Robert Kyncl
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Brooke Primont was promoted to executive vp of global sync at Concord Music Publishing, where she will lead the company’s 17-person synch team worldwide, the company tells Billboard.
Based in New York City, Primont will lead all of Concord’s publishing synch operations, managing teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia — along with the company’s global sub publisher network — while creating synergies across the Concord catalog. She will report to chief publishing officer Jim Selby.
Primont joined Concord more than five years ago as head of the North American publishing synch department. Recent achievements by her team include a Super Bowl ad for UberEats featuring Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”; Ericdoa’s “ >one (greater than one)” for the Valorant video game series; Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” in the trailer for Air; and The Polyphonic Spree‘s “Hold Me Now” in the trailer for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“I am excited to expand my role by bringing together Concord’s sync teams around the world, allowing us to broaden the scope and diversify the opportunities that we can offer our songwriters and composers,” said Primont in a statement. “The global Concord Music Publishing sync team is truly something special, we have developed unparalleled relationships across the entertainment industry, and it doesn’t hurt that our catalog is full of some of the best songs ever written.”
Selby added, “Brooke has already taken our sync division to new heights. I know that this new role will further expand her capabilities, bringing more opportunities to more of our writers and enriching our catalogue.”
Over her 25 years in music publishing, Primont has served in roles at BMI, Cherry Lane Music Publishing and Razor & Tie. She currently serves on the executive boards for the AIMP New York chapter and Kid Pan Alley.
The Paley Center for Media announced that Combs Global and REVOLT chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joined the entertainment industry nonprofit’s board of trustees alongside LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Alibaba Group co-founder/executive vice chairman Joseph C. Tsai. Additionally, FOX Entertainment CEO Rob Wade joined the Paley Los Angeles board of governors. According to a press release, the organization’s board of trustees “offers guidance in support of the organization’s mission to lead the conversation around today’s rapidly evolving media landscape and provides critical input on strategy and operations, including public programs and exhibits, educational classes, workshops, and industry events hosted by the Paley Media Council.”
Recently formed multimedia platform gamma., founded by Larry Jackson, is expanding operations into Africa and the Middle East and has named Sipho Dlamani as president of Africa & Middle East and Naomi Campbell as special advisor of Africa & Middle East. The Africa operation will be based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Middle East operation will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dlamini most recently served as CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa; Campbell, an internationally recognized supermodel and UN Commonwealth Ambassador, is the founder of Fashion For Relief and The Emerge Initiative, among other endeavors. In its debut in the region last Friday, gamma. exclusively distributed and marketed Rema‘s album, Rave & Roses (Ultra) in African territories.
AWAL announced the appointment of its U.K. executive leadership team, including Matt Riley as managing director; and Victoria Needs and Sam Potts as senior vps. Riley will expand his current oversight as the company’s head of A&R, working with AWAL president Paul Hitchman and CEO Lonny Olinick to sign new artists and develop the company’s roster. Needs will add the U.K. market to her existing international marketing duties for AWAL, while Potts will continue working with the executive leadership team to maximize audience development and growth strategies for AWAL artists across traditional and digital media.
Also at AWAL, Cami Operé was named vp/head of publicity. She joins the company from Sacks & Co., where she was vp of publicity and led public relations efforts for artists including Lizzy McAlpine, Jungle and Bruno Major. She can be reached at cami.opere@awal.com.
Sara Knabe was named senior vp of A&R at Big Loud, where she will work with both the Big Loud Records and Big Loud Publishing A&R teams. Knabe joins following a year spent founding and developing Cake Maker Music, her own music publishing, artist development and A&R consulting company; she previously served in roles at BBR Music Group and BMG, among others. Knabe can be reached at saraknabe@bigloud.com.
Steve Ziff was named chief business officer at Loud And Live, where he will oversee the company’s marketing services and enterprise-wide business development efforts, offering strategic guidance to grow the company’s portfolio. He joins the company from Thrill One Sports, where he served as chief marketing officer/chief communications officer. Ziff can be reached at sziff@loudlive.com.
