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The never-ending legal battle between Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon erupted again this week, with Cain filing a new lawsuit against Schon over claims that his “exorbitant” spending is threatening to cripple the band’s touring operations.
In a complaint made public in Delaware court on Tuesday (July 30), Cain claimed that Schon’s alleged spending — including unilaterally chartering private jets and charging personal expenses to their shared American Express card — has led to a “deadlock” that must be resolved.
“The deadlock between the company’s directors is now interfering with the company’s ability to take even the most basic actions and is causing significant disruptions in the smooth operation of the company,” Cain’s lawyers write, adding that the problems “pose a severe threat of harm to the company and to Journey’s storied history of musical greatness.”
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Legal battles are nothing new for Schon and Cain, the two key remaining members of an iconic rock band that’s still printing money decades after its “Don’t Stop Believin’” heyday.
Back in 2022, Schon sued Cain over allegations that his bandmate had unfairly blocked his access to the Amex account, “interfering” with the band’s activities and delaying payments to crew members and vendors. A few months later, Cain sued him back — claiming he had placed those restrictions on the Amex to stop Schon from “misusing” the company card, including spending $400,000 in a single month.
The new case, filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court, largely rehashes those same disagreements over spending — like Cain claiming that Schon has “spent up to $10,000 per night for hotel rooms for him and his wife” during their most recent tour.
But in technical terms, the new case focuses narrowly on the governance of Freedom 2020 Inc., a Delaware-based corporate entity they created to operate Journey’s touring. Since Cain and Schon each control exactly 50% of the company, the lawsuit says the two have reached an impasse that has spilled into other aspects of the band’s operations, like managing their staffers.
“Petitioner and respondent are deadlocked with regard to issues concerning the hiring and firing of company employees and Band crew members,” Cain’s lawyers write in the lawsuit. “It is common that one director will terminate an employee or crew member, and hours or days later, the other director will rehire that same individual.”
The lawsuit claims the strife between Cain and Schon has also led to other problems, including disagreements about whether to accept an advance from AEG for their most recent tour, the purchase of cancellation insurance and other problems.
“The deadlock between petitioner and respondent has created a toxic internal environment,” Cain’s lawyers write. “Rather than focusing on the band’s performances during a major international tour, the band’s [members and crew] now find themselves caught in the middle of the directors’ disputes, afraid of performing their job responsibilities, and pressured to align with one director or another.”
As a solution, Cain is asking the court to appoint a neutral third director of the company, who will be able to “issue the tie-breaking vote” during disputes over key issues.
In a statement to Billboard, Cain’s attorney Sid Liebesman stressed that his client was not seeking damages and only wanted to to resolve the impasse: “It is expected that the third director will provide resolution to the issues between Jon and Neal,” Liebesman said. “It is Jon’s intent for Journey to continue providing great live music throughout the current tour.”
An attorney who has represented Schon in his previous litigation with Cain did not return a request for comment on Friday (Aug. 2).
Even before Schon and Cain came to blows, members of Journey had been sparring in court for years. Back in 2020, the two men teamed up to file a lawsuit against former drummer Steven Smith and former bassist Ross Valory over the band’s name. And in 2022, former lead singer Steve Perry took legal action to stop Schon and Cain from registering federal trademarks on the names of many of the band’s biggest hits.
A true champion for positive change in music will be honored at Billboard Canada Women in Music in Toronto on Sept. 7, 2024.
Jessie Reyez will accept the Trailblazer Award, which is given to a female artist who acts as a music industry pioneer by using her platform to spotlight unheard voices and break ground for future generations of performers.
The Canadian singer straddles the worlds of hip-hop, R&B and pop and has proven to be a big star both on and off stage. She’s hit the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian Hot 100 multiple times, while also appearing on a number of other charts in genres including Latin, R&B and dance. She’s collaborated and toured with artists from Billie Eilish to Eminem to Big Sean to Sam Smith. She’s been a hitmaker behind the scenes, too, penning songs for artists including Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa.
On and offstage, Reyez has used her platform to speak up against systemic inequality — from lack of diversity on the staff of major labels to immigration issues to LGBTSQ+ rights.
Reyez was previously honored with the Impact Award at Billboard Women in Music in 2020, accepting during the virtual ceremony while speaking about the ways she’s had to break through barriers as a woman in music.
