Record Labels
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Warner Music Japan has appointed Dr. Kenji Kitatani to the resurrected role of chairman of the label division, effective immediately. Dr. Kitatani will work closely with WMJ’s longtime president and CEO, Kazuyuki “Kaz” Kobayashi, to boost the company’s presence in the globe’s No. 2 music market. Dr. Kitatani currently holds the title of chairman of […]
BMG has appointed Celine Joshua to the newly created role of executive vice president of global marketing, putting the industry veteran in charge of the company’s marketing strategy and operations across its 20 offices worldwide. The Los Angeles-based leader reports directly to BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld, who late last year unveiled a “local where necessary, global where possible” strategy that shifted much of its recorded music division into global roles.
“These recent changes further enhance our ability to deliver top-tier service to our artists and songwriters on a global scale, and we’re excited to have Celine at the helm of our marketing team,” Coesfeld said in announcing Joshua’s hiring. “Her sharp digital acumen and artistic instincts will be invaluable in identifying innovative commercial opportunities for our artists, songwriters and music catalog.”
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Joshua started her career as a music-tech futurist — her first industry job was in Warner Music’s IT department before shifting to e-commerce roles in the company’s catalog division, Rhino Entertainment. From there, she was a top digital executive at Disney Music, where she worked across Hollywood Records and Walt Disney Records, and then on to Sony Music, where she was senior vp of digital for nearly five years.
In 2018, Joshua joined Universal Music Group as GM of commercial content and artist strategy and quickly formed her own Web3-focused label — called 10:22PM because that’s when she thought of it one night. The joint venture, touted as the first Web3-based imprint at a major label, was tasked with signing and developing not just recording artists, but also social media influencers and digital creators with a focus on “advancing new forms of storytelling.” 10:22PM arguably made its biggest splash by creating KINGSHIP, a first-of-its-kind virtual act made up of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT characters.
During a five-year tenure at UMG, where she rose to evp of commercial innovation and artist strategy, Joshua also worked on projects with a diverse slate of major artists including Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Snoop Dogg, Elton John and others.
Joshua is a repeat–honoree in Billboard’s annual list of high-achieving women and she cracked the top 40 of the Power 100 in 2019.
“I’m honored to join BMG at such a pivotal time in the music industry and to work across BMG’s artist roster to create exciting ways for them to connect with fans around the world,” said Josua. “I’m thankful to Thomas for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to working with the BMG team.”
Anyone who has bought a vinyl record or a CD in recent years knows full well that physical music products aren’t exempt from the inflation that has plagued U.S. consumers.
In fact, the price of a vinyl record in the U.S. rose 25.5% from 2017 to 2023, according to Billboard’s analysis of RIAA data — slightly more than the 24.3% increase in the consumer price index over the same time. CD prices fared a bit better, increasing just 20.4%.
However, while music subscription prices are rising, consumers can probably expect physical music prices to remain somewhat level going forward: Insiders who spoke with Billboard say vinyl prices are remaining steady in 2024 after the COVID-19 pandemic created supply chain problems and raised the costs of everything from raw materials to labor.
As one music distribution executive put it, those supply chain problems are “flattening out.” As a result, turnaround times have improved drastically as manufacturers worked through their pandemic-era order backlogs. “I feel like the prices will flatten, too,” says the executive.
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“Our manufacturing prices have been stable for quite a while,” says Bill Hein, CEO of Pressing Business. Freight costs can be improved if a buyer books with flexible dates, Hein says, and reliable sea freight is being used for more of its U.S. deliveries. “Generally speaking, both air and sea freight are more predictable now than they were during the lockdown era, and prices are generally better.”
Outside of the music business, rising prices on everyday necessities have been a fact of life. Tired of the inflation that has eaten into their paychecks, Americans are pushing back against the high cost of staples, and companies are responding with attempts to reduce prices.
In July, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta suggested consumers had grown tired of more than two years of rising prices. “Some parts of the [Frito-Lay] portfolio need value adjustment,” he said during a July 11 earnings call. Overall sales volume was down 4% in its most recent quarter, and North American beverage sales for the company dipped 3%. PepsiCo will respond, Laguarta said, by offering better deals and increasing advertising. For some consumers, Laguarta added, “we need some new entry price points.”
