Antonious Porch, General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer at SoundCloud, is leaving the music streaming service.
SoundCloud has confirmed that Porch will be leaving the company, effective January 3. The exec will be joining magazine publisher Condé Nast as its new General Counsel in February.
SoundCloud has also confirmed that Porch will be succeeded as General Counsel by Berlin-based Ama Walton, SVP & Deputy General Counsel, who has been promoted to the role of EVP & General Counsel.
Porch joined SoundCloud in 2018. Condé Nast noted that Porch helped the music streaming platform “achieve profitability for the first time by driving double-digit revenue growth in creator and artist services, consumer subscriptions, and advertising”.
Prior to SoundCloud, Porch worked as the General Counsel of Shazam, which was sold to Apple in a $400 million deal in 2017.
“Antonious has been instrumental in shaping SoundCloud’s legal and DEI frameworks, leaving a profound legacy of integrity, innovation, and meaningful change.”
Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud
In a statement shared with MBW on Thursday (December 12), Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud’s SVP, Head of Communications, said: “After seven impactful years, Antonious Porch, General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer, will step down on January 3 to pursue an exciting new professional opportunity.
“Antonious has been instrumental in shaping SoundCloud’s legal and DEI frameworks, leaving a profound legacy of integrity, innovation, and meaningful change.”
Prior to Shazam, Porch spent over a decade at global media company, Viacom as Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Nickelodeon, and Vice President, Senior Counsel of Technology & Kids Compliance in Viacom’s corporate office.
Earlier in his career, he held roles at Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics, part of NBCUniversal), and the law firms of Latham & Watkins and Morrison & Foerster.
As General Counsel of Condé Nast, he will oversee all legal, business affairs, policy and compliance matters, while also serving as corporate secretary.
Porch received his bachelor’s degree from Yale College and earned his juris doctor from Columbia Law School. He is a board member of GLAAD and the International Radio and Television Society Foundation.
Commenting on the promotion of Ama Walton to EVP & General Counsel, SoundCloud’s Marni Greenberg, said: “Ama’s deep expertise, strategic vision, and dedication to our mission position her perfectly to continue driving SoundCloud’s success as a core member of our Executive Team, based in Berlin, Germany.”
Greenberg also said that “SoundCloud remains deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are fundamental to our mission and culture” and the company is “actively launching a search for a new leader to guide [SoundCloud’s DEI strategy, ensuring we build on our progress and continue driving meaningful impact across the company. In the meantime, our dedicated DEI team will uphold and advance these efforts”.
“Ama’s deep expertise, strategic vision, and dedication to our mission position her perfectly to continue driving SoundCloud’s success as a core member of our Executive Team, based in Berlin, Germany.”
Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud
Added Greenberg: “Since joining SoundCloud in 2021, Walton has played a key role in launching Fan-Powered Royalties in 2021, including securing global licensing deals with Warner Music Group and Merlin“.
Walton was previously on BMG Rights Management’s executive board as its global General Counsel and CHRO.
Prior to BMG, Walton was Managing Director in the music division at Constantin Film AG, and part of EMI Music Germany’s management team, as the company’s lead lawyer.
Walton is a member of Erich Pommer Insititue’s Supervisory Board and a member of SoundCloud’s Senior Leadership Group. The exec is is a graduate of Ludwig-Maximilians Munich Law School and King’s College London.
Porch’s departure from SoundCloud follows the news in March that the platform’s former Chief Content Officer, Tracy Chan, had exited his role to join Australia-born AI music company Splash as CEO.Music Business Worldwide