Record Labels
Mo Ostin, Legendary Warner Bros. Records Chief, Dies at 95
Mo Ostin, the legendary label executive who led Warner Brothers Records through a storied time of both artistic and commercial success for more than 30 years, died in his sleep July 31, at the age of 95. Ostin, who signed and/or worked with such acts at The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, R.E.M., Randy Newman and many more, was “one of the greatest record men of all time, and a prime architect of the modern music business,” said Tom Corson, co-chairman and COO, Warner Records, and Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman and CEO, Warner Records, in a joint statement. “For Mo, it was always first and foremost about helping artists realize their vision,” their statement continues. “One of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Warner Music Group, in the 1960s Mo ushered Warner/Repri...
Gary Allan Leaving Longtime Label Home UMG Nashville
Gary Allan is exiting his longtime label home, UMG Nashville. The “Watching Airplanes” hitmaker revealed the news on social media Friday (July 29), saying, “For the last 25 years plus, UMG Nashville has been my record label home. I’m very thankful to the staff members at [UMGN imprints] Decca, MCA and EMI for the belief and support they have had in me, but it is now time for a new adventure. I am excited for what the future holds and look forward to sharing more news soon.” Over the past 25 years, Allan has earned 11 top 10 Billboard Country Airplay hits, including four chart leaders. Allan earned his first No. 1 Country Airplay hit with “Man to Man” in March 2003, followed that same year by the two-week chart leader “Tough Little Boys.” He also notched No. 1s including “Nothing on But The...
Lauren Alaina Signs With Big Loud Records and Reveals Morgan Wallen’s Sweet Response
When Lauren Alaina decided it was time to find a new label, she knew exactly where she wanted to start the next chapter of her career — after all, she’d already landed one of her three No. 1 chart toppers with their help. Alaina, who announced her departure from Mercury/Universal Music Group Nashville via social media in April, has signed with Big Loud Records. “I got a label that matches my personality: big, loud and country,” Alaina tells Billboard, with a laugh. “So I think that that’s what my music will be: big, loud and country.” When asked what was on her checklist when shopping for her new label, she simply answers, “Big Loud.” She met with a few different record companies, but Big Loud was her “dream label,” she says, especially as she got to know their inner workings after collabo...
Irv Gotti’s Murder, Inc. Signs Distribution Deal With 300 Elektra Entertainment
Irv Gotti‘s Murder Inc. and Kevin Liles‘ 300 Elektra Entertainment (3EE) have brokered a multi-year strategic distribution deal, Billboard has learned. Under the deal, which was signed Wednesday (July 6), 3EE will exclusively distribute physical and digital formats for Murder Inc.’s new recorded music. Additionally, Murder Inc. will be able to leverage 3EE’s marketing and promotion teams across more than 50 territories, thanks to the vast reach of 3EE’s parent company Warner Music Group. Gotti tells Billboard he’ll maintain ownership of Murder Inc.’s masters under the deal. “I’m excited to join forces with Kevin Liles again, as we take it back to our roots, where we generated over a billion dollars in revenue at Universal Music Group,” says Gotti, referencing Murder Inc.’s prior home at UM...
Logic Signs With BMG After Def Jam Departure: ‘I’m Just Glad to Move On’
Logic has signed with BMG after exiting his previous deal with Def Jam, the Bertelsmann label announced Thursday (June 30). The first new music from the rapper-producer’s forthcoming studio album is expected soon. The international, multi-album partnership with BMG allows Logic to own his own sound recordings for the first time in his career. The move marks the artist’s first label switch since releasing his debut studio album, Under Pressure, via Def Jam in 2014. “There’s a lot of bulls— in the music industry,” Logic said in a statement. “I’m just glad to move on to a place where I can be independent and respected as an artist, and feel like I’m in control of my career.” Tim Reid, senior vp of repertoire and marketing at BMG, added, “As an artist, creator and entrepreneur, Logic is the pe...
Who Will Lead Warner Music Next? The 12 Top Candidates to Fill Stephen Cooper’s Role
With the announcement last week that Stephen Cooper would be stepping down from his role as CEO of the Warner Music Group by the end of 2023, industry speculation has ramped up around who might replace him. Cooper took over WMG in the summer of 2011 at a time when the company and the music business at large were in very different places than they are now: industry revenues had been tanking for a decade with no end in sight; Spotify had launched in the United States just a month prior, with streaming still a speculative format; Warner was a newly private company under the umbrella of its then-new owner, Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries; and the music group, as with much of the recorded-music sector at the time, was struggling. Cooper at the time was chairman of the company’s board and had ...
