warner records
Alt-pop singer Alemeda has signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and Warner Records, Billboard can exclusively announce Friday (Sept. 20). She becomes the third female act to be signed to TDE, following SZA and Doechii.
“TDE placed trust and time in me to find my sound and develop as an artist at my own pace. I think to be signed to them means to be more than just an artist but to be a pivotal part of Black art and culture,” Alemeda said in a statement. “I’m honored to be the third woman ever signed to this historic roster of talented culture pavers. Warner also has a great understanding of who I am as an artist, and their historic success in the rock and pop genres makes me confident in our future together. I feel they were the right team to support my growth as an artist and I am excited for what is to come working with them alongside TDE.”
The news coincides with the release of the Ethiopian-Sudanese artist’s debut EP, FK IT. The 8-track project includes previously released singles like her viral 2021 debut “Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows,” “Guy’s Girl” and “I hate your face.” She also performed her latest single “I already dug your grave” on popular German performance series platform COLORSxSTUDIOS earlier this month. “This EP is the truest expression of who I am right now,” she adds. “It’s about letting go of what doesn’t serve me and embracing the chaos and beauty of being real, unapologetically.”
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“One late night in December 2019, a few months before the pandemic, I was stuck in a rabbit hole scrolling Instagram when I happened to stumble across Alemeda. She was going by Rahema Alameda at the time and was doing a cool little bop with the brightest smile to a song of hers that she hadn’t released. I immediately felt she was gonna be great,” said TDE co-president Anthony “Moosa” Tiffith in a statement. “After reaching out to her, I learned that she hadn’t put out any music yet or even recorded in a studio before, so I flew her out to Los Angeles to give her that opportunity. When she told me about her strict upbringing and how she moved from Ethiopia to Arizona, I knew she had a story to tell.”
Tiffith continues: “She’s been here for the last four years, staying focused as a student of music and developing her sound. For most managers that must sound like a long time, but artist development is the most important thing to me. It’s a blessing to work with an artist like Alemeda who shares that vision and is willing to do the work. I’m happy and beyond excited to announce her to Top Dawg Entertainment, and equally enthusiastic for our partnership with Warner!”
Warner is also excited to work alongside TDE for Alemeda.”She’s an electrifying artist with a unique voice and vision, and FK IT is just the beginning of what will be an extraordinary journey. Her ability to channel her personal experiences into raw, boundary-pushing music makes her a perfect fit for our roster,” said Warner Records co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck in a statement.
He adds, “[Warner Records co-chairman/COO] Tom Corson, [Warner Records executive vp/head of A&R] Karen Kwak and our entire team is thrilled to be joining forces with Top Dawg Entertainment to bring Alemeda’s innovative artistry to an even wider audience. Collaborating with TDE’s exceptional team only amplifies our excitement for this groundbreaking partnership.”
Maddox Batson, a 14-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose breakthrough song, “Tears in the River,” made its way to the top 20 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 chart earlier this year, has signed a deal with Warner Records, the company tells Billboard. On Thursday (Sept. 5), Batson also releases a new song, “X’s” (video below).
“Just seeing what they did with [Batson’s now-Warner labelmates] Zach Bryan, Warren Zeiders, Bailey Zimmerman, all those people, it just felt like a no-brainer for me [to sign with Warner],” Batson tells Billboard via Zoom. “I could tell they were going to take care of me and not push me to do things that I don’t want to do. They make sure I do everything right for my artistry and everything that’s right for my fans.”
In March, Batson released a video for “Tears in the River” on TikTok. The clip has since surged to 12.5 million views, and the impact has spilled over into streaming — the song, which Batson wrote with Nick Bailey, Josh Dorr, Benjamin Negrin and Elysse Yulo, has earned over 6 million streams on Spotify’s platform alone.
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“It was one of my first-ever writing sessions with more than just one person,” Batson says. “We got in the room and were thinking, ‘What do girls want to hear?’ They want to hear that you want to take care of them, maybe they got out of a bad relationship, they come to you and now it’s going to be a good relationship. And that’s what we wrote.”