Second Estate Records, a new label founded by A&R veteran and entrepreneur Mel Carter, appointed Katie Kay as general manager and Adise Bellille as president. Together, Kay and Bellille will oversee forthcoming releases from 2Rare and more acts in partnership with Warner Records, with which Second Estate has a joint venture. Kay most recently served as vp of marketing at Cinematic Music Group, while Bellille is an entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur who founded New York-based nightlife hub Carefree Nation, among other endeavors. Kay can be reached at Katie@secondestaterecords.com and Bellille can be reached at Adise@secondestaterecords.com.
Suzi Ibbotson was named director of communications at PPL; she joins from Unilever Global, where she held the same role. She will report to CEO Peter Leathem and join the company’s executive management team. Ibbotson can be reached at suzi.ibbotson@ppluk.com.
The board of Hipgnosis announced that Vania Schlogel stepped down as a director, effective April 30, to focus on her firm, Atwater Capital. “Vania is an exceptional executive and her experience in every aspect of investment and music has been invaluable in making Hipgnosis the market leader,” said Hipgnosis Songs Fund CEO/founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement. “We appreciate her terrific contributions to Hipgnosis Songs Fund during her time on the Board and wish her every success in the future.”
Independent publishing company peermusic announced three promotions in its Canada office as well as its neighboring rights division, including Neville Quinlan to managing director of publishing & neighbouring rights, Canada; Cheryl Link to general manager of peermusic’s Toronto publishing operations; and Rachael Clark to head of administration at peermusic Canada. Quinlan can be reached at nquinlan@peermusic.com, Link can be reached at clink@peermusic.com and Clark can be reached at rclark@peermusic.com.
The U.K. office of independent record company Because Music and London Records has announced several senior appointments. They include Rhian Emanuel, promoted to managing director at Because Music UK; Laura Kelly, promoted to managing director at London Records; Ed Pearson, promoted to senior vp of marketing, dance & electronic at Because Music UK; and Junior Foster, hired as digital marketing & strategy manager at London Records, which he joins from Deezer.
Brian Celler was named senior vp of content and programming, Europe at ASM Global. He will be responsible for the company’s music, entertainment and sports content throughout its European and U.K. portfolio. The 25-year veteran has previously held roles at Q Prime, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Principle Management. Celler can be reached at Brian.Celler@eu.asmglobal.com.
Ashley Gorley‘s publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music, promoted all three members of its team. Blain Rhodes was named president, Kelly Bolton was named senior vp of A&R and Caroline Hodson was named manager of A&R.
Holly Schomann was promoted to senior director of program & project management at TuneCore, where she will now oversee a team of project managers to ensure proper execution of software development processes and internal reporting.
Todd Bonder joined Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt‘s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice. Bonder focuses on intellectual property and general civil litigation, emphasizing entertainment, new media, trademark, copyright, rights of publicity and privacy and publishing matters, as well as unfair competition, trust, probate, contract, real estate and construction disputes. He can be reached at tbonder@reitlerlaw.com.
Veteran agent Stefanie Purificati joined The Feldman Agency in Canada, where she brings clients including Digging Roots, Aysanabee, iskwē and Tynomi Banks to the roster. She will be based out of the company’s Toronto office and can be reached at purificati@feldman-agency.com.
Found Objects, the music and sound collective founded by film/TV composers Jay Wadley and Trevor Gureckis, promoted Katt Matt to executive producer and Nick Chomowicz to senior producer. The collective specializes in sound design and music supervision for film, TV and brands.
Sue Ann Cordell joined Reliant Talent Agency, where she will be responsible for human resources, office administration and executive assistance. She has held roles at companies including WME and is also the owner of life coaching and event-speaking company Shineworthy Lifestyles, among other ventures. Cordell can be reached at sacordell@relianttalent.com.
Maria Eiliert was named account executive at Shore Fire Media out of its Nashville office, elevated from junior account executive. She joined the firm after graduating from Belmont University with a music business degree in November 2020.