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“I’ve always said that being born a woman on this earth is like being born walking uphill,” she said. “There are so many burdens and bags that we carry and manage to do so with grace.”
Previous winners of the Trailblazer Award include Phoebe Bridgers, Kesha and Janelle Monae. Reyez will accept the award at the first edition of Billboard Women in Music in Canada.
The ceremony will also include guest of honor Alanis Morissette, who will win the Icon Award. The star-studded event will additionally celebrate previously announced honourees Allison Russell, LU Kala, The Beaches and more yet-to-be-announced.
For more on Billboard Canada Women in Music and to buy tickets for the September 7 event, head here. – Richard Trapunski
SiR’s Concert is Cancelled in Toronto, Fuelling Speculation about Drake’s Involvement
Another last-minute concert cancellation at History in Toronto is causing online speculation related to Drake‘s feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Los Angeles R&B singer SiR was set to perform at the venue on July 30 but announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the show has been canceled. The singer stated that the venue canceled the event even though, he says, the show was sold out. “Not sure why,” he tweeted.
ScHoolboy Q reacted with laughter to the news; the rapper’s July show at History was canceled earlier this month with no reason given, and at the time he took to the same platform to imply it was because of the feud between Lamar and Drake. History is a collaboration between Drake and Live Nation.
“CANADIAN POLICE DONT WANT NOBODY FROM TDE PERFORMING,” ScHoolboy wrote after his show’s cancellation. A spokesperson from the Toronto Police Service said it had no part in the decision to cancel the concert.
ScHoolboy Q and Lamar are former labelmates on Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), which Lamar left last year, as well as former members of the group Black Hippy. SiR is also on the label and has collaborated with Lamar.
The SiR cancellation follows another Drake-related incident at History on Monday night (July 29). DJ Scheme, opening for Ski Mask The Slump God, dropped Lamar’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us” at the venue and shared a clip of the crowd singing along at full volume.
ScHoolboy Q, meanwhile, made a not-so-cryptic post on X shortly after, which simply read: “HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH 🔵.” His followers interpreted it as a reaction to the “Not Like Us” needle drop. – Rosie Long Decter
Céline Dion Sees Global Spike in Streams After Soaring Olympics Comeback
It’s all coming back to her now: Listeners are streaming Céline Dion in big numbers following a triumphant comeback performance.
The French Canadian superstar performed from the Eiffel Tower on July 26 as part of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Dion sang French icon Edith Piaf‘s “L’Hymne à l’amour,” making an emotional and highly-anticipated return to the stage amidst a battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
Viewers tuned in across the globe to see Dion’s performance, and they clearly want more. Her global Spotify listenership has jumped 36% since the performance, with a 64% jump in France.
Dion isn’t the only artist whose catalogue is benefitting from the performance. The original recording of “L’Hymne à l’amour” by Piaf saw a 317% jump in Spotify streams in the day after the opening ceremony.
The big bump in listeners indicates that the public is ready and waiting for Dion’s return. Though she hasn’t confirmed a follow-up performance, there have been rumours of a potential Las Vegas show on the horizon.
The performance also followed the June release of a documentary chronicling Dion’s experiences with Stiff Person Syndrome, I Am: Céline Dion.
She shared a message on Instagram after the performance for the athletes in Paris: “stay focused, keep going, my heart is with you!” After everything she’s been through, her heart goes on. – RLD
Justin Timberlake made a brief appearance via Zoom in a Sag Harbor, NY courtroom on Friday morning (August 2) where a spokesperson for the singer confirmed to Billboard that he entered a not guilty plea in connection with his June arrest for DWI. According to CNN, Timberlake, 43, attended the arraignment virtually and spoke twice […]
It’s time for another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Also be sure to check out our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Wasserman hired Steve Murray as executive vp of mergers & acquisitions and strategy, effective July 15. He joins the company from Providence Equity Partners, where he served as a principal on the investment team. At Providence, he collaborated with companies and organizations including Warner Music, the NFL and Major League Soccer and helped lead the firm’s strategic investment into Wasserman in November 2022. He was also a key player in Wasserman’s acquisitions of CSM Sport & Entertainment and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, both last year.
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Independent live music company Mammoth unveiled its new touring division, which will be led by Rob Owens and Angela Brown. Owens, who is based in Mammoth’s new touring office in Nashville, was named president of global touring at Mammoth in April 2023; Brown, who previously held several roles at Live Nation, joined the company last September as president of global tour marketing. Along with the executive announcements, Mammoth revealed it’s set to produce JT‘s City Cinderella Tour and Jamaican dancehall artist Buju Banton‘s U.S. tour alongside AG Entertainment Touring.