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Batson’s follow-up single, the polished pop-country track “I Wanna Know,” has more than 2 million streams on Spotify. But it’s not only his music that’s connecting with fans — so is Batson’s gregarious, social media-savvy persona. A TikTok clip released in February that showed him getting ready to attend a dance earned over 30 million views.
Warner Records CEO/co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck told Billboard in a statement, “Several members of our Warner A&R team were the first people to bring Maddox to my attention after seeing his growth online. We were immediately drawn to his star power and charisma, as well as his fantastic instincts with respect to self promotion. While the social metrics were outpacing the consumption story, what we did find is that Maddox is a naturally gifted songwriter who sees an open lane for himself and has a clear vision for how he is going to own it.
“We look forward to nurturing his artist development process as he hones his craft, works with those who will help make him better and solidify his sound, and continue to build a strong fanbase that is with him not only for his online persona but because they love the music he makes and what he represents. We are confident we have Country and Pop’s next young star in Maddox.”
Batson was born in Nashville and raised in Birmingham, Ala. Growing up, he was inspired by ‘80s and ‘90s country artists including Alan Jackson and George Strait, but also the pop sounds of artists such as Justin Bieber. Last summer, he played more than 20 shows, honing his sound and developing his musical skills through playing with his musician father.
Maddox says he was inspired to write his new song, “X’s,” after attending an Abby Anderson concert at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville.
“I walked in and of course, your boy is not old enough to drink alcohol, so the security guard drew a big X on my hand. The show was great, and when I went to the studio the next day and this guy saw the X on my hand — I promise, I shower, it was just written in Sharpie — but he saw my hand and we just wrote this song in 15 minutes. It was one of the easiest writing experiences of my life.”
Recording the song, however, was not without a minor challenge or two.
“Just seeing that song coming from the demo to the final version is just so crazy because my voice changed while we recorded those two different versions [demo and master recording] of the song,” Batson says. “So we had to [record] it in a completely different key. But seeing it come out is going to be absolutely money. I’m so excited.”
In addition to writing his own hits, Batson’s song “Tough” — which he wrote about his father and grandfathers — was recently recorded and released by Lana Del Rey (who is prepping a country album titled Lasso) and Quavo.
“I come from a long line of farmers,” Batson says of writing the song. “My mom’s dad was a tobacco farmer and my dad grew up in the construction sites, so just really work ethic-heavy people, and hopefully that got passed down.”
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Batson, who is signed with Prosper Entertainment for management, WME for booking and Warner Chappell for publishing, says he expects a project to be released in 2025. In June, he joined singer-songwriter Wyatt Flores to perform Flores’ “Please Don’t Go” during Nashville’s CMA Fest. Days later, he also became the youngest artist to perform at the popular Nashville music series Whiskey Jam, with a full-capacity audience that caused Whiskey Jam to expand entry to the normally 21-and-up show to fans of all ages.
Presently, Batson — who is starting ninth grade and transitioned to homeschool just before releasing “Tears in the River” — is balancing school with a slate of primarily weekend tour dates opening for “I Hope” hitmaker Gabby Barrett.
“Yeah, when I finish up this interview, I’m enrolling for the new school year,” he says.
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.
Warner Records has had plenty to celebrate already this year. At the midyear mark of 2024, the label finished an impressive third in current market share at 6.30%. That’s a big jump from the same point last year when it ranked fifth, at 5.62%, and represents the label’s best mark at the midway point in years. That was at least partly due to a string of successful singles in the first half of this year from artists as diverse as Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Zach Bryan, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, each of whom has made a huge mark on the charts in the first six months.
But this week brought even better news with the release of Luminate’s 2024 Midyear Report. Warner Records had the top three most-streamed songs of the first half of the year in Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves and Swims’ “Lose Control,” respectively. That marks the first time any label has had the top three songs at the midyear mark since 2015, the year that streaming officially tipped the industry back into profitability. This week, the label also held down the top three spots on Billboard’s Dance/Mixshow Airplay chart with Lipa’s “Illusion,” Rexha’s “Chase It” and Guetta and OneRepublic’s “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” representing the first time Warner has ever achieved that feat and the first time any label has done it since 2018.