Companies across the economy are sharing PepsiCo’s experience with price-fatigued shoppers. Walmart is offering more short-term discounts. Target lowered prices. Fast food giants McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Taco Bell are courting customers through low-cost bundles and value-oriented menus. And because it’s an election year, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has floated a federal ban on price gouging in the grocery and food industries.
Since vinyl prices are based heavily on manufacturing costs, there’s little to prevent prices from creeping up without sellers losing profits. Vinyl retailers set prices based on wholesale costs and their need to cover overhead and other expenses. Artists on record labels must pay the wholesale price for their physical goods and don’t have control over pressing and printing costs, says Paul Steele, executive partner at Triple 8 Management. “Physical prices for our roster of nearly 30 artists have mostly stayed the same for a decade, with small inflationary increases here or there,” he says.
But aside from run-of-the-mill inflation, there are other factors that could push the average sale price higher. Physical music is increasingly a luxury good — a high-priced collectible item with packaging to match. Artists frequently release multiple variants of LPs with colored vinyl. And albums released today commonly have the expensive gatefold packaging that was common in the ‘70s.
The way music is released in the streaming era also drives up prices. Artists take advantage of the unlimited shelf space on streaming platforms by stuffing albums with more songs at no extra cost. As Billboard noted last year, the top 10 albums’ average number of songs rose from 13.2 in 2014 to 19.1 in 2022. A double album on a vinyl record is more expensive, and as one executive notes, putting more songs on an album will often — but not always — require paying more mechanical royalties to songwriters and publishers.
Indeed, some of the most popular vinyl records of the moment are double- or triple-LPs. Post Malone’s 18-track, two-LP album F-1 Trillion sells for $45.89 at Amazon and more at other retailers. Zach Bryan’s 34-track American Heartbreak has three LPs and a $44.98 list price. And that’s not to mention the more extravagant reissues, such as a 2-LP/2-CD/1-Blu-ray package for Van Halen’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge that carries a $99.98 list price.
Despite the increase in vinyl prices over the last several years, sales have yet to abate. Will that continue? The answer to that question will likely lie with younger consumers who have less disposable income. Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, says vinyl being a premium, collectible product is toughest on younger consumers. While Record Store Day succeeded in helping turn a new generation on to vinyl records, younger people don’t have as much money and are cutting back on their purchases. “A young customer 18 months ago would come to the counter with two or three records,” says Kurtz. “Now they come to the counter with one or maybe two.”
Catalog titles are often the more affordable option and help offset frontline price creep. Michael Jackson’s Thriller can be had for under $25. Fleetwood Mac’s perennial top-seller Rumours is offered in both affordable and more deluxe versions. Rhino Records’ Now Playing series of compilations for artists ranging from The Stooges to Gram Parsons to John Prine are priced at $19.99.
The good news — for all consumers — is that price growth is reverting to historical norms. The average monthly U.S. inflation rate reached 4.7% in 2021, 8.0% in 2022 and 4.1% in 2023. This year, the average monthly increase in the consumer price index (CPI) is just 3.2% through July. If vinyl prices seem like they’re continuing to creep upward, the packaging and the increasing prevalence of the double album are likely to blame.
08/19/2024
Tracing the rapid ascent of the 30-year-old record executive (and son of UMG’s Lucian Grainge), from his early entrepreneurial ventures to his industry-shaking new role.
08/19/2024
Roc Nation and its music distribution wing, Equity Distribution, have merged to form Roc Nation Distribution, sources tell Billboard. As part of this new formation, all artists currently signed to Roc Nation the label will be under ROC Nation Distribution.
Sources add that ROC Nation Distribution will continue to sign artists and offer myriad services similar to those provided by Equity Distribution. Established in 2019, Equity Distribution works with independent artists who wish to retain ownership of their masters. Under the leadership of president Krystian Santini, Equity offers a range of services including in-house marketing and publishing administration. Notably, they have worked with independent artists like Mach-Hommy and Tinashe and brought Jay-Z‘s 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, to streaming services in 2019.
