warner music group
Believe Is ‘Maintaining All Its Operations’ in Russia — And Some Claim ‘Aggressively’ Growing Market Share
LONDON — Six months after Believe announced it had “suspended activities” in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the French music company now says it is “maintaining all its operations” in the isolated nation. At best, that means recruiting staff to fill vacated roles and making multi-million dollar deals to renew contracts with label partners. At worst, sources say, Believe is taking advantage of the moment, “aggressively” signing Russian record labels and artists to gain market share in the region while major labels have committed to cease all new business there. In one Aug. 30 email reviewed by Billboard, a senior Believe executive in Russia offered a Russian record label 3 million euros ($3 million) for rights to its catalog and future releases. The email, which was wri...
Inside Track: Warner Music Group Closes In on Robert Kyncl as Next CEO
Former YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl is in serious talks to succeed outgoing Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper, and sources familiar with the situation say his tech background has made him the frontrunner in the music group’s search for a new leader. One source says WMG has yet to make a final decision but adds it’s possible a deal could be reached within the next few weeks Talks are said to be progressing, and there’s a sense that Kyncl the frontrunner given his background and the desire for someone who is very plugged in to the business side of the tech world, says another insider. Other candidates remain in the running, says the source — SiriusXM president/chief content officer Scott Greenstein, Warner board member and Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc and former Pandora CEO Roger ...
Music Industry Author-Activist Dorothy Carvello Tests Her Power As Shareholder With Letter to WMG
A lawyer for author, social activist, public relations consultant and former music industry A&R executive Dorothy Carvello has sent a letter to board members of the Warner Music Group requesting records relating to the company’s investigations into previously-reported sexual misconduct claims and royalties accounting at the label, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Billboard. In the letter, which references several previously–reported allegations of misconduct against Warner executives, Carvello’s lawyer writes that Carvello has “concerns that WMG’s management is not doing enough to investigate and act upon allegations of sexual misconduct at the company, and not monitoring the distribution of artist royalties in a manner that ensures sound accounting and payment. Both issue...
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...
SoundCloud, Warner Music Group Strike Deal on Fan-Powered Royalties
SoundCloud has finalized a deal with Warner Music Group that would allow WMG’s artists with songs on the SoundCloud platform the ability to get paid based on the number of individual users streaming their music, rather than by market share of total streams, sources tell Billboard. The revenue model is part of SoundCloud’s Fan-Powered Royalties initiative, which it launched last March with the aim of re-tooling how the platform doles out streaming revenue to rights holders and providing more detailed data to help support independent artists on the platform. In practice, it allows independent creators who own their rights and upload their works to SoundCloud through its Repost system the ability to get paid according to how many fans stream their music, rather than the current industry stand...
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 ...
Warner Music Group Forms New 3EE Label Group, Kevin Liles Appointed CEO
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Arturo Holmes / Getty One of the culture’s best record men will try to change once again. Kevin Liles has been appointed CEO to the new Warner Music Group venture 3EE. As per Digital Music News Warner Music Group announced the creation of 300 Elektra Entertainment – 3EE – a new frontline label group that brings together the multi-genre power of 300 and Elektra. Headed by Chairman & CEO Kevin Liles, this supergroup of brands includes 300, Elektra Records, Fueled by Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA Records, Public Consumption, Young Stoner Life Records, Sparta, and 300 Studios. Related Stories Under the umbrella of 3EE, both 300 and Elektra will maintain their independent identities and cultures. Overseeing 300 Entertainment are newly appointed...
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...
The Ledger: Three Major Trends Revealed in Music Companies’ Q1 2022 Earnings
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. From streaming services to concert promoters and ticket sellers, music companies have reported encouraging first-quarter earnings results that show consumers continue to adopt subscription services and eagerly return to live events after COVID restrictions were lifted in late 2021. The same companies’ stock prices tell another story, however. While music companies posted double-digit gains in subscription growth, revenue, ticket sales and many other metrics, their share prices are down by double-digits in 2022. That’s not a surprise given the state of the economy: Inflation is at a 40-year high ; rising interest rates s...
WMG Canada Offices Relocating to Downtown Toronto in 2023
Warner Music Group is relocating its Canadian businesses to The Well, a newly-constructed building in downtown Toronto. Beginning in March 2023, WMG employees from Warner Music Canada, Warner Chappell Music Canada and Sodatone (a predictive A&R and marketing intelligence platform) will move into the new office, which will include a recording studio, performance space, songwriting rooms and content creation workrooms. The relocation comes as part of WMG’s Future of Work project, which aims to improve the company’s office spaces globally and better align with hybrid working models. Located at 410 Front Street West in downtown Toronto, The Well “offers a curated collection of premium and new concept retail, commercial, dining, and wellness businesses, as well as office and residential spa...
Inside Track: Labels’ Back-to-Office Plans Include Massages, Mediation, Free Lunch & Concerts
As COVID-19 restrictions ease, music companies are welcoming back employees with a wide range of healthy perks to lessen the stress of returning to the office after two years of working from home. Warner Music Group and publishing arm Warner Chappell offer staffers massages, reiki sessions and even sound baths in their Los Angeles, New York and Nashville offices, as well as complimentary lunches and smoothies. Baristas also man coffee stations to encourage face-to-face conversation and collaboration among returning workers who may have only seen each other over Zoom for months. There is also a full slate of virtual programs ranging from yoga, wellness classes and meditation. WMG’s recorded music division began welcoming staffers back in late February, while the publishing company and corpo...
After Months Declining, Music Stocks Tick Up as Fed Raises Interest Rate
Music stocks that had been pummeled in recent months received a respite on Wednesday (March 16) after the Federal Reserve moved to combat inflation and soaring economy by raising the federal funds rate from 0.25% to 0.50%. The federal fund rate is the benchmark rate for inter-bank loans and borrowing costs for credit cards, mortgages and auto loans. Shares of Universal Music Group rose 5.0% on the day to 21.96 euros while Spotify improved 7.9% to $133.58 and Warner Music Group climbed 1.4% to $35.47. The Fed’s move had been expected since its first announced its intention to do so on Dec. 15, 2021. By raising the federal funds rate, the Fed will make borrowing money more costly, reducing businesses and consumer spending to rein in inflation. The Fed stated on Wednesday it “anticipates that...
