BOSTON (Hypebot) — Music technology veteran Jim Lucchese has resigned as CEO of Sofar to become president of Berklee College of Music. Lucchese founded Echo Nest, a pioneering music analytics company that was acquired by Spotify in 2014, where he served as a senior executive.
Lucchese has served as President of Sofar since 2019. Finish.
Last year, another music tech veteran, Marni Greenberg, resigned as vice president of communications at Sofar to become senior vice president and head of communications at SoundCloud.
Lucchese named fifth Berkeley president
Lucchese is Beklee’s fifth principal since its founding in 1945.
“It is a tremendous privilege to be a part of the Berkeley community, an institution that means so much to me personally and has been a uniquely positive force for creativity around the world,” said Jim Lucchese. “I look forward to working with this talented and diverse community – students, staff, alumni and supporters. I am eager to learn from their experience and expertise in such a wide range of creative disciplines, from music education, dance and theatre” to management, production, performance, music therapy and more.
“Jim’s appointment marks a transformative moment for Berkeley. Through working closely with him, I’ve seen firsthand how his curiosity, entrepreneurial mindset, and dedication to artist empowerment keep him at the forefront of our ever-evolving music industry. The forefront of the industry. Katie Vitalins BM ’06, head of fan commerce at Amazon Music and a Berkeley trustee.
