Ollie Wards departs as TikTok’s Director of Music for Australia and New Zealand

Following the information that Charlotte Stahl is leaving her place as TikTok’s Head of Music Partnerships for Europe, the Center East and Africa (EMEA), Ollie Wards has introduced he’s leaving the position of Director of Music for Australia and New Zealand.

“After an superior 5.5 years, quickly I’m hanging up my headphones at TikTok!” Wards wrote in a put up on LinkedIn. He famous within the put up that he’s “open for enterprise” in 2026. TikTok has not introduced a successor to Wards.

Wards joined TikTok in 2020, having come over from triple j, Australia’s state-funded broadcaster aimed toward a youth music viewers – the place he served in quite a few roles, together with producer, program director and community lead.

In his LinkedIn put up, Wards listed off a few of the accomplishments of his time at TikTok, together with constructing a digital radio station in partnership with iHeart; creating the primary TikTok x TV simulcasts; producing TikTok Awards performances; and producing the primary TikTok stadium livestream with Six60 when New Zealand was one of many few locations the place concert events could possibly be held throughout pandemic lockdowns.

“However quite than ‘what’ I used to be a part of, it’s the ‘how’ I’m most pleased with,” Wards wrote.

“One of many first issues I did at TikTok was create ‘liner notes’. A listing of 11 guiding ideas… to work by. A set of said values we’d goal to dwell as much as in service of our artists, music business and TikTok viewers.

“In a world of more and more opaque pathways for artists, pitch portals, helpdesks and bots – hopefully that strategy of being a human amongst all of it helped.”

Ollie Wards, TikTok

“For instance, #3 liner notice is: ‘We goal to be contactable, whereas being efficient at scale and as clear as potential with our artists and business companions – essentially the most ‘human’ crew at a music platform.’”

“In a world of more and more opaque pathways for artists, pitch portals, helpdesks and bots – hopefully that strategy of being a human amongst all of it helped. Although perhaps being ‘human’ is the minimal.”

Wards’ announcement on Thursday (December 11) got here a day after Charlotte Stahl introduced on her personal LinkedIn web page that she is departing the position of Head of Music Partnerships for the EMEA area after a year-and-a-half within the place. TikTok hasn’t introduced a alternative for Stahl’s position.

And each these departures happen within the shadow of Ole Obermann leaving his position as World Head of Music Enterprise Improvement at TikTok mum or dad ByteDance, with Tracy Gardner taking up the position as of March of this yr.

In April, Obermann joined Apple Music as Co-Head of the platform with Rachel Newman.Music Enterprise Worldwide