Music data and lyrics platform Musixmatch has appointed Rio Caraeff and Marco Paglia as co-presidents.
Under this new leadership structure, Paglia and Khalaf will report to Max Giocciolafounder and CEO of Musixmatch.
Musixmatch claims to be the world’s largest lyrics and music data platform, with more than 80 million users and 1.2 million artist.
The company said it has experienced “significant growth and momentum” in recent years. The company received strategic investment from TPG Growth in 2022 and has expanded geographically. It also launched Musixmatch Pro, a direct-to-artist SaaS business.
Rio Caraeff is an award-winning executive with 30 years of leadership experience in the music, media and technology industries.
He becomes Musixmatch’s chief commercial officer in 2023.
Prior to that, Caraeff served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer of Syng, Inc., a space information startup.
Caraeff is also the founder, president and CEO of music video and entertainment platform Vevo, which he created in 2010 as a result of a global partnership between Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and YouTube.
Previously, Khalaf served as executive vice president of Universal Music Group, where he oversaw strategy, licensing and new business development.
Marco Paglia has led product, design, content, artificial intelligence and front-end development for the past five years since joining Musixmatch in 2019 as chief product officer.
He was a key figure in making Musixmatch a global service, providing lyric support for music services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Instagram, and leading the development of Musixmatch Pro.
In his new role as co-president, Paglia will lead the entire engineering team in addition to overseeing product management and design.
Prior to joining Musixmatch, Paglia spent many years in Silicon Valley as Director of Product Design at Uber, followed by several years at Google, where he founded and led the Google Play design team and led multiple innovation projects for YouTube and its In-house entrepreneurial incubator Area 120.
Before moving to the United States, he worked as a UI designer at Nokia in London, Siemens VDO in Paris, Frog Design in Milan, and LG Electronics. Paglia has more than 20 patents filed in his name.
“This new structure is testament to the evolution and growth of the business on a global scale.”
Max Ciociola, Musixmatch
“I am excited to announce that Marco and Rio will serve as co-presidents of Musixmatch because they each bring deep experience and a deep commitment to driving our mission forward,” said Max Ciociola, founder and CEO of Musixmatch.
“Both have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and have been instrumental in the company’s success. Together, they will work closely to oversee day-to-day operations and drive key initiatives.
He added: “This new structure is testament to the evolution and growth of the business globally. Under my continued leadership, it will enable us to leverage the team’s unique strengths and ensure greater focus, agility and collaboration.
“As we continue to deepen our relationships with music industry leaders, our ideas will only become sharper and our products more refined.”
Marco Paglia,Musixmatch
Marco Paglia, co-president of Musixmatch, said: “At Musixmatch, our culture is built on curiosity, passion and innovation.
“We have seen significant growth since joining. As we continue to deepen our relationships with music industry leaders, our ideas have only become sharper and our products more refined.
“It’s truly a privilege to spend every day with Max, Marco and the entire Musixmatch team.”
Rio Caraeff, Musixmatch
Rio Caraeff, co-president of Musixmatch, added: “It is truly a privilege to spend every day with Max, Marco and the entire Musixmatch team.
“I believe it is a privilege to serve our clients, and I’m excited to do so with the support of such an incredible company.”global music business