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Both are impressive milestones, representing a creative, radio, streaming and commercial achievement for the label across several formats and genres — and that’s even before the release of Bryan’s latest album, The Great American Bar Scene, which topped the charts at five different formats this week and racked up 137,000 equivalent album units in its first full week of availability. All that helps make Warner Records’ executive vp of promotion and commerce Mike Chester Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Chester talks about those midyear achievements, his work across both radio promotion and overall commerce at the label and how things have changed since he arrived in 2018. “Artists have been tirelessly refining their sound, approach and craft, a dedication now reflected in our success,” he says. “They deserve immense credit for navigating this demanding process and emerging triumphantly, as does the best-in-class team here at Warner Records.”
This week, Luminate’s 2024 midyear report revealed that Warner Records had all of the three most-streamed songs of the year so far, in Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” the first time in at least a decade that one label has held the top three slots. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
Global artist development. In today’s interconnected marketplace, it’s crucial to respect each territory outside the U.S. When nurtured properly, these regions can provide a massive platform for launching artists. Take Benson Boone and Teddy Swims, for example. They’ve spent as much time abroad over the past two years as they have in the U.S. This strategic international presence has been instrumental in driving a global audience, leveraging the power of algorithms and trends to expand their reach. Zach Bryan stands out by doing things his way, with integrity and purpose. His ability to connect authentically with his fans is unparalleled.
In addition to your guys’ success at pop, country and rock, Warner has the top three songs on the Dance/Mixshow Airplay chart with Dua Lipa’s “Illusion,” Bebe Rexha’s “Chase It” and David Guetta and One Republic’s “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” a first for Warner and the first time a label has achieved that since 2018. How were you guys able to hit that mark, and how does the dance/mixshow world differ from other formats?
We have dedicated significant effort to emphasizing the dance genre, as evidenced by the launch of Major Recordings and our ongoing commitment to dance music at Warner Records. Foremost, we are fortunate to have exceptional music from artists such as Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, who are able to move culture every day. I would like to extend special recognition to Josh Reich [senior vp of Top 40 & dance promotion] whose strategic vision and passion for the genre have been instrumental in our success.
Warner is having a hugely successful commercial year so far, posting a 6.30% midyear current market share, the label’s best mark in years. What do you attribute that to?
There is no doubt that this achievement is a testament to [Warner co-chairman/COO] Tom Corson and [Warner co-chairman/CEO] Aaron Bay-Schuck‘s incredible leadership. Artists have been tirelessly refining their sound, approach and craft, a dedication now reflected in our success. Keys factors have been patience, consistency and providing our artists with the necessary space for proper development. They deserve immense credit for navigating this demanding process and emerging triumphantly, as does the best-in-class team here at Warner Records.
You joined Warner in 2018 as head of promotion, and took on the broader role of head of promotion and commerce in 2021. How have you seen the commercial landscape evolve over that time and how have you positioned your team to be able to capitalize on that?
Interestingly, 2018 was also the year TikTok made its debut in the United States, revolutionizing our world from day one. Since then, the landscape of artist development has seen remarkable shifts, with audience fragmentation, genre evolution and the growing influence of niche subcultures becoming the norm. Beyond the digital realm, the physical product space has also transformed, offering fans more meaningful and collectible items that create a deeper connection to our artists and their music. As streaming growth evolves, we continue to think deeply about how to monetize our music in many different ways.
