Online music instrument and gear marketplace Reverb said on Tuesday it has a new chief executive officer, former SoundCloud and Vimeo executive Ben Stahl, who takes over the company roughly six months after it came under new ownership.
Used by fans to purchase collectibles like the recording console used to track the Beatles’ Abbey Road and regular guitars, pedals and keyboards, Reverb was founded in 2013 and has grown to become the world’s fourth-largest music gear sales platform. After nearly six years under the umbrella of online creator marketplace Etsy, Reverb was purchased by Creator Partners, an investment firm founded by a former SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor and the owner of Fender guitars Servco, in April.
Over the past six months, Reverb has launched new features for consumers making purchases and stores using the platform, and Stahl’s remit will be to further develop relationships across Reverb’s community, “leaning into the marketplace’s newfound independence,” according to a statement.
“Over the past 12 years, I’ve admired the vibrant platform Reverb has built for musicians across the globe, and I’m honored to be part of the community,” said Stahl. “Whether we’re launching new product features to empower buyers and sellers or unlocking new modes of sonic expression for players through Reverb content, our mission remains the same: to make the world more musical.”
Prior to Reverb, Stahl helped launch SoundCloud’s industry-first user-centric royalties program, which aims to pay indie artists a greater share of the revenue generated from their streams, as well as developing artist-focused mastering and distribution tools. At Vimeo, Stahl helped launch live-streaming capabilities and tools for video-editor integration and faster upload times.