Rob Stratton was promoted to vp of visual & media rights at Sony Music Publishing UK. In the role, he will be tasked with leading the publisher’s visual & media efforts in the U.K., maintaining relationships with broadcasters and media production companies, and delivering opportunities for the company’s partners. He will continue working with Cathy Merenda and the U.S. visual & media rights team to expand the business worldwide. He has been with the company since 2014 and was previously director of visual & media rights.
U.K. record executives Nick Burgess and Jack Melhuish launched Artist Theory, a new independent label, in collaboration with U.K. indie label and publisher B-Unique. The label’s roster boasts U.K. rocker Sam Ryder along with emerging artists H.LLS (an electronic/R&B/hip-hop collective) and Emily Jeffri (Gothic pop singer). Both executives hail from Parlophone, where Burgess was co-president and Melhuish was GM/head of marketing.
Big Loud Records promoted Jess Anderson to senior director of media, effective immediately. Anderson has worked with the Big Loud Roster since late 2018. She came in-house with the label in 2021 and helped to create the label’s internal publicity roster in 2022 as director of media relations. The Big Loud roster includes Morgan Wallen, HARDY, ERNEST, Stephen Wilson, Jr., Charles Wesley Godwin, Lauren Watkins and Kashus Culpepper. Anderson’s prior career stops include Sweet Talk Publicity, The Press House and Big Machine Label Group. – Jessica Nicholson
Linlin Chen, the group vp of Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), among other roles, will resign all of her positions at the Chinese company for personal reasons on Sept. 30. “On behalf of the Company, we would like to extend our gratitude to Ms. Chen for her dedicated service at TME,” said Cussian Pang, executive chairman of TME, in a statement. “We appreciate her continuous hard work and commitment, which greatly contributed to the success of Kugou Music, one of China’s leading music streaming platforms. We respect her decision and wish her all the best in all her future endeavors.”
Artist management company, music publisher and record label Blue Raincoat Music named Roman Tagoe director of streaming for Chrysalis Records. He will be based in the company’s London office and report to senior vp of marketing James Meadows. In the role, Tagoe will be responsible for driving success on streaming platforms for the company’s frontline and catalog artists. He was previously at BMG, where he served as director of streaming for global catalog recordings.
BOARD SHORTS: The California Copyright Conference announced its 2024-25 officers and board of directors. The new officers are president Rene Merideth (Exploration), vp Carolyn Soyard (Disney Music Group), treasurer Alexandra Guzman (SESAC), secretary Sarah Brockman (Bardic Inspiration Music Services) and assistant secretary Jean Montiel (peermusic). Re-elected board members include Reggie Calloway (Sound Royalties), Debra Delshad (creative music strategy and licensing consultant), Cheryl Dickerson (music industry consultant) and Paula Savastano (Seeker Music Group). Newly-elected board members include Tara Austin (Austintatious Tunes), Rhonda Bedikian (Heavy Harmony Music), Janelle Hawkes (independent publishing administrator), Brandon Jarrett (TV/film composer/music producer/songwriter) and Wayne Josel (ASCAP). Serving their second board of director terms are Kristina Benson (Sweet On Top) and Jonathan Lane (Clearly Music Services); first alternate is James Jacoby (A Bun Dance Production) and second alternate is Sherry Orson (Star Vibe Group).
Abby O’Neill was named head of cultural programming & strategy at Summit Series, an organization that hosts invite-only events for entrepreneurs, artists, philanthropists and more, including Summit At Sea and the forthcoming Subbmit Baja. O’Neill previously served as an NPR executive producer and strategist, curating and producing more than 100 Tiny Desk Concerts and helping realize a 3,000% viewership increase for the series, among other successes. Through her own company, Key Bridge Entertainment, she co-created the free dance music festival Rock the Park DC in Washington, D.C.
Ralph Kink joined German collecting society GEMA as head of digital transformation, effective Sept. 1. In his new role, Kink will spearhead GEMA’s technological development and serve on the company’s executive board. He previously worked at Microsoft for 25 years and is also the co-founder/CTO of digital.fwd, a management consultancy that specializes in digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Publicist Nicole Govel launched a new company, Goldfinch Marketing, which will offer PR, influencer marketing and music video promotion services to clients. Govel previously spent eight years as a publicist at Trendsetter Media and Marketing.
