Jessica Vaughn / Head Bitch Music

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Recent Press Coverage

Jessica Vaughn – Head of Sync, Venice Music; President, Head Bitch Music

Jessica Vaughn is the Head of Sync at Venice Music, and President of Head Bitch Music. Jessica joined Venice in September of 2021, being chosen to build the department from the ground up. In this role, she runs their four-person, fully queer sync team globally, created all of their protocols (catalog management, pitching, legal, licensing, and administration), and has increased the size of their catalog from 300 titles to nearly 4,000 titles. During her time at Venice, Jessica has landed placements in Super Bowl LVII, NFL, ESPN, The CW, Netflix, Hulu, CBS, MTV, Vh1, BET, Disney+, Peacock, Fujifilm, Comcast, PBS, New Balance, Xbox, Fortnite, NBA 2K, and more, all within a year and a half. She is an ardent supporter of artists, and holds regular “office hours” at Venice to provide information and resources to all of her clients.

Based in Los Angeles, Jessica is not only an accomplished music industry executive, but an active and successful musician and songwriter in her own right. Before breaking into the business side of the industry in 2019, Jessica was signed to Crush Management at 16-years-old as an artist, and at 18 was signed to Sony/ATV and Geffen/Interscope as a recording artist in the same year. Turning heads under the name Charlotte Sometimes, Jessica toured with artists including Butch Walker, James Morrison, Gavin Degraw, We The Kings, The Hush Sound, Pat Monahan (Train), Vans Warped Tour and more.

After becoming disillusioned by her experience as a female artist, Jessica realized how overlooked women often are in the industry, encouraging her to change the system from within. As a self-proclaimed “lover of the process,” Jessica began working in sync and custom music, helping staff songwriters write more authentically in their own voices. In 2019, she was hired by Heavy Hitters Music (part of Made in Memphis Entertainment), where she oversaw not only the creative direction of the company, but new business development, contract negotiations, new signings, catalog management, music licensing, and more. While there, she increased HHM revenue by 107% in her first year and become VP of Sync and Creative within three.

In 2018, she started Head Bitch Music, a loving tribute to the many times she was called a “bitch” by other men in the room, where she writes custom music for brands. Along with her husband Ryan, she runs the Head Bitch Music label imprint, putting out between 5 and 20 releases a week with mainly queer and women artists. She also continues to write music under more than 25 different monikers, each with their own identity and their own extension of her humanity, allowing her to not be cast in any single box.

As an accomplished music business executive and songwriter, Jessica has been featured in various publications including Billboard, American Songwriter, Music By Clio, BizWomen, LadyGunn, Alternative Press, and more. She has also received industry awards and honors including being listed in Billboard’s Top 40 Queer Music Executives, Top 24 on The Voice Season 2, first place in the USA Songwriting Competition Folk Music category and third in Overall, #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, #1 song on Shazam’s Discovery Chart with Bridgerton’s “The End” and more. She’s a sought-after speaker at conferences including Music Biz, SXSW, AIMP Global Music Publishers Summit, Women in Music, Colleges (NYU, Liberty College), and GrammyU. She’s also an active member of the Songwriter and Composer Wing at the Recording Academy, a Recording Academy voting member, Grammy U Mentor, Women in Music member, Friend of the Guild (GMS), member of the CCC, a part of Women Sound Off, and is a Co-Founder of the Web3 Music Rights Group.

When she’s not breaking barriers for women in the music industry or writing her next big hit and pitching new syncs, Jessica can be found living her life by the mantra “What Would Buffy Do?” and refusing to leave the 90s. Identifying as queer and bisexual, she’s a passionate supporter of LGBTQIA+ rights. She also raises awareness of rare diseases, including her own- idiopathic condylar resorption, and others that are underfunded and not supported by health insurance companies. As a sexual assault survivor herself, Jessica is a California Certified Counselor Advocate for Sexual Assault and Domestic Abuse Survivors where she heals herself and helps others do the same. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband Ryan, and their black cat, Giles.

Ryan Vaughn – Founder, Backline Creative; Chief Financial Officer, Head Bitch Music

Throughout his more than 20 years career in music, Ryan Vaughn has had a hand in nearly every vertical in the music industry. Ryan has worked as a percussionist and drummer in both the studio and live on stage with artists of myriad genres. In addition to touring the world as a musician, Ryan has experience working in tour management, artist management, label management, production, consulting, A&R, digital distribution, marketing, publishing, and more. Currently, Ryan works as a manager for independent artists at his company Backline Creative, and he is the Chief Financial Officer of Head Bitch Music, where he oversees all operations, including project management, digital distribution, publishing, and licensing services to brands and independent artists.

Before Backline Creative and Head Bitch Music, Ryan joined BMG Music Publishing imprint Fieldhouse Music in 2012 as their head of A&R. While at Fieldhouse, Ryan was exposed to licensing music to and creating custom music for brands and corporations. He also served as an Executive Producer on the licensing companion album for the 2015 live action film and global brand reboot for Jem and the Holograms (aptly called Truly Outrageous: A Jem And The Holograms Tribute). After leaving Fieldhouse in 2016, Vaughn moved to LA where he joined Marshall Arts USA and Merrill Artists Group as a Business Development Manager and Booking Agent. In 2017, after receiving requests from various colleagues, Vaughn decided to try his hand at artist management and development. In the wake of Marshall Arts, Ryan founded Backline Creative, his boutique management company that specializes in working with and developing independent artists. Then in 2019, Vaughn helped launch the custom music and digital distribution company, Head Bitch Music, with his wife and business partner, Jessica Vaughn.

Prior to working as a manager, Ryan worked as a professional drummer for more than 16 years, spending 12 of them in NYC making a name for himself by performing in some of the best indie music venues in the country, including The Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall, where he would sometimes play 4-5 shows a night. Playing professionally from the age of 16, Ryan has performed with more than 1000 artists including John Forté, Anna Nalick, Aloe Blacc, Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club), Joshua Radin, Rachel Platten, Jeffrey Gaines, Teddy Geiger, Tyler Hilton, Natasha Bedingfield, Rita Wilson, Hugh Jackman, Ben Taylor, and Carly Simon. He has also performed on various TV shows including being the bandleader for the daytime talk show Katie in 2013, the first seasons of The Masked Singer and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart. In addition to his TV credits, Ryan was involved in the development of the music for Fox 20th Century’s hit movie, The Greatest Showman, earning him a credit on all songs on the soundtrack. Additionally, in 2012, Vaughn was featured in John Forté’s groundbreaking documentary entitled The Russian Winter, which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival.

In addition to his work in the music industry, Ryan has been featured in several publications and podcasts including Voyage LA, Voyage Phoenix, and the Discussions in Percussion podcast (#236). Ryan has also spoken at the 2023 Metadata Summit at the Music Biz Conference in Nashville, TN and at multiple Universities including NYU and Mercy College.
Ryan is a part of A2IM, the Music Managers Forum (MMF), and the Artist Managers Connect group. He also offers consultations to indie artists, advocates on behalf of artists for hearing protection as well as artist healthcare, and participates in events with MusiCares.

Ryan recieved his Associate of Arts degree in Jazz Performance and a second Associates in General Business from Mesa Community College in 2004, and he received his Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance from William Patterson University of New Jersey in 2006. When he’s not releasing new music weekly for his clients (365 releases in 2022!), you can find him spending far too much money on concert tickets, cooking a new and exciting recipe he found on TikTok, or listening to his extensive vinyl collection. Ryan currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and business partner, Jessica Vaughn, and their cat, Giles.