Antonius Porch Leaves SoundCloud
Antonius Porch, SoundCloud’s chief legal officer and chief diversity officer, is stepping down from the music streaming service.
SoundCloud has confirmed that Porch will depart the company on January 3. He is set to join the magazine publisher Conde Nast as the new General Counsel in February.
Ama Walton’s Promotion
SoundCloud also confirmed that Porch will be succeeded as general counsel by Berlin-based Ama Walton, who has been promoted from Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel to Executive Vice President and General Counsel.
Porch joined SoundCloud in 2018 and played a pivotal role in helping the platform achieve profitability for the first time, driving double-digit revenue growth from creator and artist services, consumer subscriptions, and advertising, as noted by Condé Nast.
Before his tenure at SoundCloud, Porch acted as general counsel for Shazam, which was acquired by Apple in a $400 million deal in 2017.
“Antonius was instrumental in shaping the legal framework for SoundCloud and DEI, leaving behind a deep legacy of integrity, innovation and meaningful change.”
Marnie Greenberg, SoundCloud
In a statement to MBW on Thursday (December 12), Marnie Greenberg, SoundCloud’s senior vice president and head of communications, said: “After seven successful years, Antonius Porch, General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer, will retire on January 3 to pursue new and exciting professional opportunities.”
Prior to his time at Shazam, Porch spent over a decade at global media company Viacom, serving as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Nickelodeon and Vice President, Senior Counsel for Children’s Technology and Compliance in Viacom’s corporate office.
Earlier in his career, he held positions at Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics, part of NBCUniversal) and at the law firms Latham & Watkins and Morrison & Foerster.
As the General Counsel at Condé Nast, he will manage all legal, business, policy, and compliance matters, as well as take on the role of corporate secretary.
Porch earned his BA from Yale College and his JD from Columbia Law School. He serves as a board member of GLAAD and the International Radio-Television Society Foundation.
Commenting on Ama Walton’s promotion, Marnie Greenberg stated, “Ama’s depth of experience, strategic vision and dedication to our mission positions her ideally to continue contributing to SoundCloud’s success as a core member of our Berlin-based executive team.”
Greenberg also emphasized that “SoundCloud remains deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, which are fundamental to our mission and culture,” indicating the company is “actively beginning the search for a new leader to direct SoundCloud’s DEI strategy to ensure that we continue to make a meaningful impact across the company.” In the interim, the dedicated DEI team will support and advance these efforts.
“Ama’s depth of experience, strategic vision and dedication to our mission allows her to continue to contribute to SoundCloud’s success as a core member of our executive team based in Berlin, Germany.”
Marnie Greenberg, SoundCloud
Greenberg highlighted that since Walton joined SoundCloud in 2021, she has been instrumental in launching Fan Royalties, which included securing global licensing agreements with Warner Music Group and Merlin.
Before joining SoundCloud, Walton served on the executive board of BMG Rights Management as general counsel and chief human resources officer.
Prior to her role at BMG, Walton was Managing Director of the music division of Constantin Film AG and served as the lead lawyer for EMI Music Germany.
Walton is a member of the supervisory board of the Erich Pommer Institute and part of SoundCloud’s senior management team. She is an alumnus of Ludwig Maximilian Law School Munich and King’s College London.
Porch’s departure from SoundCloud comes after the news in March that former chief content officer Tracy Chan left to join Australian music company AI. Splash as CEO.
