Atlantic Records
Attorneys in the music industry are a competitive bunch. They vie for high-performing clients and duel with each other over deal points; battle is in their blood.
Perhaps unexpectedly, a number of these attorneys have joined forces recently, unified by a common goal: Getting their producer clients paid for their contributions to Vultures 1, the first of two 2024 albums from Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign.
Since its February release, Vultures 1 has earned more than 817,000 album equivalent units in the U.S., according to Luminate — including over 1 billion on-demand streams — and a Grammy nomination for the hit “Carnival.” But more than 10 producers on the album do not have signed agreements in place with Ye, meaning they are unable to collect fees, as well as potential producer royalties and publishing income, for their work. And several of the producers who worked on Vultures 2, which came out in August, share the same unpaid fate as their colleagues who worked on the first installment.
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“We have clients who’ve produced music on the Vultures album(s) and have still not been paid for their services even though both albums have been released,” Bob Celestin, a music attorney, told Billboard via email. “Presently, we have no idea when payment will be made, which is so unfortunate and unfair. You would think Ye would be more sensitive to this issue because he is a producer.”
“We’ve had trouble receiving a producer agreement from Ye,” adds Brittney Trigg, another lawyer who represents a producer on Vultures 1. A representative for the star did not respond to a request for comment.
This problem continues to plague the music industry at its highest levels. Jason Berger, a partner at Lewis Brisbois, estimates that in “nine out of 10 deals, the producer has not been paid the day the music comes out.” And due to the volume of new releases, the high number of collaborators on some albums, shrinking major-label staffs, and the mercurial nature of superstars — who have to sign off on producer agreements even if they are running around the world on tour — Celestin says that producers often don’t get paid for a year or more after albums come out.
“The more convoluted the system gets, the less money comes down to the people that are actually making the product,” says Nima Nasseri, who manages the producer Hit-Boy. (Hit-Boy was not involved with Vultures 1.) “Why do people have to fight to get paid?” Nasseri asks.
In Ye’s case, five lawyers with clients on Vultures 1 say that getting them compensated for their work has been even more challenging than usual.
The superstar has cycled through at least two attorneys to help with clearances and is now relying on a third, the lawyers says. Longtime Ye associate 88-Keys was initially involved in negotiations with producers; more recently, Matt Geffen from the Revels Group has taken on a prominent role. (Geffen did not respond to a request for comment.) On top of that, Ye also changed distributors, leaving Label Engine, which is owned by Create Music Group, in favor of Too Lost. (Vultures 1 and 2 were released independently.)
In a typical distribution deal, artists are responsible for clearing songs and disbursing royalties to collaborators. Distribution companies are usually shielded from legal liability, though many offer tools to help streamline the royalty splitting process once clearances are completed.
Still, earlier this year, attorneys for a number of producers on Vultures 1 banded together, coordinating their efforts via a group chat, to draft threatening legal letters to send to Create, since no royalties were flowing to their clients. They hoped that, in a relatively small industry that places a premium on maintaining good relationships, their collective weight might convince Create to try to help them. (A representative for Create declined to comment.) Before the messages could be sent, however, Ye switched distributors.
The producers on Vultures 1 may find cold comfort in the fact that even Atlantic Records — the label to which Ty Dolla $ign is signed — is having a tough time getting paid, according to a source close to the situation. (West alluded to this in an Instagram post in September.) The source says Too Lost is now holding money for Atlantic and other rights holders and working with Ye’s team to clear the records accordingly. Representatives for both Atlantic and Too Lost declined to comment.
The challenges that producers face in getting paid in a timely manner seem all but certain to persist. “The industry’s ‘back of house’ infrastructure really isn’t designed to handle dozens of producers and other collaborators on a single project,” says Tim Kappel, an entertainment attorney. “There are inevitably going to be delays even when everyone is operating in good faith. Throw in a few bad actors here and there, and it’s easy to understand why producers are feeling aggrieved.”
The sad truth is that producers can’t do much to redress those grievances. They have very little leverage once they have turned over the files containing the music that will appear on an artist’s album.
At this point, “we have no recourse besides to try to sue [Ye],” says one attorney with a client on Vultures 1. “But that’s costly.” And, as another music lawyer points out, “Legal claims against Ye don’t really seem to go anywhere.”
In situations where producers are frustrated because they haven’t been paid for their work, their representatives often “threaten to file a takedown notice on the recording,” according to Kappel. “But this is inappropriate since the DMCA takedown process can only be used to report copyright infringements,” he continues. “There is simply no cause of action for infringement among co-authors.” There have been several attempts to take down tracks on Vultures 1, all unsuccessful, according to multiple lawyers with knowledge of the back-and-forth behind the scenes.
Some producers who contributed to the album did receive deal offers from Ye’s team this fall. However, those offers were buyouts, according to multiple attorneys, meaning the producer would accept a flat fee and not receive any royalties if the album recouped its costs. Recoupment may be out of reach — as Ty Dolla $ign told Billboard in June, Vultures 1 is “a very expensive album” recorded between Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, Japan, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Still, buying out producers in this fashion is atypical, and multiple lawyers for Vultures 1 producers rejected the offers.