Last Week’s Turntable: BMG Europe Exec Exits
French Montana has reached a settlement to end a lawsuit claiming his 2022 song “Blue Chills” features an unlicensed sample, resolving allegations that he’d tentatively agreed to pay for the clip but never actually did so.
Skylar Gudasz’s 2020 song “Femme Fatale” can be heard playing throughout French’s track — and in a lawsuit filed last year, she claimed the rapper’s reps initially offered to pay her for the sample. But she said French (Karim Kharbouch) then dropped “Blue Chills” without ever actually signing that deal.
In court filings on Wednesday (July 31), attorneys for both sides asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. Each side will pay their own costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, but any of terms of the agreement were not disclosed in court filings.
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Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
Gudasz claimed in her August 2023 lawsuit she had first been contacted about French using “Femme Fatale” in May 2022 by Deborah Mannis-Gardner, a well-known industry executive who has been called the “queen” of sample clearance. Gudasz said she and her lawyer then negotiated a deal in which she would receive more than $7,000 in upfront fees, an .08% cut on master royalties, and a 50% share of the copyright for French’s new composition.
But a month later, she claims that French, without notice, released the song “prior to finalizing and signing a licensing agreement.” Gudasz says that her lawyer quickly alerted Mannis-Gardner about the problem.
“Oh jeez,” Mannis-Gardner allegedly wrote in a response email, saying she would reach out to French’s attorney about the issue. But Gudasz says the situation was never resolved, claiming Mannis-Gardner “continued to maintain there would be a final agreement, sent emails finalizing the licensing agreement and requested invoices from plaintiff, which plaintiff timely sent … and even sent plaintiff a congratulatory email.”
“Despite repeated promises from defendants …. no signed agreement, fees, royalties, licensing agreements or monies have ever been sent to plaintiff,” Gudasz’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
Gudasz says the aborted negotiations prove that French “knowingly infringed” the earlier song because they show that he was aware that he needed a license but chose to proceed without one. She claims that French even posted comments to Instagram congratulating her and acknowledged her role in “Blue Chills” on an episode of Apple Music’s Rap Life Radio.
In addition to French Montana, the lawsuit also named producer Harry Fraud (real name Rory William Quigley) as a defendant, as well Sony Music Entertainment and several other companies involved in French’s song. Mannis-Gardner was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit and was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Wednesday’s settlement resolves the lawsuit’s allegations against all defendants.
Damon Dash’s one-third stake in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records is going up for auction later this month — but a source tells Billboard that the shares might come with some key limitations.
According to federal court filings this week, the United States Marshals Service will auction off Dash’s 33.3% interest in the storied record company to satisfy an $823,000 judgment against him in a lawsuit filed by movie producer Josh Webber over a failed film partnership.
The auction, set for Aug 29 at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, will have a minimum bid of $1.2 million, and prospective bidders will be required to post a $240,000 deposit for the right to take part in the proceedings.
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The sale will be for Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Inc., an entity whose primary assets are the rights to Jay-Z’s iconic debut album Reasonable Doubt. According to an April article by Rolling Stone, the rest of the catalog of music released by Roc-A-Fella, which dissolved as an operational label in 2013, is owned by other entities and isn’t involved.
The owners of the other two-thirds of Roc-A-Fella — label cofounders Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kareem “Biggs” Burke — have already attempted to stop the auction, including making changes to the company’s bylaws and intervening in the lawsuit. But a federal judge rejected such opposition in February.
The chance to own a valuable piece of rap IP will surely draw bidders, but a source with knowledge of the situation tells Billboard that there are important limitations to what is being auctioned off — namely, that they are buying a stake in a company with other members.
“Whomever buys Dame’s stake in Roc-A-Fella will be a minority owner without authority over any decision-making,” the source tells Billboard. “They won’t have the ability to sell the copyright or borrow against the master as all decisions require majority vote.”
The source also cautioned that the clock was ticking on Roc-A-Fella’s rights to Reasonable Doubt: “There’s also an expiration date on the master ownership for the company, which means revenue and the only asset doesn’t have many years left.”
The auction will be coordinated by Webber’s attorney, Chris Brown. He did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.
