Founder Joe Rangel is appointed principal.


Pulse Music Group has acquired Hitcher, a firm specializing in synch placement, marketing and music supervision. Hitcher founder Joe Rangel joins Pulse as a principal as part of the deal, and will serve in the new position of Head of Sync, Creative & Licensing. In addition, Hitcher will be absorbed by Pulse’s film and television division.


At Pulse, Rangel will supervise four in-house staffers and two consultants whose main concentration is in film and TV.


Said co-CEO Scott Cutler: “Pulse has always had a great relationship with Joe and Hitcher since day 1. The work that he and his team have done has been an important part of Pulse’s continued success.”


“Synch placements, particularly in film and television, are as important now to artists’ success and longevity as they have ever been,” added co-CEO Josh Abraham. “Having a world-class film and TV team is crucial for us to provide our songwriters with every possible opportunity to share their music with the world. Joe has helped us do that for many years now and I’m thrilled he’s joining Pulse as a principal to continue working on behalf of our writers.”


The five-year-old Hitcher was founded as a partnership between Rangel and Pulse. Its client roster has also included Prince, Cash Money, Island Def Jam, Parlophone, 300 Entertainment and Universal Republic, among others.


Rangel’s background includes executive positions at EMI Music Publishing, EMI-Capitol Records, and Miramax Films. Pulse music repertoire placed by Rangel has landed in advertising campaigns for major brands like Apple, AT&T, Netflix, Southwest Airlines and Old Navy, as well as on TV shows “Empire,” “This is Us,” “Insecure,” and “Billions” and films like “Fifty Shades Darker.”


The Los Angeles-based Pulse, which represents such songwriters and artists as D.R.A.M., Starrah, El-P of Run The Jewels, Christian “Bloodshy” Karlsson, BØRNS, and Gallant, among others, was founded in 2010 and also houses Rick Rubin’s first publishing company American Songs, Beth and Luke Laird’s Creative Nation in Nashville, and Magnus Media, the Miami-based entertainment company launched by Latin star Marc Anthony.