Sources close to Ye now believe he is planning to release another album soon, meaning that the star could put out three uncleared projects in a single year. “It’s a mess,” says one attorney involved with Vultures 1 clearances. “I just keep going back to that word.”
Before hitting the stage to receive the Sir George Martin Award at MBW’s Music Business UK Awards in London on Tuesday night (Nov. 5), outgoing Warner Music Group CEO of recorded music Max Lousada was introduced by someone who truly needs no introduction: longtime Atlantic Records superstar Ed Sheeran, who characterized Lousada as part of […]
Julie Greenwald, the longtime co-leader of Atlantic Records who has become synonymous with the iconic label over the past 20 years, penned an exit letter to the Atlantic staff ahead of her departure from the label. Greenwald’s last day as chair/CEO of Atlantic Music Group will be Sept. 30; she will remain as a consultant through January.
“I’ve been thinking about this goodbye letter for the past few weeks,” Greenwald wrote. “For someone who is never short on words, this one has been a real challenge.”
Greenwald, one of the top leaders in the business overall in the past three decades, became president of Atlantic in 2004, before becoming co-chair/COO in 2006, alongside co-chair/CEO Craig Kallman and chairman/CEO of Atlantic Music Group in 2022. Greenwald and Kallman led the label through a dynamic period in which they helped break superstars such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson, Cardi B, Foster the People, Charli XCX, Charlie Puth, Lizzo, James Blunt, Portugal The Man, Twenty One Pilots, Panic! At the Disco, Kehlani, Ty Dolla Sign and more. She has built a reputation not just for being beloved by artists, but for being beloved by her staff and as a key mentor in the industry, particularly for rising women executives. She was named Executive of the Year at Billboard’s Women in Music event in 2017, and a fixture on the Power 100 each year.
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Greenwald’s exit is part of the larger overhaul of the Warner Music Group that WMG CEO Robert Kyncl announced in August, which will see her and many of her top Atlantic executives exit the company as Elliot Grainge prepares to take over as Atlantic Music Group CEO on Oct. 1.
Read Greenwald’s full letter below.
To All My Friends, Family and Colleagues,
I’ve been thinking about this goodbye letter for the past few weeks.
For someone who is never short on words, this one has been a real challenge.
I came into Atlantic Records 9 months pregnant with a mission on my back to rebuild the house that Ahmet created.
Lucky for me, I found a partner ready to roll up his sleeves and start something new.
Craig and I were in lock step, sharing one vision, not to be the biggest company in the industry, but to be the best.
We wanted to create a risk taking culture that rewarded creativity.
For all of the old crew, remember our magic number was 34 albums a year. And our strategy worked.
We signed, nurtured and delivered some of the greatest artists on the planet. No matter how long the single took, or how many mixtapes or albums, we stayed in the fight. The weirder the marketing plan, the better.
Our goal wasn’t simply a plaque, but selling lots and lots and lots of hard tickets.
MSG was first in our sights and then came the O2.
World building wasn’t a buzz word we threw out in pitch meetings, but a true accomplishment.
I subscribe all of our successes to the perfect melding of extraordinary artists meet the most gifted employees.
For everyone who has passed through Atlantic High, Elektra, FBR, Roadrunner, 300 and WMG, I can not say thank you enough.
(And when I see you in person, I will properly do so.)
To Lyor, Steve, and Max, I am filled with tremendous gratitude for all the support and generosity you gave us throughout our years.
It was always a team effort.
To my day one partners Craig, Kyser and Sheila, I will be eternally grateful for one of the greatest rides in the history of the music business.
To Len, Robert, Elliot, Zach and Tony, I’m handing over the keys to Ahmet’s house. I wish you all the best and will remain the greatest cheerleader for all things Atlantic.
And to all my artists, I will never stop being your #1 Fan.
Love,
Julie
McHale’s Bar & Grill, a pub in midtown Manhattan, bills itself as “the best Irish bar in NYC.” It opens bright and early, at 10 a.m. on weekdays; it also happens to be right around the corner from Warner Music Group’s New York office. And on Thursday (Sept. 19), it was crammed full of Atlantic Music Group employees gathering to honor colleagues who had been laid off earlier that day. Several staffers clambered onto chairs to deliver spontaneous speeches about their time at the storied label.
McHale’s “is the only thing open during the day in that area,” says one employee who survived the cuts. At the impromptu gathering, “Lots of people who have been at Atlantic for 10- or 20-plus years said they loved being able to work with everyone. People were feeling supported since a lot of staff had been let go” — around 150 layoffs in total, according to WMG’s SEC filing.
