Raoul Chatterjee joins UK-based vinyl platform elasticStage as Chief Operating Officer – Music Business Worldwide

UK-based on-demand vinyl platform elasticStage has appointed music industry veteran Raoul Chatterjee as its new Chief Operating Officer.

The exec will be based at the company’s London headquarters and will report directly to co-Founder & CEO Steve Rhodes.

Chatterjee joins elasticStage from his previous role of Vice President, Content Partnerships & Operations at SoundCloud.

He first joined SoundCloud as Director, Content Partnerships in January 2016, tasked with securing music licenses in Europe with both major and independent record labels.

MBW reported in August that he was leaving the music streaming company.

Chatterjee has previously held senior leadership roles at digital music services and leading record companies including Ministry of Sound, Warner Music and 7Digital.

He has also served as Chairman of The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

elasticStage is a D2C platform that offers on-demand vinyl ordering including printed sleeves that the firm claims will be dispatched immediately from the point of creation “with no minimum-run restrictions and no up-front cost”.

The startup raised £3.5 million in a seed funding round earlier this year.

Last month the company opened a 10,000-square-foot production and R&D facility in London.

“I started my career selling vinyl records in 1990 so there is a wonderful symmetry to my new role.”

Raoul Chatterjee

Raoul Chatterjee said: “The opportunity to be part of a revolution that will see elasticStage provide a complete vinyl D2C solution for music creators around the world was something I couldn’t turn down.

“I started my career selling vinyl records in 1990 so there is a wonderful symmetry to my new role.

“This is a genuine game-changer for music creators who up to now have not been able to properly access this exponentially growing market and with the ability to manufacture, market and sell vinyl records in any quantity, on demand. elasticStage is truly moving the dial.”

“Raoul is a proven executive with a long track record of success in the label, rights, retail and music creator sectors.”

Steve Rhodes,  elasticStage

Steve Rhodes, Founder and CEO of elasticStage, added: “Raoul is a proven executive with a long track record of success in the label, rights, retail and music creator sectors.

His experience will bring expertise and insight to our senior leadership team. elasticStage is on a steep growth trajectory and Raoul will play a major part in those plans moving forward.”Music Business Worldwide