As part of the move, Shari Bryant, co-president of Roc Nation’s record label, has stepped down from her post. Bryant became co-president alongside Omar Grant in 2019 after former label president Benny Pough departed. Bryant and Grant signed new acts to the label during their tenure, including Maeta, Ambre, Reuben Vincent and Kalan FrFr.
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Roc Nation was originally founded in 2008 as a joint venture with Live Nation to cover Jay-Z’s touring and future recordings; the company signed its first artist, J. Cole, the following year. Since then, Roc has expanded into a full-service entertainment company, with management, sports, publishing and distribution divisions, as well as a long-running festival, Made In America; the company also has a deal with the NFL to oversee the programming for its Super Bowl Halftime Show and its social justice initiatives. Over the years, the label released several chart-topping albums from Jay-Z, J. Cole, Rihanna and a slew of others; the roster had more recently included artists such as Rapsody, Vic Mensa, Belly, Snoh Aalegra, and Jaden and Willow Smith.
In March, Maeta landed her first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Adult R&B Airplay chart with the success of “Through the Night” featuring Free Nationals. Grammy-nominated MC Rapsody released her new album, Please Don’t Cry, through Roc Nation and Jamla Records in May with features from Erykah Badu and Lil Wayne.
Roc Nation Management remains formidable, boasting names such as Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Uzi Vert. In June, Megan released her eponymous album, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200; it featured her Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Hiss.” Tinashe, also managed by Roc, regained momentum this year when she notched a hit with “Nasty,” her first Hot 100 entry as a lead artist since 2014’s “2 On.” The management division also reps DJ Khaled, J Balvin, Yo Gotti, Robin Thicke, Mustard, Christina Aguilera and more, according to its website.
For most of the last decade, three labels have dominated the U.S. recorded music business: Universal Music Group’s Republic and Interscope, and Warner Music Group’s Atlantic. So on Aug. 1, when Warner announced that as part of a management shakeup it had appointed Elliot Grainge as CEO of Atlantic Music Group, the move came as a surprise. Co-chairmen Julie Greenwald and Craig Kallman had led Atlantic for two decades, through the hardest years of the music business, to become two of the most respected executives in the industry. Now, after two years of declining market share, leadership will pass to a 30-year-old executive who comes from outside the major label system.
Within a week, Greenwald, who had been elevated to chairman of Atlantic Music Group, announced that she plans to leave at the end of January. (Kallman, one of the all-time A&R greats, will stay on as CEO of Atlantic Records, under Grainge.) And the entire business seems to be wondering, What does this mean? It’s a big gamble for WMG CEO Robert Kyncl. Grainge, the son of UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, has an impressive track record of success on a smaller scale, but not much on the kind of scale major labels usually operate. What’s going on?
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The obvious answer is that this is the acceleration of a youthquake in the music business. Streaming payouts are determined disproportionately by younger listeners who spend more time online. The industry’s top executives aren’t getting any younger, and the music business has never been much for succession planning.
One industry executive I spoke with asked sarcastically if I thought Grainge was familiar with Ruth Brown, the R&B icon who had so many hits in the 1950s that Atlantic was nicknamed “the house that Ruth built,” in a nod to Yankee Stadium. I have no idea, but I also know that most young listeners don’t, so, as much as it pains me to say this, maybe that doesn’t matter so much. Greenwald is now regarded as an industry leader, but she wasn’t so much older than Grainge is now when she became president of Island Records in 2002.
Grainge does seem to have a skill for identifying artists who are building an audience online and putting resources behind them in a smart way. Is his 10K Projects, which became part of WMG last year, a model for the label of the future? He hasn’t built the careers of any household-name superstars, which has been the traditional strength of the majors, though some of the acts he signed, like Ice Spice, are still on the rise.