Webber won his judgment back in 2022 after suing Dash for copyright infringement and defamation over their failed partnership on producing a film called Dear Frank. But Dash has yet to hand over the money, hence the court-ordered auction.
The filmmaker isn’t the only one seeking the money from Dash’s Roc-A-Fella stake. The New York City Department of Social Services (NYCDSS) will actually have first dibs, according to court documents, since Dash owes a total of $145,096 in unpaid child support to a woman named Rachel Roy for his two daughters and to a woman named Cindy Morales for his son.
Brown is also seeking to collect another $155,000 that Dash owes to him and another client, photographer Monique Bunn, from separate legal actions. But they’ve agreed that NYCDSS and Webber deserve to recoup their debts from Dash first.
If any money from the auction is left over, it will go to Dash himself. His attorney did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
Back in 2021, attorneys for Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella sued Dash after news broke that he was planning to auction off a stake in Reasonable Doubt as a non-fungible token (NFT). They argued that the company, not Dash himself, owned the rights to the album: “The bottom line is simple: Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own.” A year later, Dash signed a settlement in which he agreed that he had no right to sell any part of Jay-Z’s album — as an NFT or otherwise.
Last year, attorneys for Jay-Z, Biggs and Roc-A-Fella mounted a concerted effort to stop the court-ordered sale of Dash’s stake in the company. After jumping into Webber’s lawsuit, they told a federal judge that the auction would violate company bylaws, which they had amended in 2021 to prohibit such a sale.
But in February, the judge overseeing the case said the updated Roc-A-Fella bylaws had been enacted without Dash’s input and were unenforceable. Instead, he offered an alternative route for Jay-Z and Biggs that would still “readily address their concern” with the sale: “They can participate in the auction and place the winning bid.”
As the 2024 presidential election heats up ahead of Nov. 5, Sony Music is throwing its hat in the ring with a campaign to increase voter turnout. Called Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote, the non-partisan initiative is meant to educate artists, songwriters, industry professionals and communities across the country about voter registration. Its website […]
Believe turned in strong double-digit revenue growth in the first half of 2024, helped by its 2023 acquisition of Sentric Music Group but hobbled slightly by weak ad-supported streaming revenues. Revenue grew 14.1% to 474.1 million euros ($512.7) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortization (EBITDA) improved 29.3% to 31.3 million euros ($33.8 million), the company announced Thursday (Aug. 1).
“Despite persistent market headwinds in some of our key territories, Believe continued to generate solid profitable growth during the semester,” CEO Denis Ladegaillerie said in a statement. “We pursued our strategic roadmap to build the best artist development company in the music industry, while finalizing the restructuring of our capital structure providing us with greater financial flexibility and partners who can accelerate our profitable growth story.”
The Paris-based company lowered its expectations for full-year revenue, however. Because Believe will lose the year-over-year growth benefits of streaming price increases and is “cautious” about ad-supported streaming, the company lowered its guidance for organic revenue growth to 12% from 18%. That said, it increased its guidance for full-year adjusted EBITDA margin to greater than 6.5% from the previous 6.5% figure.
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Thursday’s earnings release was Believe’s first since a consortium including Ladegaillerie acquired nearly all of the company’s shares through a tender offer that ended June 21. The consortium, which includes funds managed by TCV and EQT X, now owns 96.02% of share capital and 94.87% of voting rights. Believe continues to have a small number of minority shareholders and its stock still trades on the Euronext Paris exchange, but due to the small float, the company will release only mid-year and full-year earnings results and no longer release quarterly results.
First-half revenue grew 17.9% to 78.4 million euros ($84.8 million) in France, Believe’s home and largest market, where it claimed to have 40% of the top local singles and 30% of the top local albums during the period. Revenue dropped 1.2% to 53.5 million euros ($57.9 million) in Germany, its second-largest market. In Europe excluding France and Germany, revenue jumped 24.7% to 121.9 million euros ($131.8 million).
The Americas grew 21.8% to 73.9 million euros ($79.9 million), helped in the second quarter by the reallocation of most of Sentric Music Group’s revenues to the U.S. Believe acquired Sentric, a Liverpool-based music publishing company, in 2023 from Utopia Music. Asia/Oceana/Africa grew just 3.7% to 116.3 million euros ($125.8 million); while revenue was “slightly up” in India, it fell in some Southeast Asian markets that are heavily based on ad-supported streaming.
