Jaxsta Appoints Josh Simons as CEO


Thursday, June 29, 2023 Jaxsta (ASX: JXT), the world’s largest dedicated database of official music credits, announces today that Josh Simons has been appointed as Jaxsta’s CEO with immediate effect. Beth Appleton will step down as CEO effective immediately.

Jaxsta Chair, Linda Jenkinson, said: “The Board thanks Beth for her significant contribution to Jaxsta during a period of growth and change. We wish her all the best for her future.”

Appleton said: “I will relish my time at Jaxsta and the initiatives that I drove. I wish Josh, and the incredible team, all the very best for the future. I’m proud to have been a part of the Jaxsta evolution, and look forward to watching the business continue on its mission.”

Simons joined Jaxsta following the completion of the acquisition of Vampr on June 1, 2023, and was appointed Chief Strategy Officer, however, he will now assume these responsibilities in addition to his appointment today as CEO.

Jenkinson added: “Further, the Board and I congratulate Josh on his appointment as Chief Executive Officer. Josh, who co-founded Vampr, is a visionary, product expert and highly energetic leader who shares our vision and mission for Jaxsta. Josh has worked closely with Beth and her team over the past few months and was instrumental in attracting new cornerstone investment into the company.”

Appleton will work with the Board and Simons to ensure a smooth transition.

Simons said: “Jaxsta has a clear vision and product roadmap going into FY24, and that’s a credit to the Board, Beth and the team who have done a remarkable job. Revenue, cost efficiency and profitability remain the top priorities for Jaxsta and I look forward to building on the current momentum. We have the foundation for a transformational global music product as we continue to integrate Vampr into the business and scale the VINYL.com platform.”

Simons co-founded Vampr in 2015 with Barry Palmer. As CEO, he turned Vampr into the world’s largest social-professional network for musicians, known as the "LinkedIn for creatives". Boasting 1.3M users, Vampr facilitated over eight million global connections and earned recognition as one of Fast Company's 2022 Most Innovative Companies. The platform has won multiple awards, including from Apple and Google. Previously, Simons found success with his artist project, Buchanan, and as a songwriter and producer, sharing credits with Travis Scott, Kanye West, and Troye Sivan. He was named atop The Music Network's 30 Under 30 List in 2020 and holds a Bachelor of Business from Swinburne University.

For further information please contact: jake@soundstory.com.au

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ABOUT JAXSTA:
Jaxsta is the world's only official music credits database. It contains more than 343 million official, deep-linked music credits across 107 million pages, sourced from over 359 data partners, including record labels, publishers and industry associations. Jaxsta's data is mapped to the world's charts and can provide world-first insights including custom repertoire reports to ensure industry organisations can map music ownership and revenue. Jaxsta is a key solution to the music industry's metadata problem.

ABOUT VINYL:
VINYL is a record store with a difference. VINYL is a global marketplace where Creators and Music Fans connect and collect. VINYL.com is an online record store that allows you to easily buy your favourite record while allowing you to dig through liner notes as though you’re diggin’ through crates, exploring who did what on each album and more. Our offer to music fans is an extensive catalogue of over 50,000 records across all genres, powered by Official Music Credits, verifying every creative contribution on every recording. VINYL will ensure that everyone is recognised - main artists, songwriters, producers, composers, engineers, musicians and all roles. VINYL.com has a clear vision of the experience that should be expected with this iconic url and is expanding beyond selling vinyl records to include merchandise, tickets, digital collectibles and experiences that connect fans with creators.