Record Labels
Andy Ross Dies at 66: Tributes Pour In for Label Boss Who Signed Blur and Jesus Jones
LONDON – Tributes have been paid to British music executive Andy Ross, a key figure in the 1990s U.K. music scene, who has died at the age of 66. Ross co-ran London-based independent label Food Records with founder David Balfe and famously gave rock band Blur its first record deal, signing the group to the label in 1990 after seeing them perform at the Islington Powerhaus venue months before. Blur’s commercial breakthrough came with its third studio album, Parklife, released on Food Records/EMI in 1994. The album debuted at number one in the U.K., spawning several hit singles, including “Girls And Boys” and its title track, and establishing Blur as leading figures in the ‘Britpop’ era of British guitar bands alongside Oasis and Pulp. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest vi...
Beggars Group Names New President
4AD U.S. label manager Nabil Ayers will succeed Matt Harmon as president of Beggars Group’s U.S. operations, the label group announced Tuesday (Jan. 25). Harmon, who has been with Beggars for 24 years, is exiting the company to pursue other opportunities. The label consortium has also promoted Claire Taylor to the role of general manager. Ayers has served as U.S. label manager for Beggars Group subsidiary 4AD since 2009. In his absence, Simon Halliday will continue leading 4AD in his role as worldwide managing director. “We are very grateful to Matt for his contributions over two decades which have brought us such success, but equally excited about Nabil and Claire’s elevations, as we look forward to an even brighter future,” said Beggars Group chairman Martin Mills in a statement. Ayers i...
David Waxman Appointed President of Ultra Records
Ultra Records has a new leader. On Thursday (Jan. 20), the venerable dance music label announced David Waxman as its president. Ultra’s parent company, Sony Music, confirmed that it now owns 100% of Ultra Records and that Ultra’s founder and now-former president Patrick Moxey has left the label. Moxey founded Ultra Records in 1995, and Waxman has been with the label as its head A&R for more than 20 years. The label entered a partnership with Sony Music in 2012, as dance music was experiencing a major rise in popularity in the United States. As president, the New York-based Waxman will oversee the day-to-day operations of the label, identify and develop new artists and projects and work with Sony Music to expand the Ultra Records roster and back catalog. During his tenure at Ultra Recor...
Capitol U.K. Co-President Nick Raphael Exits Company
Nick Raphael, the co-president of Capitol Records U.K., has exited the company, sources confirmed to Billboard. No reason was given for the exec’s departure, which was said to be amicable, in news that was first reported by Record of the Day. Raphael was named president of Capitol’s British outpost upon its launch in April 2013, when he moved from London Records to take over the newly-standalone frontline, shortly after Steve Barnett took the reins at Capitol Music Group. His exit comes weeks after Michelle Jubelirer was named the new chairman/CEO of CMG globally. Co-president Jo Charrington will continue to lead the label as its sole president moving forward, sources tell Billboard. Charrington has a long history alongside Raphael, having moved from London Records to Capitol U.K. in 2013 ...
Atlantic Records Signs Shaina Taub: Exclusive
When it comes to making bets on musical theater, Atlantic Records has a knack for spotting winners. The label has a long history of investing in Broadway, but in recent years, it’s emerged as an undeniable force: releasing the original Broadway cast recordings of both Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen (and signing the latter’s star, Ben Platt); racking up yet more cast albums for buzzy new shows such as Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill and Max Martin co-write & Juliet; and scoring the juggernaut that is The Greatest Showman original soundtrack (with music by DEH composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul). Explore See latest videos, charts and news Now, Atlantic is expanding its stable of theater-trained talent even further. The label tells Billboard exclusively it has signed composer...
Phylicia Fant Exits Columbia Records
Phylicia Fant has exited her post as executive vp, urban music at Columbia Records, sources with knowledge of her departure tell Billboard. There was no reason given for Fant’s exit, and there’s also no word yet as to where Fant, who declined to comment, may be headed. A Columbia spokesperson confirmed Fant’s departure. Today (Jan. 7) is her last day at the label. Fant joined Columbia in December 2018 when she and Shawn Holiday were appointed co-heads of urban music. Over the last two years, the label has scored successes with projects from Lil Nas X, The Kid LAROI, Polo G, Chloe x Halle, 24kGoldn, Leon Bridges and Lil Tjay. Columbia is also home to Beyoncé, Tyler, The Creator, Pharrell and Raphael Saadiq. Holiday, who teamed with The Azoff Company’s Irving and Jeffrey Azoff in February 20...
