Rhoda Lawrence departs Universal Music Christian Group, where she has served as vice president since launching UMCG with Universal Music Group Distribution President and CEO Jim Urie in 2007. It was their shared profound love for gospel music that inspired them to develop UMCG, the first distribution umbrella for faith-based music at Universal Music Group.
As Vice President of UMCG, Lawrence not only signed distribution deals for new and independent record labels, she was also instrumental in the sales and marketing efforts for the roster and oversaw the incredible growth and development of numerous ventures and partnerships, including Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Dexterity Sounds, Mathew Knowles’ Music World Gospel, Fred Hammond’s fHammond Family Entertainment and numerous others. Under the mentorship of Fontana President Ron Spaulding, Lawrence expanded UMCG’s brand value, roster and footprint in the gospel community, noting an incredible 40% sales lift in 2011.
Through her nearly 20-year career in the music business, she has held senior level positions and has worked across various music genres at Universal Music Group Distribution, BMG, Arista and Jive Records. Her worked has paired her with some of the biggest and brightest recording stars in contemporary American music.
Guided by the leadership of Clive Davis, Lawrence also worked with visionaries such as L.A. Reid’s LaFace Records and Sean Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment. Lawrence understood the incredible power of hit songs and well executed marketing campaigns. With a roster that included Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Toni Braxton, Notorious B.I.G., Usher and countless others, Lawrence executed sales and marketing strategies at the national retail consumer level.
Lawrence also enjoyed a tenure at Jive Records, where she led sales and marketing efforts in the New York region under the leadership Clive Calder, Barry Weiss and Tom Carrabba.
Lawrence began her industry career in mainstream marketing in Field Marketing and Product Development at Bertlesman Music Group (BMG) in the Washington, D.C., which lead her to Arista Records, where she developed her music industry knowledge and skills under the tutelage of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Clive Davis.
A passionate lover of the arts and entertainment, Lawrence graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Radio, TV, Film and Music. She also attended the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