Multiple sources stress that these departures, as well as the new regime being put in place by incoming Atlantic Music Group CEO Elliot Grainge, represent a seismic shift for Atlantic — a generational changing of the guard. A number of high-profile executives will be leaving the company, including Atlantic Music Group CEO Julie Greenwald, who co-led Atlantic for nearly 20 years; WMG’s CEO of recorded music Max Lousada, who had been at WMG for decades; 300 Elektra Entertainment chairman/CEO Kevin Liles; Atlantic general manager Paul Sinclair; and Atlantic co-president of Black music Michael Kyser, along with several department heads at both Atlantic and Elektra Records.
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In the wake of the cuts, sources say the Elektra side of 300 Elektra Entertainment is down to fewer than 20 people; Warner announced that 3EE president Gregg Nadel will move to become co-chair of Warner Music Nashville, but did not mention a replacement. (Lousada and Liles will also not be replaced.) Atlantic made further cuts to its radio team, which now has fewer than 10 employees, having already been hit in previous waves of layoffs. The label slashed the publicity department to just a handful of people.
In addition, Atlantic and Elektra eliminated their touring teams, which help artists with promotion and production on the road. The creative departments of Atlantic and 300 — the staffers who help furnish artists with the content they need in a visual, social media-driven age — suffered losses as well. And the label cut some A&R executives.
All these vanished jobs are the latest sign that the definition of a major label is transforming rapidly. “The old advantages that a big label had in the past, radio and press and TV, those just aren’t as powerful as they were,” says Jonathan Daniel, a veteran artist manager. The industry is trying to “remodel what a major label is, because the old way is unsustainable at this point.”
That retooling process has led to a number of layoffs at both WMG and Universal Music Group over the last 18 months. (Cuts at Sony Music have been more moderate, sources have said, at least so far.) Executives in traditional departments, like radio and press, have been especially vulnerable. And companies have tried to reduce overlapping roles at frontline labels in favor of a shared central system of services.
Grainge, 30, has expressed disdain for the more sprawling, old-fashioned major label model in the past. In 2016, he founded the label 10K Projects, which has billed itself almost as an anti-major: Small and fleet-footed instead of large and lumbering, with a heavy focus on modern tools (digital marketing) at the expense of more old-fashioned ones (radio). He has had success with this approach, helping boost the early careers of artists like Ice Spice, XXXTentacion and Trippie Redd.
Several Atlantic staffers started to worry about the possibility of additional staff cuts in August, as soon as WMG unexpectedly announced that Grainge would replace Greenwald starting October 1. In the past, major leadership changes at labels have often been accompanied by layoffs. Roughly 20 years ago, for example, not long after Lyor Cohen took over as chairman/CEO of WMG, the company let go of around 1,000 employees.
That said, the record business was shrinking then, rather than growing. And WMG had already made three rounds of cuts in the past 19 months before last week’s layoffs.
Some executives believe that Atlantic Music Group, which has struggled to produce new breakout artists in the last two years, was still too big and too inefficient, even after the previous reductions in staff. It’s nearly impossible to turn a massive ship quickly, and speed is crucial in what WMG CEO Robert Kyncl recently called a “fast-paced, fiercely competitive industry.”
The company’s realignment is intended to strengthen the core Atlantic Music Group structure while also making it more flexible, so it can throw its full weight behind artists at Atlantic, 300 or Elektra at any given time, sources say. “Elliot is confident in the team he’s put in place and they’re all focused on moving the needle,” a source inside WMG tells Billboard. The mission, this person continues, is focusing on “artists, artist development, great music. With all the anxiety about changes, there is excitement about the future, too.”
But others wonder if deep cuts will ultimately affect a label’s ability to deliver on behalf of its artists. “They’re smart people; obviously there’s some sort of plan” with the restructure and the layoffs, says Motti Shulman, who exited his role as senior vp of rhythm promotion at 300 Elektra Entertainment in 2023. “But if you keep cutting the fat, at some point you dig into the muscle. I think they’ve gone beyond the fat.”
Earlier this month, WMG employees say Grainge spent time in the company’s Los Angeles and New York offices along with Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo, who are set to become chief operating officer and general manager of Atlantic Music Group, respectively. Several Atlantic staffers believed that the incoming leadership was evaluating their work and weighing who might be cut.
When layoffs began in New York last Thursday, a number of employees were told they were being let go in individual meetings with Greenwald — who had, in many cases, played an instrumental role in hiring them, sometimes decades ago. Some staffers started to call the artists they had collaborated with to notify them that they had been laid off. Others updated their LinkedIn profiles: #OpenToWork.
Historically, when labels cut a lot of employees — as Universal Music group did in 1999, and WMG did in 2004 — they often trim artist rosters as well. Specific employees often champion specific artists in the building; if those cheerleaders are gone, the label may in turn sever ties with the acts they cheered for. On top of that, remaining staff might be spread too thin to aid as many acts as it did previously. Many managers are still waiting to hear if their artists will be affected in the shakeup.
Todd Rubenstein, a veteran music lawyer, has been watching the steady drumbeat of layoffs across the major labels since the start of 2023. “I find it all sad,” he says. “Not just from the human level of people losing their jobs, but everyone was already complaining before about what labels were not doing for their artists. What happens now that a hundred people got let go?”
