Thomas Hesse is a senior media and digital media executive and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and CEO of Dreamstage, a streaming platform and destination for ticketed live performances. He is also the co-founder of JAMM Music, an app that helps fans keep track of their music sharing activity across social media/ messenger platforms and music services. Hesse has been a vocal proponent of connecting artists directly with their most active fans . He is also the Founder of Consonance Investments LLC, an angel/ VC fund. He was previously the President of Global Digital Business & US Sales/ Distribution for Sony Music Entertainment and President of Corporate Development and New Businesses as well as Member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann. He also was a Senior Adviser to .
Hesse is the Founder and CEO of New York-based Consonance Investments LLC for early-stage venture investments with a focus on digital video and music startups. He briefly held a position as CEO of Paddle8 Auctionata, a startup formed from the merger of New York-based Paddle8 and Berlin-based Auctionata to help restructure the business . From 2014 to 2018 he has been a Senior Adviser to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CVC_Capital_Partners. Since 2015 Thomas is a member of the Advisory Board of Musixmatch In his position as President and Chief Digital Officer at Bertelsmann, which he took up in February 2012, Hesse oversaw the company's worldwide corporate and digital development, as well as its music rights division BMG Rights Management and its venture capital arms, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Bertelsmann Asia Investments. He was also responsible for the M&A team and the company's engagement in education venture fund University Ventures. His board memberships included the Board of Directors of RTL Group, Luxembourg, Europe's largest TV broadcasting company; Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher; the Supervisory Board of Gruner+Jahr, Europe's largest magazine publisher; and Arvato, a large Business Process Outsourcing company. Hesse left Bertelsmann as of the end of 2013 to pursue new opportunities. Hesse was previously President of Sony Music in charge of Global Digital Business and US Sales & Distribution. In that role, he was responsible for Sony Music's worldwide revenues from digital exploitation via online and mobile media, as well as for New Technology and Digital Business Development. He was directly responsible for all US and global digital and physical partner relations and oversaw the massive growth of digital revenues. He also led Sony Music's digital direct-to-consumer efforts and was as co-founder of VEVO, the digital music channel, together with Universal Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company. Hesse joined BMG in New York to serve as EVP and Chief Strategic Officer in 2002. In that role he was driving BMG's merger with Sony Music and was also responsible for Digital Business Development and New Technology. Prior to joining BMG, Hesse held several positions in European television at RTL Group, where he was CEO of RTL NEW MEDIA, a subsidiary of RTL Television, Germany, and previously, Secretary General of RTL Television Germany, in charge of Program Acquisition and Distribution. Hesse began his career in media and entertainment as a corporate consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on Media and Corporate Finance.
Copy protection rootkit scandal
In 2005, asked about the Sony BMG Copy protection rootkit, Hesse's declaration to reporter Neda Ulaby: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" became famous and added prominence to the case to reporters and the general public.