Rachel Brittain joined The Neal Agency as a commercial and brand partnerships agent. She joins from FlyteVu, where she served as an account manager and was part of the talent team, connecting artists to brands. She can be reached at Rachel@TheNealAgency.net.
Labelcoin, a blockchain-based song exchange and investment marketplace “striving to end artist poverty with fan-supported investment in artists’ songs,” according to a press release, launched a business advisory council that so far includes Mark Dvornik, former head of U.S. distribution at Paramount Pictures; Hummingbird Productions founder/president Bob Farnsworth; G2G Enterprises founder/CEO Lee Guzofski; and MRSV Media CEO Loren Johnson.
New Warner Music Group (WMG) CEO Robert Kyncl didn’t take much time to make an imprint on the company. On Wednesday (March 29), fewer than three months into Kyncl’s tenure, WMG announced it would lay off 270 employees, or 4% of its workforce.
The layoffs will save the company $22 million in fiscal year 2023 ending Sept. 30, 2023, and “$50 million on an annualized run-rate basis in fiscal year 2024,” according to an SEC filing released Wednesday. That’s equal to 4.2% of WMG’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2022.
Like many other companies, WMG is becoming more mindful of its resources as the music industry tries to extend an eight-year growth spurt. Prior to announcing the layoffs, WMG said a “financial transformation program,” to roll out in fiscal 2024, is expected to produce annual savings of “$35 million to $40 million once fully implemented,” CFO Eric Levin said on the company’s Feb. 9 earnings call. Universal Music Group’s Motown Records announced layoffs in February as the label was reintegrated under Capitol Music Group. Downtown Music Holdings, Spotify and SoundCloud have also reduced their headcounts in recent months.
WMG had “to make some hard choices in order to evolve” and position the company for “long-term success,” Kyncl wrote in a memo to employees. The cuts were thoughtful and purposeful, he added, not a “blanket cost-cutting exercise.” The layoffs “should be substantially completed by the end of the next fiscal quarter” ending June 30 and will result in cash expenditures of about $46 million by the end of fiscal 2024, according to the filing.
News of WMG’s layoffs didn’t sway investors, however. WMG’s share price rose just 0.6% to $32.63 on Wednesday despite the restructuring’s ability to improve its bottom line. Year-to-date, WMG’s share price has fallen 6.8% while overall stocks have broadly rebounded from a dismal 2022. The S&P 500 is up 4.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite is up 13.9%. The New York Stock Exchange composite is down 0.4%.
While WMG will reduce headcount in some areas, the company is also building for the future — with an eye on tech. Kyncl, who quickly hired ex-YouTube executive Ariel Bardin for the newly created role of president of technology, said in his memo that WMG would be “reallocating resources towards new skills for artist and songwriter development and new tech initiatives.”
WMG expects to expand its gross margin by 50 to 100 basis points — equal to one-half to one percentage point — in fiscal year 2023. Aside from cost cuts, the nature of the changing music business helps the bottom line. WMG’s margins improve as it sells less of “margin-declining” physical product and “high-margin growing” digital business accounts for a larger share of its total revenue, Levin said at the Deutsche Bank 31st Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on Feb. 28.
“We still see solid margin growth in 2023” despite declining ad-supported streaming revenues, Levin added. “When we see ad-supported start to stabilize and hopefully rebound and grow, it may create an environment for very favorable margins.”
Newly minted Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl and his wife, psychotherapist Luz Avila Kyncl, have signed on for another five years of scholarship support for select computer science and engineering students at their alma mater, SUNY New Paltz.
The five-year-old Robert Kyncl ’95 and Luz Avila Kyncl ’96 Computer Science & Engineering Scholarship Fund is designed to benefit underrepresented students, especially women and minorities, seeking careers in STEM. Each year, at least six new transfer students or current Hawks will be selected for the scholarship, which offsets tuition costs.
The success of the scholarship has led to the creation of a group of alumni called the Kyncl Scholars.