On Monday (Sept. 23), Atlantic started trying to answer that question. The company announced a “new era” and a series of promotions. “We are committed to a single principle,” Grainge said in a statement. “Maximum impact for original artists.”
As Elliot Grainge prepares to take over as the new CEO of Atlantic Music Group on Oct. 1, he unveiled his new leadership team today (Sept. 23).
Craig Kallman, the longtime co-chairman/CEO of Atlantic Records, will now take on the title of chief music officer for Atlantic Music Group. Additionally, Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo, the former co-presidents of 10K Projects, which Grainge founded and sold to Warner Music Group last year, will become AMG’s chief operating officer and general manager, respectively. Erica Bellarosa will be general counsel, and former Republic chief creative officer Dave Rocco has been named president of creative.
At Atlantic Records, Lanre Gaba has been promoted to president of hip-hop, R&B and global music; Lu Mota has been named head of A&R for hip-hop, R&B and global music; and Marsha St. Hubert has been named head of marketing for hip-hop, R&B and global music. Kevin Weaver will retain his title as president of the West Coast, while Brandon Davis and Jeff Levin will be executive vps and co-heads of A&R for pop and rock. Marisa Aron will now take over as head of marketing for pop and rock.
Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab will remain as co-presidents of 300 Entertainment, while Nicholas Ziangas and Molly McLachlan have been promoted to co-presidents of 10K Projects. The announcement says that more announcements will be made shortly, and does not include leadership for Elektra Records, except to say that former president Gregg Nadel will be moving to a new role within the Warner Music Group.
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“Atlantic Music Group is home to the most extraordinary artists and executives in the world,” Grainge said in a statement. “This great label has moved through a meaningful transition, and emerged with a world-class team, made up of ambitious innovators and veteran visionaries. We have a plan to build on the extraordinary achievements of the last twenty years, honor the independent DNA of our labels, and collaborate with artists to pioneer a future filled with opportunity. To all our artists, managers, and partners, we are committed to a single principle — maximum impact for original artists. We’re looking forward to doing big, bold, brave things together.”
The announcement of the new structure follows an announcement last week about a reorganization of the Atlantic Music Group, through which several key leaders at Atlantic, 300 and Elektra departed the company, with layoffs of some 150-175 employees. That process is said to have been completed last week. Additionally, today’s announcement confirmed that 10K will continue as a standalone label under AMG, while Elektra, Fueled By Ramen and Roadrunner will continue as imprints.
“AMG will be lean, agile, fiercely creative, and deeply passionate about artists and their fans,” Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement. “We’re opening an exciting new chapter in the story of an iconic label. Elliot’s thoughtfully chosen a team that combines a wealth of experience, a diversity of expertise, and a commitment to excellence.”
Celebrating life through the lenses of contemporary African American poetry and lyrical art is the creative force behind the new Atlantic Records album, On Imagination. Produced by award-winning music producer, engineer and singer-songwriter Ebonie Smith, the project features 12 poems performed by legendary Black women artists and cultural icons such as Roberta Flack, Valerie Simpson, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters and Dr. Angela Y. Davis.
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June Jordan, Gwendolyn Bennett, Phillis Wheatley and Georgia Douglas Johnson are among the esteemed poets whose work is showcased on the new project. As noted in On Imagination‘s press package, the premise was to “harness art’s transformative ability to turn grief into joy and resilience, honoring the tradition of music as a life-giving, affirmative revolutionary force while shining a light on language as a pathway to healing within the Black community.”
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Available now, On Imagination was first revealed in commemoration of this year’s Juneteenth celebration with Dr. Angela Y. Davis reciting Jordan’s 1982 poem, “Moving Towards Home.” The full-length album’s cast of performers also includes Valerie June, Danyel Smith, Genesis Be, Lori Lightfoot and Flyana Boss.
Currently an in-house engineer and producer for Atlantic, Smith has also worked on prior projects such as Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer and Cardi B’s Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy.
In announcing On Imagination’s arrival, Smith stated, “The poems on this album are restorative. They helped me heal and re-center after COVID. The language is challenging, requiring the listener to work for a deeper understanding, but those who make the effort will find the words of these poets truly powerful and transformative. In the wake of [Migos member] Takeoff’s passing, I turned to these poems to help me heal and make sense of the deaths occurring in and around hip-hop culture. The language on this album helped me find strength during that time.”
Another of the album’s notable tracks is the Bennett-penned “Fantasy,” which artist Dawn Richard performs. It’s accompanied by a dance piece choreographed by Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper and filmed in collaboration with Richard and Ailey II alumni Maya Finman-Palmer, Brena K. Thomas and Maggy van den Heuvel with former The Ailey School student Raven Joseph. The “Fantasy” video was filmed at Ailey’s home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance.