As recently as two years ago, the trend lines seemed clear: Hip-hop was conquering the world, not only growing but also shaping emergent genres from Latin urbano to Afrobeats. Now it’s a bit harder to make sense of what’s working. Pop is getting bigger, but so is country. Latin is growing faster than ever, but tastes are changing there, too. And fans are more fickle than ever. Katy Perry’s comeback is faltering. The new album from Dua Lipa, which seemed like a sure thing, has had a slow start. Are listeners just hungry for new artists? Maybe. But Sabrina Carpenter released her first album before Dua did. Only Taylor Swift endures. As for everyone else, all we are is dust in the wind.
Amid this uncertainty, it’s tempting to think that someone must have the answers — especially if that person is young. Sure, the feeling goes, I don’t understand what’s happening, but I bet that guy does. And maybe he does! Grainge built a successful company by focusing on finding, developing and marketing talent in the digital world. The major labels have generally made bigger bets that paid off, or didn’t, in a bigger way. That’s harder to do now — there are fewer real superstars partly because there are fewer real paths to superstardom.
It may be more important than ever, though. Hit albums remain popular longer than ever, boosting the success of previous music by the same artist. Of the top 10 albums of the first half of 2024, Morgan Wallen had two of them, one each from 2021 and 2023; Zach Bryan’s 2023 album was the 8th biggest of the first half of 2024, so he could well have two of the biggest releases this year. (That top 10 list for the first half of 2024 has only seven artists.)
That’s the kind of success Grainge needs to bring to Atlantic, whether it comes from new acts or old ones, big bets or small ones the label doubles down on, or some combination of the two. All of the questions this raises about the future of the music business — What does this mean? What’s going on? — will be answered, at least to some extent, by how he does at that.
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
Logan Mock
“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.”
An absence of major artist activities caused revenue at K-pop company JYP Entertainment to fall 36.9% to 95.7 billion won ($69.8 million) from the same period a year ago, the company announced Tuesday (Aug. 13). Although JYP saw gains from global streaming, album sales declined 82% to 13.6 billion won ($9.9 million), and albums’ share […]
Lots of changes are happening for FIFTY FIFTY. Three former members of the K-pop girl group — Saena, Aran and Sio — have reportedly signed with a new label after their fallout with the group’s agency ATTRAKT. Meanwhile, ATTRAKT has announced the addition of four new FIFTY FIFTY members. On Monday (Aug. 12), IOK Company […]
UMG Nashville has teamed with producer/artist/songwriter Timbaland‘s indie label Mosley Music, with the two companies set to explore rising talent and new music discoveries.
“Over the past year, we have been working with Timbaland on the shared goal of developing great artists together as well as bridging the gaps in sound and culture in country music,” says UMGN chair & CEO, Cindy Mabe, via a statement. “I am so happy to finally announce our collaboration with Mosley Music on the heels of his prestigious induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Timbaland is one of the most iconic producers, songwriters, and artists in the last 30 years, merging genres and opening the doors to magnify cultural impact across genres. Hailing from Norfolk, VA, Timbaland’s reach and impact have been felt across pop, hip-hop, and country music including working with and bridging sounds for artists like Bubba Sparxxx, For King + Country, and Brad Paisley. Timbaland continues to push open the doors making innovative cultural impact by pushing boundaries and I am excited to join forces in breaking barriers in country music.”
Timbaland added via a statement, “I’ve been aligned with Universal Music Group the majority of my career as an artist and with my label Mosley Music, so UMG Nashville felt like the right place to partner for us in Country. I love their mission of taking chances on special artists to meet culture. Cindy, Chelsea, Charlene, Rob, Lori, Mike, and the rest of the team at UMG Nashville understand our vision and I know will be a great partner for us to continue to break artists.”
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UMG Nashville consists of imprints Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville, with artists including Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Mickey Guyton, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and more. The label group has recently added to its offerings, launching the TV/film production company Sing Me Back Home Productions, Silver Wings Records, and the comedy division Capitol Comedy Nashville.
Mosley Music Group’s roster includes Timbaland, One Republic, and Carson Lueder. In 2017, Paisley worked with creatives including Timbaland on his album Love and War. In 2001, Bubba Sparxxx and Timbaland earned a No. 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Ugly.”