“State education provided us with great opportunities, both professionally and personally, and we want to help more students access those same benefits,” said the Kyncls in a joint statement. “In turn, this talented next generation will help drive change and contribute to a more representative workforce in dynamic industries.”
The Kyncls’ most recent gift also supports the Fund for New Paltz and the AMP/CSTEP (AC²) Program Fund, which provides economic support for a number of traditionally underrepresented students who earn degrees in STEM fields and certain other majors such as Psychology.
SUNY New Paltz is a short drive north of New York City in Ulster County. As the name of the scholarship suggests, Robert graduated in 1995 (International Relations) and Luz a year later (Psychology).
“The Kyncls’ generosity in this area sends an important message to prospective and current students that people in leadership positions believe in their ability to succeed,” said Erica Marks, vice president for development & alumni relations and executive director of the SUNY New Paltz Foundation. “The University is continually evolving to remain competitive in offering high-quality computer science and engineering education that prepares students for their future. Each year, a powerful new cohort of Kyncl Scholars will be equipped with the training to be effective and collaborative contributors in the community.”
Robert Kyncl joined WMG on Jan. 1 after a decade as chief business officer at YouTube and seven years as vp of content acquisitions at Netflix. Read his first interview as CEO here. Luz Kyncl is a longtime licensed psychotherapist, and a certified health coach and mindfulness teacher. She is also the author of Liberate Yourself.
New Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl addressed investors for the first time since taking over the company at the top of the year, acknowledging the “tough quarter” for the major label while also laying out a vision for how he sees the music industry’s present and future.
The company posted revenues of $1.48 billion for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2022, down 8% from the same period the year before, which the company noted contained an extra week, skewing comparisons slightly. Growth came from the publishing sector, which saw revenues up 9.2%, or 14.2% in constant currency, while recorded music revenue fell 10.6%, or 5.6% in constant currency, with recorded streaming revenue down an 6.7%, though the company said that streaming revenue was up half a percentage point when adjusted for the extra week, with a lighter release schedule and falling ad-supported streaming revenue the causes.
That led to Kyncl’s acknowledgement that WMG had a tough quarter, noting that, “like most companies, WMG has been dealing with macroeconomic headwinds and the impact of currency exchange rates.” He added that WMG’s release schedule for this year is weighted toward the second half of the year, with releases from Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, David Guetta, Aya Nakamura and Bebe Rexha on the horizon.
Kyncl then spoke about both his decision to join Warner after 12 years at YouTube and seven at Netflix, as well as his vision for growth for the music industry and the effects of artificial intelligence and TikTok on how that future will look, both creatively and monetarily.
“This industry has achieved something rare: It’s built mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with many of the world’s biggest companies — Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Spotify and Tencent among them,” he said. “As successful as music has become, there’s still meaningful upside ahead for three reasons. One, as technology opens up emerging economies, the industry’s addressable market will continue to expand even further. Two, innovation is constantly creating new use cases for music, giving us the opportunity to diversify our revenue sources. Three, music is still undervalued, especially when compared to other forms of entertainment, like video.”
On the last point, Kyncl pointed out that Netflix’s subscription price has roughly doubled since 2011, the year that Spotify debuted in the U.S., while the price of a music subscription has remained largely flat, even though music subscriptions contain access to a wide swath of the world’s available music, whereas video streamers — of which nearly 80% of U.S. households subscribe to three — are segmented.
He also spoke about his vision for WMG’s role in that future, noting that he hired two former YouTube employees in his first five weeks — Tim Matusch as executive vp of strategy and operations, and Ariel Bardin as president of technology — which should “tell you something about our priorities” in the future.
“We will continue to invest in new artists and songwriters, our catalog and our global expansion,” he said. “At the same time, we plan to thoughtfully reallocate some resources to accelerate how we use technology and data to empower artists and songwriters, as well as drive greater efficiency in our business.” That, he added later in the Q&A section of the call, will come “with continued focus on financial discipline and cost containment.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean layoffs, however; he noted that WMG “has actually been much more measured in its headcount growth, for instance, over the last few years than others in the industry who are now undergoing significant layoffs,” and had been addressing financial initiatives even before the recent fluctuations in the market. “But again, I’d like to reiterate that I’ll be focusing on reallocating our internal resources in order to invest in technology and drive not only more tools for our creators, but also greater efficiencies for us,” he added.