Commented Richard, “19 years later I get to step through the doors of Ailey on my own terms. The last time I danced in Ailey’s theater was in [ABC/MTV reality series] Making the Band. To be back here and recreate a world of regality and beauty through femininity and empowerment makes this moment so special. It speaks to the power of womanhood and perseverance. You can shape your own dreams, tell the story you wish to tell and dare to imagine the possibilities you wish to create.”
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Dawn Richard, creating movement and collaborating with her on an anthem celebrating the resilience and power of women of color from the African diaspora,” added Harper. “As Ailey stands on the shoulders of our founder Alvin Ailey, who saw the importance of using dance as a vehicle for change, we are honored to partner with Atlantic Records on this milestone project serving as a testament to the power of art in our lives.”
The power of the major label has been completely decimated.”
That broadside came from Elliot Grainge during an interview with The Los Angeles Times last year. In the profile, Grainge, founder of the independent label 10K Projects and son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, added that the majors were like “a conveyor belt with 100 other priorities” and “mediocre-at-best product-management departments.” In his view, there was “not one example” of an artist “signed, developed and marketed from scratch to huge fanfare by a major label in the last three years.”
Sixteen months later, one of those conveyor belts will soon belong to Grainge. In a sudden and surprising shakeup, Warner Music Group announced that the 30-year-old will take over as CEO of Atlantic Music Group on Oct. 1, less than a year after WMG entered a joint venture with 10K. In his new position, Grainge will oversee the renowned Atlantic Records, as well as 300 Elektra Entertainment and his own imprint.
This means he will jump from managing a staff of around 30 in 2023, according to The L.A. Times, to commanding hundreds of employees. And as part of the overhaul, at least two well-regarded WMG veterans are headed for the exits: Max Lousada, who served as the company’s CEO of Recorded Music since 2017; and Julie Greenwald, who had led Atlantic as chairman and COO since 2006.
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The upheaval marks an abrupt generational shift for Atlantic, the storied label co-founded by music legend Ahmet Ertegun in 1947. “They’re going from the most traditional, A&R-driven leadership to a very contemporary, digitally-native new administration,” says one executive who has worked with Grainge in the past. “It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”
“Cutting Away the Bullshit”
Grainge has risen rapidly in a remarkably short time in the business, and several executives who have worked with him cheered his latest promotion. “We’re still operating in an antiquated system, and Elliot’s found his success by cutting away the bullshit,” says Solomon Sobande, who managed XXXTentacion, the SoundCloud rapper-turned-streaming superstar, before his death and teamed up with Grainge to release X’s ? album in 2018. “There’s a certain level of commitment to his artists, making sure they had everything they needed to be successful, that I was always enthralled by.”
Some Warner employees, however, said they were upset at the departures precipitated by Grainge’s promotion. For them, losing Greenwald, who has been at Atlantic for two decades and assured Ertegun she would take care of the company upon being named president back in 2004, symbolizes the end of an era. (Craig Kallman, who served as chairman/CEO of Atlantic alongside Greenwald for many years and focused on A&R, will remain as CEO of Atlantic Records, albeit in a diminished role.) “We did not think Julie’s run was up yet, and we did not think Max’s run was up yet,” says one WMG executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Both Lousada and Greenwald were known for their close connections to marquee artists on WMG’s rosters; filling the void left by their departures will be no mean feat. Each has spent decades at record labels, developing reputations for their relationships with both artists and staff. Several executives expressed surprise that the new Atlantic boss is relatively inexperienced — even at a time when younger CEOs have taken over Columbia Records, Def Jam, Island Records and Warner Records, Grainge is the youngest major-label chief by a wide margin — rather than someone who has invested the years to learn how the majors operate.
Multiple WMG employees also wondered how 10K’s approach to signing and building artists will translate to Atlantic. While Grainge’s label has helped generate billions of streams, it has not yet nurtured an arena-headlining superstar in the mold of Atlantic’s Bruno Mars or Ed Sheeran, two artists whom Lousada and Greenwald helped shepherd to global success.
“Julie was widely regarded as one of the last real artist advocates who prioritized substantial songwriting over memetic share-ability,” says one manager who has worked closely with Atlantic. “She knows superstars transcend the algorithm. I really haven’t seen 10K develop anything that I think will last a generation or more.”
In addition, some employees said they are struggling to wrap their heads around the fact that the father of their incoming boss runs their biggest competitor. Together, father and son will lead companies that control more than a third of the U.S. recorded music market.
And some executives are worried that additional consolidation might mean more layoffs. Earlier this year, Atlantic laid off roughly two dozen staffers, mostly from radio and video; any new CEO at any company is likely to have new priorities. Grainge will do “some creative marketing that might not be ‘traditional’ for the majors,” predicts a second executive who has worked with him.
“Some labels still send shit to radio as their primary marketing strategy,” adds a third source who knows Grainge. “10K hasn’t done that. They invest heavily in digital — their ways of working with artists are much more modern.”
