John Kirkpatrick is a Los Angeles–based music and brand-partnerships 🏷️#marketer. He joined Epic Records, the Sony Music Entertainment label, as Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing in April 2019 and later held the title SVP, Head of Brand Partnerships. In that role he brokered collaborations between the label's artists and brands across fashion, lifestyle, technology, and gaming, including Travis Scott x Fortnite, Camila Cabello x Just Dance, and 21 Savage x Call of Duty. His profile states that his tenure at Epic ran until May 2026.
Before Epic, Kirkpatrick was chief marketing officer of The VOID, a location-based virtual reality company, and before that of the brand collective PTTOW!. Earlier roles include Global Head of Music, Artist Relations & Promotions at Hard Rock International and Chief Music & Marketing Officer at Hot Topic, with Billboard also crediting prior work at Paramount Pictures and Elektra Records. In his final year at Epic, by his own account, he led the label's efforts to use 📝generative AI to turn music videos into user-generated, short-form content.
John came into my library through 📝Christina Weber in February 2020.