke,whose guitar playing can be heard on worship albums by Jesus Culture, Michael W. Smith, Elevation Worship, John Mark McMillan, Matt Redman and more, has helped lead the charge in shaping the iconic electric guitar sound that many modern worship guitarists are striving to achieve today. Having shared the stage with many of today’s leading voices in worship, Duke has also been a mentor and example to many young, aspiring electric guitarists.
“When Centricity made the decision to increase our reach into the modern worship movement, we knew the people we brought on to head up the initiative would be of ultimate importance,” says John Mays, Centricity Music’s Vice President of A&R. “That’s why we took our time and talked to lots of people. In the end, we’re so excited to have James Duke joining our team as a Director of A&R, focusing on worship. James’ background as a worship leader and guitar player for so many of the modern worship communities makes him uniquely qualified for the task of identifying songs and artists that can bring fresh expressions of worship to the church.”
Nicolet worked in radio, promoting singles by artists like Newsboys, Relient K, Lincoln Brewster and more before joining Maximum Artist Group/Maximum Artist Management to represent clients like Natalie Grant, Danny Gokey, Mary Mary, etc. He was also Manager of Artist and Writer Relations for Maximum’s publishing division, Maxx Music Publishing. After almost four years at Maximum, Justin joined the Centricity Music family as Manager of Publishing. With his promotion to Creative Director, Centricity Publishing, he is actively looking for songs from, and pitching song to, today’s most successful artists.
“Justin’s contributions to the growth and success of Centricity Publishing, especially in the past two years, have been significant,” says Chad Segura, Centricity Music, Vice President of Publishing. “His role has changed considerably as he’s continued to take on more and more responsibilities, and I’m grateful to be able to properly recognize him for all that he has accomplished, and the level at which he’s operating on a day-to-day basis.”
Lambeth, who discovered and developed artists as the head of imprint label Residence Music for four years before moving to Centricity Music as Manager of Sales and Marketing/Streaming, is poised to continue to add focus to furthering the reach of the label’s roster. In his new role as Director of Sales and Marketing, he has an emphasis on partnerships among streaming outlets and playlists.
“Over the last year, Andrew has proven to be someone that can be surrounded by a changing marketplace and constantly find new ways to support and grow our artists’ music and message,” says John Stokes, Centricity Music, Vice President of Sales and Digital Marketing. “I’m proud to work alongside him and look forward to him continuing to grow in this role.”
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