A rep for WMG declined to comment. On a recent earnings call, WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said he was “excited by the prospect of taking Atlantic’s culture-making capabilities” and “adding Elliot’s digitally native approach into the mix.” That combination, he continued, will “grow the label’s outstanding reputation.”
“Labels Are Trying to Adjust”
All the majors are facing an increasingly tough landscape because their influence over what music becomes popular is diminished — “decimated,” in Grainge’s words. As a result, “Labels are trying to adjust and test different methodologies to figure out what the future of a major will look like,” says a fourth executive who has worked with Grainge in the past.
In the last year, outside of the superstar ecosystems, music industry wins have often come from smaller, more agile outfits like Pulse Records (Tommy Richman) or Artist Partner Group (Odetari, Lay Bankz). 10K’s biggest success since moving to Warner has been Artemas’ “I Like the Way You Kiss Me” — low-slung club-pop — which peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100, and, to a lesser extent, Rich Amiri‘s “One Call” (No. 60).
These artists typically thrive in niches online, and don’t necessarily release the type of blockbuster albums that linger near the top of the Billboard 200 for weeks on end. But many young executives believe that this “riches in the niches” approach is the future — they argue that hardly any new superstars will be created now that audiences are spread across dozens of online platforms and mass media has lost much of its firepower.
Grainge’s rise, then, is a nod to the success of these streamlined, quick-on-the-draw operations, with their lower overheads and digital expertise. “It says something about the state of the industry as a whole that one big label system made a bet on a more independent, lean music business strategy,” says the first executive who has worked with Grainge.
But there’s no guarantee that the two systems will mesh. “There’s a political element to going into a place like Atlantic which is very different from running an independent company,” the executive continues. “It’s a challenge to be in that position and inherit decades worth of custom and chains of command.”
Elliot Grainge
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“The Red Tape Doesn’t Exist”
Grainge founded 10K Projects in 2016 and connected with many of his biggest acts early on — often rappers with avid online followings. Grainge was quick to dive into the volatile, punk- and emo-inflected hip-hop that erupted on SoundCloud in this era, signing Trippie Redd, 6ix9ine and XXXTentacion, among others. (More recently, 10K signed Ice Spice in partnership with Capitol Music Group; while most artists moved to WMG with 10K in the joint venture last September, Ice Spice remained under 10K/Capitol.)
At the time, the major labels hadn’t yet built the tools they now use to scour the internet’s nooks and crannies looking for viral phenomena, which left an opportunity for executives immersed in these digital scenes to find talent. The majors may also have been wary of the media controversies and legal troubles that dogged artists like 6ix9ine and XXXTentacion. (At the time, Universal Music Group distributed 10K.) Grainge has “never been afraid to jump out the window for something he believed in,” Sobande says.
“The first time I spoke to Elliot, I was really shocked — everybody knows who his dad was, so I was expecting a spoiled rich kid,” Sobande continues. Instead, he found Grainge “was down to get in the trenches. He was with us flying out to Florida, picking singles, coming in the studio, actually doing the work.”
10K developed a reputation for finding online phenomena early and marketing them savvily, especially on youth-friendly platforms like TikTok — an approach that has now been widely adopted by labels. “The guys at 10K are quick and nimble as it relates to digital strategy and taking risks,” says Karl Fowlkes, an entertainment attorney who has signed several clients to the label. “That’s what makes them special. The red tape doesn’t exist.”
Grainge’s “word was as good as a contract,” the first executive who worked with him agrees. “If you spoke to the guy and he agreed to do something, it would get done without having to jump through a million hoops.”
10K was also known for offering flexible — and generous — short-term deals to artists with momentum, and getting those agreements done speedily. (In contrast, multiple lawyers say Atlantic favored much more traditional deals until relatively recently.) XXXTentacion was initially signed to EMPIRE, but “they could only do so much at the time — it wasn’t the huge company it is now,” Sobande says. “Elliot wanted to get in the X business. And I remember calling him one day, like, ‘Listen, I’ve got an opportunity for you to get involved.’”
Grainge’s response: “Tell me how much, and I’ll do it.”
In the music business, financial commitments often come with strings attached, but multiple sources who know Grainge say he is uninterested in meddling in artists’ processes. He’s very much “this is their idea, let’s go with it,” says the third executive who has collaborated with Atlantic’s incoming CEO.
Birdman Zoe manages the producer Taz Taylor, whose Internet Money record label signed a joint venture with 10K in 2019. “We had a lot of label meetings early on,” Birdman Zoe says. “We really liked the fact that Elliot told us, ‘I want to let you guys do your thing. I’m not here to give you my opinion on something I might not know about. I’m going to back you and financially support you.’”
“You’ve Got to Be Able to Move Quickly”
Independent operations like AWAL, 300 and Alamo have all been snapped up, wholly or partially, by major labels in recent years, part of the majors’ never-ending struggle for market share. 10K was also a target: In September 2023, the company ended its longtime association with UMG and announced a joint venture with Warner Music Group. As part of the move, 10K became a standalone frontline label at WMG and Grainge joined the company’s leadership team.