The FAIR Act to Repeal California’s ‘Seven-Year Statute’ Amendment Fails in the State Senate
The major record companies emerged victorious as the Free Artists From Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act failed to pass out of the California State Senate’s Judiciary committee on Tuesday (June 28) in Sacramento. The Fair Act, also known as AB Bill 983, received four votes, two short of the six needed to reach a majority from the 11-member committee. The bill was the latest effort to repeal a 1987 amendment to California’s “Seven-Year Statute” (a.k.a. California Labor Code Section 2855). That amendment allows record labels to sue artists for damages (including potential lost revenue) if they leave after seven years but before delivering the required number of albums in their contract. Though the committee addressed the bill early in the afternoon, it took until the conclusion of the 13...
The Ledger: HYBE Is Playing Moneyball With BTS’ Solo Projects
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. How does HYBE survive financially while BTS goes on break and its members pursue solo projects? Since HYBE can’t replace BTS, it will need to recreate the group — financially speaking. Movie buffs are familiar with HYBE’s predicament. In the 2011 movie Moneyball based on Michael Lewis’s best-selling book, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (portrayed by Brad Pitt) was faced with a quandary: The budget-minded, small-market team was losing two of its two best players to wealthier teams. Beane knew he couldn’t afford to replace such productive players with two similarly effective players. His solution: recreate them “...
Universal Music Launches Media Platform to Better Connect Artists With Brands
Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB) has launched an advanced media and data platform designed to more easily connect brands with exclusive UMG artist content, the company announced Wednesday (June 22). Called the UMusic Media Network, the platform will give brands access to UMG’s inventory of music video content spanning all leading social platforms as well as UMG data and insights, allowing them to hyper-target audiences at scale. Content offered through the network will include official music videos, songs and lyrics videos, artist vlogs and lifestyle content from UMG-owned platforms including Rebel Labs, Mercury Studios and Polygram Entertainment. The network will also offer branded content and partnership opportunities across all of UMG’s labels and artists. UMGB claims to boast te...
Warner Music Group Forms 300 Elektra Entertainment Label Group Under Kevin Liles
The Warner Music Group has officially unveiled the final form of its new label group following its $400 million acquisition of 300 Entertainment last December. The new entity will be called 300 Elektra Entertainment — or 3EE for short — and will encompass 300, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA Records, Public Consumption, YSL Records, distributor Sparta and the new film and content division 300 Studios, the company confirmed today (June 22). As has already been confirmed, 300 co-founder (and longtime Warner Music veteran) Kevin Liles will run the combined companies as chairman/CEO. Each of Elektra and 300 will remain “independent identities and cultures,” according to a press release, with Elektra headed by longtime co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin an...
Peter Scaping, Former General Manager of BPI, Dies at 76
LONDON — Tributes have been paid to British music executive Peter Scaping, a widely admired figure in the U.K. record business and former general manager of labels trade body BPI, who has died at the age of 76. Scaping joined BPI in 1976 from Decca Records and held the post of BPI general manager — where he was responsible for day-to-day affairs — until 2000, by which time his job had grown to encompass director of development and research for the London-based organization. Having joined BPI at a time when the demand for industry statistics was fast growing, Scaping oversaw production of the first BPI Yearbook in 1976, providing detailed analysis of U.K. record sales and consumption trends of the period. The text became a vital reference tool for U.K. music execs and Scaping would oversee ...
How Post Malone Kept His Momentum Going With ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’
Last week, Post Malone returned with his first album in three years, Twelve Carat Toothache, which also marked his first album with newly relaunched Republic Records imprint Mercury Records. And this week, that album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 — his fourth straight top five album on the chart — and at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, maintaining a streak of No. 1s that dates back to his debut album, 2016’s Stoney. It’s a success for both Post and his label Mercury, which is run by his longtime A&R Tyler Arnold as president, as well as parent label Republic. And it’s another win for Republic’s executive vp of global commerce and digital strategy Kevin Lipson, who oversaw the rollout and the marketing moments that touched almost every aspect of physical and digit...
