Paula Moore

Paula Moore
Born
💼 Occupation	A&R Executive, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Investor, Author
🌐 Website	https://greaterthandistribution.com/
📷 Instagram	paulamooreventures
💼 LinkedIN	paulamooreventures

Career

Paula Moore is an American author, music executive and entrepreneur. Moore is the creator and founder of Greater Than Distribution, which has a worldwide partnership with Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group. Described in Variety as “A&R executive and partner with Grammy Award-winning producer Randy Jackson in new music distribution and entertainment company Greater Than Distribution," Moore is also author of the only book on how to become an A&R Scout in the music industry.

Early Career

Moore's career began in Dallas, Texas as a talent scout and concert promoter. As a concert promoter, Moore notably booked shows with 462,inc at Deep Ellum venue Trees, including iconic shows with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. She also produced the first Lollapalooza afterparty at Video Bar when it first launched as a touring festival, in collaboration with alternative rock radio station KDGE. Throughout the 1990’s, Moore was an A&R scout for multiple major labels both at Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group.

Universal Music Group

In 1999, Universal Music Group created the first combined executive A&R and A&R research position for Moore and relocated her to Los Angeles. Moore authored and developed the first data-driven A&R research report for emerging talent-tracking that was the first to incorporate raw data from Nielson Soundscan (now under Luminate (company)), Broadcast Data Systems, and Mediabase. A national scout network which she named Indiefinder resulted in an industry-standard practice for A&R Research. The research platform was acquired by MCA Records in 2000 before Moore's departure to Warner Music Group.

Warner Music Group

In 2000, Moore became the Vice President of A&R at Warner Music Group, where her research identified hundreds of artists for signing consideration that she further recommended and showcased. This included The Killers, evidenced by a 20 year anniversary post of the check stub featuring Moore’s name as the Warner Music executive responsible for the first payment issued to them that launched their career.

Moore’s A&R initiatives provided career-elevating exposure to a long list of artists including Santigold, Slim Thug, David Banner, and Secret Machines, garnering the signing support of music industry luminaries such as Sire Records Founder Seymour Stein and then Warner Bros. A&R Executive Ric Ocasek. During her time at Warner, Moore was also a moderator and organizer for A&R panels at SXSW for multiple years and curated the 2004 SXSW Big Bag, featuring the artwork of Shepard Fairey.

Moore was an early adopter of brand extension and cross-marketing platforms. Alongside her Warner Bros. colleague, marketing executive Barbara Jones (owner of Outshine Talent, the influencer firm known for managing the career of Charli D'Amelio), she crafted experiential opportunities for music initiatives that brought influencer-saturated experiences nationwide alongside corporate brands like Sports Illustrated, Nokia and Best Buy.

Her groundbreaking web portal for music discovery and research, Flypaper, was one of four advanced music technology initiatives selected for global rollout and the only one created by a female executive/A&R executive. Moore’s creation included a design collaboration with street artist turned art icon Shepard Fairey.

Although Flypaper and the scout team were acquired by Warner Music Group, Moore's contract included a key man clause in regard to her reporting to then chairman Roger Ames who was replaced in 2004, allowing her to retain her IP.

In 2023, Moore continued to hold the distinction of being the sole female A&R research executive with intellectual property (IP) assets, now mutually owned by Greater Than Distribution, LLC and Paula Moore Ventures, LLC.

Artist and Brand Work Highlights

Moore has worked extensively with brands, events, and artists as a curator and creative collaborator between 2004-2019 include Moore’s role as executive producer of the first artist channel on youtube for SXSW and Lollapalooza in 2009-2010 where she first combined media interviews with exclusive content to create a series “featurettes” published on Youtube for both lineups, and additionally as a dedicated in-room music video channel broadcast at Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. Moore’s official SXSW artist gifting lounges featured products from Vans, TOM’s, RayBan, Dickies, MAC Cosmetics among over fifty iconic lifestyle brands.

In 2005, Moore signed Bassnectar to indie label Organic Music where she was a founding partner, and released his first album Mesmerizing the Ultra. She also aligned a dream team to support him with friends Charles Attal at C3 for management and Madison House for booking.

Moore continued to support rising artists through the mid-2000’s where she funded and produced music videos for Santigold’s first band Stiffed, and electro-rap artist Princess Superstar and provided interim management support.

In 2012, Moore joined the brand team for the House of Rock experience in Santa Monica, CA where she integrated products from Whole Foods Market, Native Shoes, Nixon, and more throughout the mansion.

Moore also supported the early music career of Trouble Andrew aka GucciGhost, which included brand collaborations with Electric Visual, Nixon, Native Shoes, and Monster Energy Drink.

In 2011 Moore curated more than 500 industry speakers and scheduled programming for to NYC music conference CMJ.

In 2015, Epic Records President Sylvia Rhone invited Moore to curate brand experiences for the first EPICFEST, an invitation only festival featuring performances by Big Boi’s project with Phantogram “Big Grams” Ozzy Ozbourne, Ciara, Future. Moore secured the brand experiences for the event that Hit’s Magazine said, “This was honestly the coolest event I've ever been to—even Coachella could learn a few tips from Team Epic.” Over 100 brands were included in the event, with stand out activations by Patron and a collaboration with TOMS for the EPICFEST Bag

Moore also provided advisory support on the December 6, 2019 private holiday event hosted by Santigold and Donald Glover.

Greater Than Distribution

Greater Than Distribution began as an incubated A&R company created by Paula Moore Ventures in 2019 which gained early success in A&R and marketing initiatives with industry and artists contributed to its product development included work with Che Pope’s music company WRKSHP, Santigold’s Spirituals Tea, Album, and Tour, and distributed the first A&R reports that led to signing of artists including Emeline (Capitol), Mae Stephens (Republic), Games We Play (Fueled by Ramen), Rachel Grae (FRTYFVE,), Allen Haley (Atlantic), Knox (Atlantic), Megan Moroney (Columbia Nashville), Chase McDaniels (Big Machine), Darren Kiely (Sony Music Nashville), Diego Gonzales (Island), and Chinchilla (Island).

In 2022, Greater Than Distribution  became a global A&R research and scouting source for Disney Music Group.

In 2023, music industry legend Randy Jackson joined Moore as a partner in the company and they announced a worldwide partnership with Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group.

 

Other Notable Career Highlights

Invited to participate on the Grammy Awards voting committee in 2000

Books

As an accomplished author, Moore has penned two books based on her career in the music industry; “Glitter & Grit,” published on March 29th, 2022, and “A&R Scout: The Book on How To Get The Most Coveted Job in the Music Industry,” published on September 20th, 2023.

Glitter & Grit’s Audio Book and Soundtrack received consideration from the Grammy Awards for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording, and it made it onto three of Amazon's Best Seller lists in March of 2022.

“A&R Scout: The Book on How To Get The Most Coveted Job in the Music Industry" is available in paperback and digital eBook through online retailers and provides valuable insights into the field of A&R, including an A&R Scout Field Guide Workbook®.

---