Forging this partnership was one of the first big moves by Kyncl, who held roles at YouTube and Netflix before taking over WMG in January 2023. (His background in tech has been a point of contention with staff — multiple executives worry that he and the former tech employees he has hired understand data but not culture.) Kyncl inherited a challenge: Halfway through 2024, Republic Records’ current market share was greater than all of Warner Music Group’s. Without big releases from marquee stars, Atlantic in particular has slipped; it’s now behind sister label Warner Records in current market share so far in 2024.
Grainge will be partially responsible for reversing that decline. Sobande is confident he can pull it off. “To be successful, you’ve got to be able to move quickly, and a lot of times the corporate structure slows that process down,” Sobande acknowledges. But if anybody can figure out a way to navigate that tension, “it’s going to be Elliot.”
Now that it’s officially summer, we can start calling 2024 the summer of BRAT. Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, released June 7 on Atlantic Records, has taken the internet, and dance floors, by storm, spawning memes, jokes and posts galore, all colored the fluorescent “brat green” on social media — and that’s before you even get to the music. The record itself is a triumph of dance-pop that has not only ignited Charli’s legions of fans but brought her the biggest debut week of her career, having moved 82,000 equivalent album units in the United States to debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
It’s a testament to the groundswell of support that Charli has cultivated, and that her management team, creative and design teams, and label Atlantic Records have helped nurture. The album arrived with 14 different vinyl variants and a number of exclusive editions, helping to sell 45,000 copies (the biggest sales week of Charli’s career) while becoming nearly inescapable in the cultural discourse. It also proved that Charli is a true innovator who’s much more than the “Boom Clap” and “I Love It” hits of a decade ago, or even the songwriting superstar she’s been for other artists throughout her career. All that hype and success has helped Atlantic’s vp of marketing Marisa Aron earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Aron discusses the marketing plan and rollout of BRAT, how Charli helped build hype for the album more than a year ago and the groundswell of support — including a gigantic record-store listening party at more than 170 stores across the country three days before the album’s release — that led into BRAT’s debut. But just as the solstice has only passed this week, there’s much more to come: as Aron puts it, “BRAT Summer has just begun.”
This week, Charli XCX’s BRAT debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 82,000 equivalent album units, her biggest first week ever. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
The success of BRAT is a testament to Charli’s incredible artistry and vision. She not only created the most culturally important pop and dance album of the year but also delivered a masterclass in artistic direction and marketing strategy. Charli has an amazing team, and together with the unwavering support from our team at Atlantic we all worked to execute her vision to the fullest. Our key decision? To trust her implicitly. We fully embraced her vision, her plan, her ideas and helped her bring BRAT to life.
What was the overall marketing plan for the release?
The marketing plan for BRAT is all about amplifying Charli’s authentic voice and connecting directly with her fans. We knew we had an incredibly important album on our hands, one that was innovative, bold, fun, loud and would create a lot of conversation. We wanted to put together a campaign that captured that energy and put BRAT into the cultural zeitgeist. The plan doesn’t end with the album release; stay tuned, there is a lot more to come.
The album also sold 45,000 copies, her largest sales week ever, including 14 different vinyl variants. What was your guys’ approach to physical for this album, and how did it pay off?
The physical release plan was so much fun to put together. It was a collaborative effort between Charli; [creative director] Imogene; design team SPECIAL OFFER, Inc.; Charli’s management team; and our team at Atlantic. From the start, we wanted to create a series of limited-edition drops that would keep fans excited throughout the campaign. It was important that each variant felt unique and special both in design and in the rollout.
We started the campaign ahead of the album and artwork announcement with the limited edition 360_brat vinyl, released at first only to Charli’s followers on her private Instagram. This moment helped set the tone for the rest of the campaign. When the official album pre-order went live, we partnered with major retailers like Target and Urban Outfitters, as well as local record stores, Blood Records and more to create exclusive variants that gave fans more options to choose from.
On Tuesday, June 4th, we unleashed BRAT into the world a little early. Thousands of Charli’s fans went to their local record stores for a first listen, three days before the official release. It was a massive undertaking — Atlantic’s biggest listening event campaign ever — with 179 stores across the country.
BRAT’s physical release wasn’t just about sales figures; it was about creating a deeper connection with fans. From the unique packaging that you have to rip into to get to the music, to the events and limited-edition drops, it is a reminder that in the digital age, the physical album can still be a powerful, personal and meaningful experience.
This album almost immediately became a cultural touchstone, and was a huge talking point online, with fans making memes of the cover art and the color palette seemingly everywhere. What was your approach to the digital marketplace for the project?
The BRAT campaign started in February when Charli threw a legendary Boiler Room in Brooklyn with A. G. Cook, George Daniel, Finn Keane and Doss, drawing a record-breaking 40,000 RSVPs — the most in the history of Boiler Room. There were surprise appearances from Addison Rae and Julia Fox. This was the first time people got to hear a few tracks from the forthcoming album, turning it into one of the year’s most viral moments and really setting the tone for what was to come.
