Former Spotify Executive Justin “Jay” Norman Is Bringing Together Music, Branding and Cultural Strategy Through His Detroit-Based Agency, Verse + Hook
Detroit creative strategist and music executive Justin “Jay” Norman has officially left Spotify to lead Verse + Hook, a culture-focused creative strategy, branding and marketing consultancy he co-founded.
Norman most recently served as Spotify’s global director of creative strategy and global head of music marketing. During his tenure, he helped oversee international campaigns, artist partnerships and music-marketing initiatives that reached audiences across dozens of countries.
His departure marks a major transition for the advertising executive, producer and songwriter, who said Verse + Hook was created to combine large-agency expertise with a closer understanding of culture and consumer behavior.
“I didn’t leave Spotify to go somewhere else. I left to build something that didn’t exist yet, an agency with big-agency thinking and none of the big-agency distance from real human behavior,” Norman said in a press statement.
Verse + Hook Builds Leadership Team
Norman will lead Verse + Hook alongside a team of executives working across branding, strategy, creative production and business development.
Miso Brown will serve as head of brand amplification, while Tierra Filhiol will become head of cultural intelligence and strategy. Kyle Bernhardt will serve as executive director and head of creative.
Chelsea V. Huguley will oversee client partnerships and business development as director. Apryl Gordy joins the company as director of people and operations, and Joe Zimmer will serve as director of project management.
The agency operates across five practice areas: strategy, brand and creative, production and content, experiential marketing, and music and synchronization licensing.
Its music-licensing division, Soundry, represents a roster of musicians that includes Billboard-charting and Grammy-winning producers. The division gives Verse + Hook a direct connection between brand development and original music creation.
“Verse + Hook is the company I always wanted to exist,” Norman said. “Detroit is where it belongs.”
Norman Brings Advertising and Music Experience
Before joining Spotify, Norman worked as a creative director and advertising executive on campaigns for major brands including Dodge, McDonald’s, JBL, Harman Kardon, Bertolli, Popsicle, Suave, Tylenol, Listerine and Zyrtec.
His work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, the Effie Awards and the Clio Awards. He has also served as a juror for the Webby Awards, Shorty Awards and ADDYs.
Norman was additionally named to the Ad Age Creator 100, which recognizes influential professionals working across advertising, entertainment, technology and digital media.
Beyond advertising, Norman remains active as a producer and songwriter. That combination of music and marketing experience is expected to shape Verse + Hook’s approach to creating campaigns that connect brands with audiences through sound, storytelling and cultural insight.
“Most agencies study culture from a safe distance; we come from it,” Norman said. “That’s not a positioning statement; it’s literally how everyone on our team got here. And it’s why the work is different.”
Detroit Agency Expands Nationally
Norman, a graduate of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies who also completed executive education at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, has repeatedly promoted Detroit as a center of cultural and creative innovation.
Verse + Hook is based in Detroit but plans to work with clients nationally and internationally.
The company’s launch adds to Detroit’s growing creative economy and places a Black-led agency with extensive advertising and music-industry experience in competition for major branding and entertainment campaigns.
More information is available through the Verse + Hook website.
