FOUNDER:

444 Sounds founder Joe Aboud is a music executive at the intersection of artist development, marketing, and commerce.

Aboud most recently led marketing and streaming for independent label HITCO, working with artists such as 2x GRAMMY Award-Winner SAINt JHN, Jennifer Lopez, Dixie D’Amelio and the Dalai Lama. He went on to manage HITCO’s catalog and guided the label through its acquisition by Concord Music Group. As Vice President, he built and managed relationships with DSP partners including Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, SoundCloud, TIDAL and more. Aboud also led music strategy for digital platforms TikTok, Triller and Snapchat, including top-tier creator activations and events. He oversaw partnerships with brands to align content & influencer integrations, including Amazon Prime, Puma, Hulu, Hollister, Valentino and more.

He previously worked at Atlantic Records, managing marketing campaigns including Joel Corry’s “Head & Heart”, which recently joined Spotify’s elite “Billions Club”. While at Atlantic, he facilitated marketing plans for GRAMMY-Award winning & nominated projects including Elderbrook and Anitta, as well as multi-platinum artists Clean Bandit, Skrillex, David Guetta, Kiiara and more. In the early days of Apple Music, Aboud worked at the streaming service on the Artist & Label Relations team where he developed internal tools, policies, and best practices for its launch. He educated artists, managers, and labels worldwide on Apple Music’s workflows and maintained artist/management relationships, including resolving in-app issues & requests. Aboud is an alumnus of New York University.

​

Aboud has been recognized in trade publications like Variety, Billboard, and Deadline. He has also been a featured guest speaker at Nashville's Music Biz Conference, Syracuse University, Soho House, Drexel University, Digilogue Days, Mondo.NYC, Liverpool's Sound City, All Access Festival, and more.