Former Capitol Music Group executives Michelle Jubelirer and Arjun Pulijal are heading into artist management, the duo announced on Thursday.
Jubelirer and Pulijal have co-founded new company Soft Shock, which will focus on artist management as well as marketing, branding and IP development. Soft Shock launches with backing from HarbourView Equity Partners, the media investment firm that’s purchased catalogs from the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and the Christine McVie estate among others.
The news comes over a year and a half after Jubelirer, the former chairman and CEO at Capitol Music Group, announced her exit from the famed record label last February after more than a decade. Pulijal, who served as president of CMG, announced his own departure a month later.
Before Capitol, Jubelirer was a partner at the prolific entertainment law firm King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner (which changed names in 2015 to King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano), as well as a merger and acquisitions attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Pulijal, meanwhile, lead marketing for Capitol before his appointment as president.
“The name Soft Shock exemplifies our approach to everything,” Jubelirer said in a statement. “We are humanistic and empathetic first… but we are going to fiercely protect artists and fight to make things happen for them. It’s a volatile time for the creative psyche — that applies to talent as well as those on the business side trying to build careers — these are people’s lives. We believe creative intention, personal fulfillment, and commercial success can all co-exist. It just takes curation and bravery, or as we say, ‘a soft touch with the courage to shock.”
Soft Shock didn’t reveal any of its roster with the launch announcement, though the company said it is also representing “comedians, filmmakers, actors, creators, athletes, visual artists, designers, chefs, makers, and more.”
“Telling talent, ‘Go viral and then we’ll care,’ is a race to the bottom,” Pulijal said in a statement. “We combat that by building scale on the side of talent through a diverse network that offers thought partnership and collaboration. All artists are creators and Soft Shock is ready to provide them with the tools, resources, and creative freedom they need to build sustainable, multi-faceted careers.”
Sherrese Clarke, CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, said that Pulijal and Jubelirer “lead with both vision and conviction.”
“I’ve watched Michelle fight for artists with the same courage she brings to every table we’ve shared, including our shared passion for the most vulnerable, and Arjun is equally relentless in reimagining what’s possible,” Clarke said. “At HarbourView, we look for partners who not only shift culture but expand it — with Soft Shock’s focus on artistry, equity, and impact in entertainment, they perfectly embody that.”