On the topic of AI — which he called “probably one of the most transformative things that humanity has ever seen” — Kyncl said that the conversation falls into four buckets in how content owners need to work with AI platforms: “One is the use of existing copyrights to train generative AI. The second is sampling of existing copyrights as the basis for new and remixed AI generated content. The use of AI to help and support creativity — so an assistive way to do that. And most importantly, find ways to protect the craft of artists and songwriters from being diluted or replaced by AI-generated content.”
But he also stressed that the conversation is not just about the future of AI, but about how things can be handled today to prepare for that future — namely, that the processes for identifying and tracking copyrighted material on platforms and making sure they are monetized for the copyright owner need to be better in the present to prepare for what is to come. That’s something Kyncl has plenty of experience with from his time with YouTube, whose ContentID system was overseen by new WMG exec Bardin, and something he says Warner will be focusing on under his purview.
Another benefit from his YouTube days, Kyncl says, is his experience being on the other side of the negotiating table from the major labels when it came to developing YouTube as a partner with and contributor to the music industry. During his tenure, Kyncl helped steer the relationship between YouTube and the labels from one of animosity to one of mutual benefit, which he stressed came from a collaborative approach — one he intends to bring to Warner in its approach to its relationship with TikTok, which is currently in a similar situation to the YouTube of old, in terms of being under fire from the music business for its perceived low payouts and under-valuation of music on its platform. Kyncl described how YouTube’s position changed in answering a question about whether the labels will push for changes with its relationship with TikTok.
“At YouTube, we looked at this problem very closely, and we decided that music was very important to us, and that’s why we did it,” he said, referencing YouTube’s push into subscription streaming, tools like Shorts and improvements to ContentID, among other initiatives. “TikTok needs to do that. It’s the right decision for them to evaluate. And you can see from YouTube’s execution what the results of the finding was for us. But I can’t speak to what TikTok finds. That’s up to them. But my answer is, a holistic relationship is what we’re looking for.”
YouTube executive Tim Matusch has joined Warner Music Group (WMG) as executive vp of strategy & operations. The news was announced in a company memo sent last week by CEO Robert Kyncl, who worked alongside Matusch at YouTube before stepping down as chief business officer at the company to join WMG.
Matusch most recently served as managing director of strategy and business operations at YouTube, a role he held for more than two years. Prior to that, he served in senior consulting roles at Boston Consulting Group and Oliver Wyman, where he spent more than 12 years and eventually rose to partner. He also worked in senior operating roles at AOL, including general manager at AOL.com and AOL Products. He graduated from Eton College in 1996 and earned his master’s at the University of Oxford in 2001.
In the memo sent to WMG staff and obtained by Billboard, Kyncl noted that Matusch will be working closely with the greater WMG leadership team “to help define, facilitate, and execute our 5–10 year vision” while also playing a key part in “evolving” the label’s “cross-company plans, including deploying business intelligence to strengthen our decision-making, developing and tracking a set of critical KPIs, and ensuring everyone is on the same page as we build our future together.”
Acknowledging that strategy & operations is “a new function” at WMG, Kyncl continued that he’s “a firm believer in tapping into, growing, and unleashing the expertise within the company itself. That way, we’re more directly investing in ourselves, and compounding our knowledge and skills over time. It results in well organized, better informed, more realistic plans.”
Kyncl added that he worked with Matusch “across a wide variety of projects” at YouTube and has “been consistently impressed by what his team has delivered and how they did it – in a very collaborative fashion – which is particularly important to me.”
Kyncl officially assumed the role of CEO at WMG on Jan. 1, though he’ll share CEO duties with outgoing chief executive Stephen Cooper for the remainder of the month. Matusch is the first major hire announced under Kyncl’s tenure.