Twitter hires Bob Moczydlowsky as new head of music

As Twitter prepares for IPO, it tries to strengthen verticals including music, sports and news

(Updated to reflect confirmation from Twitter)

Twitter has made its interest in television very, very clear, but don't think that the company is going to be putting all of its eggs into one vertical. 

Another area that Twitter has shown interest in is music, with the debuted its #Music app earlier this year. And now it has a new man in charge of that division: Bob Moczydlowsky, the former senior vice president of product and marketing at Topspin Media, it has been confirmed to VatorNews.

A full announcement will be coming "in the near future," a Twitter spokesperson said.

Moczydlowsky will taking over for Tatiana Simonian, who left the role last month to become VP of Client Solutions at Nielsen.

Neither Moczydlowsky's Twitter, nor his LinkedIn profile, have been updated to reflect this reported change in position. VatorNews has reached out to Twitter tha to Topspin to confirm this news, and we will update if we learn more.

In his new role, Moczydlowsky will reportedy be in charge of handling music partnerships, as well as hiring two new  deputies who will handle artist relations. 

Moczydlowsky will be bringing a wealth of experience and connections in the music world to his new job.  His former company, Topspin Media, provides sales and marketing software for musicians, filmmakers, and other creative professionals. It is used by musicians, comedians, labels, managers and filmmakers to grow their audience, communicate with fans, and sell music, video, merchandise and ticket bundles.

Music is not the only vertical that Twitter has been strengthening as it prepares to go public. 

In early September, Twitter hired a new head for its sports vertical: former ESPN and PBA executive Geoff Reiss

The company is also reportedly close to hiring a new head of news.

#Music

The #Music app, which Twitter launched in April, helps users find music to listen to through Twitter.

The songs on Twitter #music come from three sources: iTunes, Spotify or Rdio. Users get a default preview in iTunes, and then subscribers of Rdio and Spotify will be able to log in to their accounts to hear the full track. 

There are multiple ways to find music on the app. The homescreen breaks it down into four tabs: Emerging, Suggested, #NowPlaying and Popular.

#NowPlaying will allow users to see the songs that have been tweeted by the artists and people they follow on Twitter, while Suggested analyzes the artists a users follow, in order to recommend songs it thinks they might like.

Users can also listen to music from artists that other artists follow. The app also lets users compose tweets from inside the app if they discover new songs that they want to share with their followers on Twitter.

The app premiered right after Twitter bought music discovery service We Are Hunted.

Last week, it launched its own Spotify app, which will allow users to use the Twitter #Music interface within the Spotify desktop app. Spotify members will also be able to find and listen to music using Twitter #Music, whereas, previously, it was only available to paid Spotify and Rdio users.

This news was reported by AllThingsD. 

(Image source: https://primaryspeakers.com)