Shore Fire Media, one of the music industry’s preeminent independent public relations and communications firms, has entered a new era as founder Marilyn Laverty ascends to chairman of the firm and former BMG senior vp Angela Barkan is named its new CEO.
Laverty has also been named senior advisor to Dolphin, a publicly traded entertainment marketing and content production company, which acquired Shore Fire in 2019. She will focus on Shore Fire’s strategic growth and advise its executive team while continuing to play a key role in representing longtime clients Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper.
In her dual role, Laverty will also drive collaboration across Dolphin’s portfolio of businesses as a senior advisor to the marketing supergroup. (Dolphin took the No. 1 spot on the “Observer PR Power List for 2025.”)
Laverty was an honoree on Billboard’s Women in Music list in 2011 and was named one of Billboard’s Power Publicists in 2023. “She has no agenda except for the artists, is a master communicator, is entirely networked, is respected in all corners of the industry,” Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, said at the time of the 2023 honor.
Dolphin CEO Bill O’Dowd said in a statement, “Growing Shore Fire into a renowned industry leader with expertise across many facets of art and culture, and nurturing an executive team that is unsurpassed in talent, what Marilyn has been able to accomplish with the company over the past few decades is nothing short of remarkable.”
Barkan, who comes to Shore Fire from BMG, previously held leadership roles in marketing, brand partnerships and public relations at various Sony Music labels. She was named to Billboard’s Women in Music list in 2022.
Succeeding Laverty as Shore Fire’s CEO, Barkan expressed her high regard for the firm in a statement. “Shore Fire has long set the standard for excellence in entertainment communications,” she said. “Having worked closely with the firm as a client for many years, I have seen first-hand what makes it best-in-class. It is an honor to build upon the remarkable foundation Marilyn created. I also look forward to working with Bill, Marilyn and the broader Dolphin ecosystem to drive new opportunities for collaboration and growth across the supergroup.”
Laverty tells Billboard that Shore Fire has had the opportunity “to work with Angela Barkan many times over the years, and she’s got a rare combination of intelligence and kindness. Angela will support our incredible team who have built Shore Fire, and will inspire us for sure.”
A former freelance journalist for U.K. and U.S. music magazines, Laverty was the national vp of publicity for Columbia Records before founding Shore Fire in 1990. The firm was in the vanguard of the music firms that set up shop in Brooklyn in that era and has since expanded, with teams in Los Angeles and Nashville.
Laverty notes that Shore Fire has “grown exponentially since we became part of Dolphin at the end of 2019. Our fees and staff have more than doubled. And more than that, we’ve grown as a result of our collaboration with and exposure to the other Dolphin companies. Our roster now includes athletes, entrepreneurs, music businesses, artist estates, non-profits and cultural institutions in addition to our incredible musicians and bands from so many different genres.
“We have generated several million dollars of additional revenue within Dolphin by teaming up companies for projects, and also by referring opportunities internally when we hear about something that’s not right for us but perfect for one of the other companies.”
Unlike other large companies where the subsidiaries compete, Dolphin is collaborative, adds Laverty, noting that the expertise of Shore Fire’s staff is enhanced “by our constant sharing of insights and best practices with our other Dolphin companies” — including Elle Communication, for social impact PR; Special Projects, for event and talent curation; The Digital Department, for influencer marketing and management; The Door, for lifestyle and product marketing; 42 West, known for film and TV public relations; and Dolphin Entertainment, for film production.
“I have to thank our brilliant CEO Bill O’Dowd for choosing the companies in the Dolphin group so carefully,” Laverty says. “It’s easy for us to collaborate, everyone is amazing to work with, and so expert at what they do, and Bill brings us together for in-person summits and regular meetings, so we’re at the table a lot together. We are able to access our other companies’ offerings for our clients, and we love using them as a sounding board when our campaigns cross into their areas of expertise.”
