Meet the team behind MusicWerks...

Edward Ferrell - President and Founder

With almost 20 years of music industry knowledge and experience, Eddie "F" Ferrell, is a millennium music renaissance man. He is a multi-talented producer, arranger, songwriter, executive and entrepreneur producing and working for artists such as Mary J. Blige, Luther Vandross, Donell Jones, Toni Braxton, and has also managed writers and producers who have generated hit records for Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Usher, Madonna, Wyclef Jean, and TLC just to name a few.

He has served as Vice President of A&R for LaFace Records, reporting to co-owner and founder, Antonio "LA" Reid and was responsible for assisting Reid in managing its talent roster including Usher, OutKast, TLC and Toni Braxton and subsequently Executive Vice President of A&R at Motown Records with Clarence Avant, again managing a classic roster including Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and Boyz II Men, as well as newcomers 98 Degrees, 702, and his personal signing of Mario Winans. (Bad Boy)

Most recently he has continued work through his production company and recording studio working with the likes of Tyrese, Mario, Chris Brown, MaddScientist and Swizz Beats while also serving as technology consultant for Steve Stoute (Translation) and mega promoter and BET television producer, Butch Lewis.

He also has deep roots in the technology arena having been a computer science major in college and the current technology and IT manager of his own enterprise.

In June 2007, he founded MusicWerks.com to bridge the gap between the traditional music business and the new technological era of music, internet, and computing.

Mr. James currently runs SKOR Entertainment, Inc. - a diversified entertainment company which jointly owns and operates Richcraft Records and High Revolution Music Publishing. Additionally, SKOR consults to media and brand management companies and manages creative assets such as recording artists, producers and writers. SKOR represents Grammy Award winning producers Rich Harrison (“Crazy In Love”, Beyonce Knowles, “Get Right” Jennifer Lopez) and Jon Jon (“Deja Vu”, Beyonce) in addition to artists Dem Franchize Boyz and Natasha Ramos.

Most recently James was a partner at Family Tree/Mosaic Media where he was responsible for the day to day operations of the company which managed the careers of artists such as the Multi-Platinum Grammy Award winning group Outkast, Donell Jones, Jagged Edge, Case, Eric Benet, Raphael Saadiq and Blu Cantrell. SKOR has also consulted with the LPGA and the Orange Bowl Committee.

Mr. James was previously Senior Vice President of Arista Records, Inc. a division of Bertelsmann, Inc. and was responsible for developing Joint Ventures with various creative executives. Those ventures included Sean “P, Diddy” Combs (Bad Boy Records),

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' (Flyte Tyme Records), Kevin “Shek’spere” Briggs (Spere Records) and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (NuAmerica Records). His duties also included recruiting and retaining executive management talent for the ventures, negotiating artist contracts on behalf of the ventures and supervising the operations of the companies for Arista.

Prior to joining Arista he was employed by LaFace Records where he served as General Manager. There he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the label. LaFace served as home to Multi-Platinum recording artists Pink, Usher, Outkast, TLC, Toni Braxton, Donell Jones and Tony Rich. Mr. James managed the company’s growth from its initial annual revenues of $24MM to $110MM in a six year period.

Earilier Mr. James was also employed at Universal Music (formerly MCA/Universal) in Business Development for the Music Entertainment Division and prior to MCA he was employed by Bank of America (formerly Security Pacific Bank) in the Entertainment Finance Group as a marketer of financial products and services to Radio and Television Station Groups, Movie Theater Groups, Cable, and Telecommunications companies.

Mr. James attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce where he received a Masters in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance and Public Policy. He received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Lionel Ridenour - Senior Executive, Marketing & Promotions, MajorWerks

Lionel Ridenour has been an integral part of promotion and marketing in the music industry for over 15 years.

Early in his career, Lionel was the West Coast Promotion Manger for Capitol Records and was responsible for the promotional success of MC Hammer’s album "Can’t Touch This", which remains one of the best selling rap records of all time.

Subsequently, Lionel served as Senior National Promotions Director at Arista Records under the legendary Clive Davis and within two years became Vice President of R&B promotion. He quickly earned his Senior VP stripes and became Executive VP, Urban Music and then Executive Vice President of the entire label. In this capacity, he not only helped shape the future of Arista’s urban acts but contributed his expertise to Arista’s non-urban acts as well. Projects on which he has worked tirelessly include Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Usher, Babyface, Avril Lavine, P. Diddy, Pink, Outkast and Carlos Santana, just to name a few.

Most recently, he has served as Executive Vice President of Virgin Records alongside Jermanie Dupri grooming several artists’ careers such as Dem Franchize Boyz, Janet Jackson, and Big Boi of Outkast’s Purple Ribbon label.




Andre Harrell - Senior Executive, Strategic Brand Partnering & Management

Founder of Uptown Records and former President of Motown Records, Andre Harrell is a multi-talented music and entertainment entrepreneur who has established a reputation in the industry as one of the most astute, progressive, and creative executives in the business.

As a music and film producer, Harrell has helped launch the careers of such acclaimed artists as Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Robin Thicke, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Heavy D and the Boyz, Teddy Riley, Rodney Jerkins, and 98 Degrees. He has also advised his longtime friend, Russell Simmons on several business ventures and mentored Sean "P. Diddy" Combs from his start as an intern up to his current mega star status.