The approach was about creating really memorable moments both online and in real life, from surprise DJ sets, exclusive Club Angel events, single reworks with Addison Rae, Robyn, Yung Lean, Skream and Benga to one of the most talked about music videos of the year (“360”) and so much more. We carefully planned out the timing of it all.
The “brat green” that we all have filling our timelines right now goes back to Charli’s brilliant vision for BRAT artwork. Once the artwork was revealed fans started to recreate it themselves, which inspired us to launch the brat generator. From there, it really started to take on a life of its own. We continued to incorporate brat green throughout all the marketing. One of the most fun pre-album moments in the campaign happened in Brooklyn a few days before “360” was released. Terry [from the digital team] had an amazing idea of painting a huge wall “brat green” during a livestream, and thus the “brat wall” was born.
It’s been 12 years since Charli first hit the Hot 100 top 10 with her feature on Icona Pop’s “I Love It,” and 10 years since Charli’s first solo Hot 100 top 10 with “Boom Clap.” Her career feels bigger now than it’s ever been. How did you energize those day one fans and pull in new ones for the run-up to this release?
Speaking from my own experience, it honestly is just really fun to be a Charli fan. For example, a full year before the album campaign even started Charli brilliantly started a new private Instagram account, @360_brat. What goes down on that account is strictly confidential, so I won’t give too much away. But Charli’s early vision and authenticity has made BRAT an undeniable phenomenon which really resonated with her early fans, and then throughout the campaign brought new fans in.
Pete Ganbarg is stepping aside as Atlantic Records’ president of A&R, a role he has held since 2018, to launch Pure Tone Records, a joint venture with the label. The first artist signed to Pure Tone Records is platinum Canadian singer/songwriter Forest Blakk, whom Ganbarg originally signed to Atlantic.
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Ganbarg, who has worked at Atlantic for almost 16 years, will continue to A&R several acts on the Atlantic Music Group roster, including twenty one pilots, Shinedown, Gayle, Halestorm, and others.
“The launch of Pure Tone Records as a standalone label is an exciting moment for me,” Ganbarg said in a statement. “It’s the best of both worlds – a golden opportunity to run my own shop, while at the same time having the backing of the outstanding Atlantic team who I’ve worked with so closely over the past 15-plus years.”
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“For the past 16 years, Pete has brilliantly led our A&R mission – discovering, signing, and championing a genre-crossing array of hit artists, while also boosting our theatrical presence with a string of award-winning cast albums,” Atlantic Music Group Chairman & CEO Julie Greenwald and Atlantic Records Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman said in a statement. “At the same time, he’s mentored and built a fantastic A&R team who are expert at nurturing baby acts and superstars alike. The formation of Pure Tone is an important event for Pete and Atlantic, as he brings his decades of experience, his impeccable taste, and great ears to steering his own ship, and we’re thrilled to be his partners on this exciting next phase of his musical journey.”
If the name Pure Tone sounds familiar, Ganbarg has been using the moniker for nearly two decades. He formed Pure Tone Music prior to joining Atlantic as an A&R consultancy, whose clients included Kelly Clarkson, Chaka Khan, Santana, Aaron Neville, Donna Summer, and others. He also operates a pair of publishing joint ventures with WMG’s Warner Chappell Music under that name. Its writers have achieved multiple gold and platinum certifications, including the 2024 Grammy-winning record of the year, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.”
“I’m looking forward to making Pure Tone [Records] a home for exceptional, original talent, and at the same time, I’m very happy to continue to work with my amazing Atlantic artist roster,” Ganbarg continued. “I want to thank Julie and Craig for their tremendous support over the years, and for having the faith to join me in this new adventure.”
The New York-based Ganbarg joined Atlantic in 2008 as executive vp of A&R. Through his tenure, he signed or shepherded recordings by twenty one pilots, Halestorm, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez, Skillet, Brett Eldredge, Matchbox Twenty & Rob Thomas, among others.
He also led Atlantic’s tremendous success with Broadway cast albums, including co-signing and A&R’ing the Diamond-certified original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton. He won Grammy Awards as a producer of the original Broadway cast recordings of Dear Evan Hansen and Jagged Little Pill, and more recently oversaw the Broadway cast recordings for this season’s Tony-nominated shows, Suffs and The Notebook. He also worked on the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman and Daisy Jones & The Six.
Ganbarg began his A&R career in 1989 at SBK Records. In 1997, while at Arista Records, he conceived and A&R’d Santana’s 30x platinum worldwide, nine-time Grammy-winning Supernatural.
There is no word on Ganbarg’s successor as president of A&R.
Atlantic Records has hired veteran executive Luis “Lu” Mota as evp of A&R, the label announced on Tuesday (May 7). Mota, who’ll work out of Atlantic’s NYC headquarters and report to co-president of Black Music Lanre Gaba, arrives from Columbia Records where since 2018 he was instrumental in the signing and developing of hip-hop stars […]