Tiago PZK Signs Record Deal With Warner Music Latina
Tiago PZK, the soulful Argentine singer and rapper who at 20 years old has already placed three songs on the Billboard Global Excl U.S. chart, has signed a recording deal with Warner Music Latina, via a partnership with indie Grand Move Records. The artist, whose real name is Tiago Uriel Pacheco, uses the suffix PZK in honor of his freestyle crew in Argentina, but his music defies categorization, often shifting from R&B and even pop to rap. And instead of resorting to the sexually explicit lyrics that define so many reggaetón hits today, Tiago’s themes lean more toward love and loss and his own journey from the housing projects of Buenos Aires to nascent fame. His breakout single “Sola,” for example, talks about his childhood and his mother’s abuse at the hands of his father. Expl...
Jon Batiste’s Grammy Noms Are Validation for Verve and the ‘Exciting’ State of Jazz
On Nov. 23, Dahlia Ambach Caplin was walking through her Brooklyn neighborhood, listening as a series of artists announced the nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Over the course of an hour, as the genre categories and Big Four honors were revealed, one name kept surfacing again and again: Jon Batiste, the Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader whom Ambach Caplin had signed to the Verve Label Group in 2018. In all, Batiste scored 11 nominations, the most of any artist, including nods for record and album of the year for his single “Freedom” and We Are album, respectively. “I was [multitasking] on a Zoom call, on a completely different subject, as all the album and record of the year stuff started coming out, and I was just like, ‘I can’t stay on the phone right now!’ ” she says...
Record Industry Makes Strides Toward Greener Future With Music Climate Pact
LONDON – When Will Hutton was appointed Beggars Group’s inaugural head of sustainability in September of last year, his first task was tackling “low hanging fruit” at the indie powerhouse, which includes labels 4AD, Matador, Rough Trade, XL Recordings and Young labels. That included calculating the businesses’ carbon footprint and identifying areas where action could be taken quickly, such as reducing business travel, installing solar panels at Beggars Group’s London offices and improving the sustainability of products. “Now the conversation moves onto what we need to do as an industry,” says Hutton. This month, the global music business took a significant step towards a greener, more sustainable future when all three major record companies — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment...
Warner Music Group Acquires 300 Entertainment in $400M Deal
300 Entertainment, the independent music company that is home to Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Gunna, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect and more, has been purchased by the Warner Music Group, the companies announced today (Dec. 16). News of the acquisition — which sources tell Billboard is for around $400 million — was first reported by Billboard earlier this month. As part of the deal, 300 co-founder and CEO Kevin Liles has been appointed chairman/CEO of both 300, which will remain a standalone entity, and Elektra Music Group, which encompasses Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner Records, DTA, Low Country Sound and Public Consumption. Elektra co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin will continue to run Elektra, but will now report to Liles moving forward. “At 300, we’re all about freedom — the fr...
Sony Music, Anghami Form Arabic Record Label With a Global Scope
Sony Music Middle East and top Arab music streamer Anghami have teamed up to launch Vibe Music Arabia, a new joint-venture record label designed to support the Arabic artist community in Saudi Arabia and the Levant and wider GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) regions. The wholly independent label, which was first announced at MDLBEAST’s XP Music Conference in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, this week, “will act as a creative, accelerator and educational hub” aimed at empowering Arabian musicians, songwriters, producers and content creators both regionally and globally, according to a press release. Music put out by Vibe Music Arabia will be released on all streaming platforms and services around the world in an effort to score breakthroughs for its artists in countries outside the Middle East. Taking t...
Adele’s ’30’ Sales Prove She Can Still Deliver at Retail in a Streaming Industry
With Adele’s 30 breaking through with 1.45 million album consumption units and selling consistently with the holiday sales rush in full force, an initial fear that Columbia/Sony Music may have shipped too much product into the U.S. marketplace has dissipated. While it didn’t take off like a moonshot the way 25 did when it opened with 3.5 million units sold in 2015, Adele’s latest “did fantastic in the debut week and now there are consistent sales,” says one physical music executive. “This title feels like it definitely has legs.” Nevertheless, industry sources initially speculated that Sony had shipped anywhere from 1.2 million to 1.7 million pieces of physical product in the U.S., with that higher figure fueled by the belief that as much as 1 million combined CD and vinyl albums went to T...
