Image engagement tools and Rich Media Tags creator ThingLink has today expanded its senior team with the appointment of Cortney Harding to the newly created role of Music and Entertainment Evangelista. Formerly Music Editor at industry tome Billboard, Harding assumes responsibility for continuing ThingLink’s expansion into music and wider entertainment markets, reporting to CMO Neil Vineberg.

While at Billboard, Harding was responsible for cover stories on the posthumous rebranding of Micheal Jackson, as well as for artists such as No Doubt, Josh Groban and Paramore, Previous to her editorship, Harding’s journalistic career had seen her contribute to the likes of The Village Voice, Teen Vogue and Elle Girl.

“Cortney’s credentials as both an exceptional journalist and respected public speaker make her the perfect hire for spearheading our work across music and entertainment,” commented ThingLink CMO Neil Vineberg. “We have big plans ahead and I look forward to working with Cortney to make these a reality.”

Prior to Billboard, Harding worked for the Public News Service and holds a BA in Political Science from Wellesley College and an MPA from New York University. She has been a regular contributor to speaking panels at events such as Music and Money, San Francisco Music Tech, and the ASCAP Expo, particularly on topics around publishing and investment in music start-ups.

"I am thrilled to be joining the team at ThingLink," commented Harding. "I look forward to voicing the company’s commitment to empower the way we interact with images – both on the web and in the real world – facilitating a new way for fans to engage with content and for artists to get maximum mileage from their visuals."

One of Harding’s initial responsibilities will be to work with artists and labels to transform their covers from from static images into ‘Interactive Album Covers’ - navigational platforms that feature links to rich media content from around the web. Recent implementations have included Gorillaz, Blink 182, Evanescence and Bruno Mars, all of which have resulted in click-through and engagement rates unheard of with standard images alone.

First announced in June this year, ThingLink has brought a new dimension to images on the web via Rich Media Tags, transforming static images into navigational platforms. From hand-drawn artwork to professional photography, Rich Media Tags can be applied to any image and already allow the in-image embedding of links from some of the world’s leading social content platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Wikipedia, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and many more.


About ThingLink:
ThingLink develops tools for image interaction that allow content sharing via online images. ThingLink technology changes the way people interact with photos by transforming them into a surface for advertising, commerce, entertainment, search and social connection. Brands, publishers and bloggers utilize ThingLink in their images to share links, drive traffic, and set up image-based advertising campaigns. ThingLink has offices in San Francisco, New York and Helsinki.