Believe’s Premium Solutions division, which includes its publishing, label and artist services businesses, grew revenue 13.5% to 440.9 million euros ($476.8 million) in the first half of the year. Most of that improvement came from organic growth, while Sentric accounted for 2.3 percentage points of growth. Revenue at the Automated Solutions segment, which includes digital distributor TuneCore, increased 23.4% to 33.2 million euros ($35.9 million).
In the wake of his major move to the new title of Atlantic Music Group CEO, 10K Projects founder/CEO Elliot Grainge sent a note to the staff of the label that he founded, which was obtained by Billboard, saying that “we don’t expect any changes to take place at 10K” and that the shift represents “business as usual.”
Earlier today (Aug. 1), the Warner Music Group announced a major executive shakeup, which will see CEO of Recorded Music Max Lousada exit the company at the end of September and Grainge move into the CEO role of Atlantic Music Group, with longtime leaders Julie Greenwald moving to chairman and Craig Kallman remaining CEO of Atlantic Records. As part of the shift, 10K — which had operated as a standalone label since Grainge brought it to WMG last September — will become part of Atlantic Music Group, alongside 300 Elektra Entertainment.
“This new structure will give the 10K team and artists more visibility, more global exposure, and bigger opportunities across the Atlantic and WMG network,” Grainge wrote, adding that he’d continue to work alongside 10K co-presidents Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo “to create opportunities for our amazing roster of artists.”
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Grainge, the son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, founded 10K as an independent company in 2016, and saw success with artists such as XXXTentacion, Trippie Red, Ice Spice and Surfaces, among a slew of others. Originally affiliated with the Capitol Music Group, 10K moved to Warner in September, and Grainge joined WMG’s global leadership team. He’ll now helm one of the most historic and decorated label groups in recorded music history.
Read Grainge’s full letter below.
Dear 10K Family,
This good news is confidential until the official announcement which will be issued shortly, but I wanted all of you to hear it from me first. I wanted to let you know that I have accepted the extraordinary opportunity to become CEO of Atlantic Music Group. As part of this change, in the coming weeks, 10K will officially join Atlantic Music Group, alongside Atlantic Records and 300 Elektra Entertainment. I am so happy that this new role allows me to continue to be able to work with Zach, Tony and all of you to create opportunities for our amazing roster of artists. This new structure will give the 10K team and artists more visibility, more global exposure, and bigger opportunities across the Atlantic and WMG network. We don’t expect any changes to take place at 10K. It’s business as usual moving forward, so I’m counting on your focus and dedication more than ever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done to make 10K Projects the incredible place it is today and for the future. I’m looking forward to our next chapter together.
Sincerely, Elliot
The Warner Music Group is undergoing a major executive restructuring that will see CEO of Recorded Music Max Lousada step down at the end of September, the company announced today (Aug. 1). Lousada, who has run the recorded music operation of the major label for eight years, will remain an advisor until January 31, the company said; Lousada’s role will cease to exist moving forward, as will the role of president of international.
As part of the transition, longtime co-leader of Atlantic Records and Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Julie Greenwald will now take on the role of chairman of Atlantic Music Group, reporting directly to WMG CEO Robert Kyncl. Meanwhile, 10k Projects founder Eliot Grainge will ascend to the role of CEO of Atlantic Music Group effective October 1, also reporting to Kyncl.
The change will see 10K shift under the Atlantic Music Group umbrella, alongside Atlantic Records, Elektra and 300. Meanwhile, Warner Records — led by co-chair/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and co-chairCOO Tom Corson — will oversee Warner Music Nashville, in addition to Nonesuch and Reprise.
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“On behalf of everyone at WMG, I’d like to thank Max for his extraordinary achievements over the last 20 years,” Kyncl said in a statement. “Max is a true artists’ champion, who created a culture that puts artistry first, growing our global reach and building a roster of incredible talent and an outstanding team. I’m grateful that he’ll be helping to ensure a smooth transition.”
“Over the past two decades, we created something special together at Warner: a music company built for artists, where original voices are championed, where their creativity is honored and protected, and where superstar careers are ignited,” Lousada said in a statement. “I’m proud to have grown a world-class team who share that vision and whose enterprise and energy have brought in new labels, rebuilt iconic brands, expanded our global network, and pioneered new fan experiences. The music business has always been about evolution, and the time has come for me to build something new. I’ll be helping the team through this transition, and I have no doubt they’ll continue to develop artists who move the world.”
This is a developing story.