AI music company Suno has hired Sam Berger as senior director of artist partnerships, where he will report directly to chief music officer Paul Sinclair.
In the role, Berger will be tasked with developing partnerships with artists, managers and creative teams, “exploring how AI can thoughtfully support modern music creation,” according to a press release. He most recently worked at Patreon, where he led music strategy. Prior to that, he founded and led the music team at Moment House, where he worked on building out livestreams for artists including Justin Bieber, Tame Impala and Anderson .Paak — a job that led directly to his role at Patreon, which acquired Moment House in 2023. Earlier in his career, he served in a key role on Spotify’s global artist and label partnerships team and also worked in artist management.
Related
“I’ve known Sam for more than 15 years and he is without a doubt one of the most respected artist and label partners in the industry,” said Sinclair in a statement. “We’re thrilled he is joining our growing team as we continue to invest in deepening our relationships with the music industry. Like most of our music team, Sam has spent his career shepherding artists through new technology and has earned a reputation for putting artists and their creative vision first, with a proven track record of bringing to life and scaling new experiences that deepen the relationship between artist and fan.”
Added Berger, “We’re at a critical point in time where the future of music is being actively shaped and establishing trust with our industry partners is more important than ever. Suno is a company that is building alongside artists with real intention, and empowering creatives with the best tools and technology available. I’m excited to be joining this team who have inspired me throughout my career.”
With his hire, Berger joins a team that also includes CJ Smith, who previously served in roles at Snap, 88rising and Encore, among others; Athena Yasaman, previously of Twitch and Spotify; Leanna Bremond, a former music supervisor at Peloton; Kenneth Herman, formerly of Splice; Elena Louvis, who previously served as an A&R at companies including Atlantic Records; and Brianny Aybar, a former A&R at Motown, Capitol and Sony Music.
Berger arrives at Suno just two months after the company signed a licensing deal with Warner Music Group (WMG), effectively settling WMG’s part of the $500 million copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Suno by the three major labels (Universal Music Group and Sony Music’s part of the lawsuit is ongoing). Under that agreement, WMG artists and songwriters will be able to “opt-in” to having their names, images, likenesses, voices and compositions used in AI-generated music. Along with that news, Suno announced that it would make changes to the platform in 2026, including launching new and improved licensed music-making models.
