Natalia Nastaskin Departs UTA To Become Partner And Chief Content Officer At Primary Wave Music

Nastaskin, who served as general manager of UTA’s Global Music Group since 2015, has been named partner and chief content officer at independent publishing and talent management company Primary Wave, where she will lead the development of content for a roster that includes Stevie Nicks, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston and Ray Charles spanning “theater, television, film, podcasts, online content and much more,” according to a press release.

In her new role, Nastaskin will also “oversee and expand” a management slate that currently features artists such as Melissa Etheridge, Cypress Hill, Fantasia and CeeLo Green.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining the Primary Wave family and will be forever grateful for the opportunities that UTA has provided me,” Nastaskin said in a statement. “By guiding the ascent of UTA Music into a dominant player in artist representation, now gives me the opportunity to explore an entirely new sector which is rapidly developing and thriving. For an avid music fan like myself, ‘Every Song Tells a Story,’ and Primary Wave’s extraordinary artists and assets provide a vast canvas for creativity around them. As Chief Content Officer, I look forward to identifying a myriad of ways to tell those legendary stories in unique ways through diverse media.”

Nastaskin isn’t new to Primary Wave. While CEO and general counsel of The Agency Group, which she joined in 2013, Nastaskin coordinated a joint venture with the firm. (In 2015, she facilitated UTA’s acquisition of The Agency Group.)

“I’m thrilled to welcome my friend Natalia Nastaskin to the Primary Wave team,” Primary Wave founder and CEO Larry Mestel said in a statement. “Natalia is a proven music industry trailblazer, dealmaker and creative force, that will be an amazing new leader within our existing team. I cannot wait for her to start digging into our extensive library of catalogs and management roster to see how her ideas develop into content that will enhance the value of our partner artists music.”

UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer shared praise and thanks for Nastaskin: “We are grateful to Natalia for all she has done to help build UTA Music into the force it is today,” he said. “I know we will continue to work with her closely in her new capacity, and I’m sure she will thrive with her new colleagues. She is a strong leader and will continue to make an impact in our industry for years to come.”

Nastaskin was an honoree on Pollstar‘s inaugural Impact 50 list in 2019, and she stands as one of the most influential female executives in the business; during her tenure at The Agency Group, she was the sole woman leading a major agency.

“I want the women at UTA to know that I wasn’t born into a leadership role,” Nastaskin told Pollstar in a March 2020 article about female agents. “I went through a lot of the same issues they are facing as they navigate the professional landscape. I share my experiences because if hearing about how I have overcome challenges helps just one other woman achieve her professional goals, it makes it all worth it.”