By now, Zach Bryan fans know what to expect from his music: overwhelmingly mid-tempo, acoustic guitar-based songs that are inevitably going to pack a punch. Without ever changing his inflection much, Bryan’s songs continue to deliver an emotional wallop thanks to his economical, but cinematic, trenchant lyrics. You wouldn’t think he could be much more […]
Warner Records has promoted Robert Santini to senior vp of brand partnerships and ad sync, the company announced Monday (July 1). Santini assumes the role after four years as the label’s vp of brand partnerships & ad sync. Under his previous title, he spearheaded projects including Warner Records’ collaboration with Roblox and the NFL for […]
What a difference a year — or a couple of months with a massive label shakeup — can make.
The reorganization of the Universal Music Group that occurred in February — which loosely divided the music giant’s labels under two umbrellas, Republic Corps and the Interscope Capitol Labels Group (ICLG) — has created a new hegemony that effectively splits its industry-leading market share in half, meaning that Republic Corps’ Monte Lipman and ICLG’s John Janick sit atop label empires that, in a given week, can rival the Warner Music Group as a whole in terms of market share. (For Republic, given its partnership with Big Loud for Morgan Wallen and the eye-popping success of Taylor Swift and others, that was already the case at times last year.) In the first quarter of 2024, for example, both Republic Corps (13.69%) and ICLG (13.81%) put up current market share figures that are more than double the next-highest label from any other company.
Yet for comparison’s sake — and to get a sense of the trends in the market — we’ll set that reorganization aside for now, particularly as it happened in the midst of a quarter and thus doesn’t reflect the totality of the first three months of 2024. And even under the old alignment, Republic (which, even prior to the shift, encompassed Island, Big Loud, Mercury and Imperial) and Interscope (which similarly already included Geffen and Verve Label Group) still lead the pack for releases through the end of March.
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Republic, on the strength of enduring hit albums by Wallen, Swift, Drake and Noah Kahan, as well as the huge success of the new Ariana Grande album eternal sunshine, posted a 12.84% current market share (defined as albums released within the past 18 months), only marginally coming down to earth from the eye-popping 13.47% full-year current share it posted in 2023, and a slight uptick over the 12.45% first quarter it enjoyed last year. Meanwhile, Interscope’s 9.10% current share is a big jump from the 7.75% it posted in the first quarter of 2023, and up from the full-year 8.80% it posted last year, with the enduring success of Olivia Rodrigo and breakout singles from Xavi (“La Diabla” and “La Victima”), among others, helping boost its position.
But perhaps the biggest story of the first quarter of 2024 has been the smash success of Warner Records, which surged from seventh place in Q1 2023 (5.23% current share) all the way to third in Q1 2024 (6.41%), reflecting the remarkable success the label has had on the Hot 100 so far this year. Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Teddy Swims’ Hot 100 No. 1 “Lose Control” and Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” feat. Kacey Musgraves are all among the top five songs of the year so far, while Bryan’s 2023 self-titled album and his 2022 album American Heartbreak are both among the top 20 albums of the first quarter. Warner — whose market share includes catalog label Rhino as well as Warner Latin and parts of Warner Nashville — continued to build on its 2023 trajectory, when it finished with a full-year current share of 5.96%.
That surge pushed Atlantic Records down into fourth place, at 5.14% current share, a drop of more than 2% from the 7.22% it maintained in Q1 2023. Atlantic — which includes 300 Elektra Entertainment in its market share — did have a big hit from Jack Harlow, whose single “Lovin’ On Me” topped the Hot 100 for five weeks in the first few months of the year. Atlantic’s hold on fourth, however, was only 0.01% above RCA Records, which came in at 5.13%, as the enduring strength of singles by SZA, Doja Cat and Tate McRae, combined with a viral smash from Flo Milli (“Cruel Summer”), kept the label in fifth place, despite dropping from 5.76% in Q1 2023, when the SZA album had a lock on the top of the Billboard 200.
Sticking in sixth place is Capitol Music Group — whose market share still contains indie distributor Virgin, as well as Quality Control/Motown, Capitol Christian, Astralwerks and Blue Note — which posted a 4.71% current share, down from 5.56% in the first three months of 2023. Dropping to seventh is Columbia, which includes some labels from indie distributor RED in its market share, at 3.71%, down from 5.85% a year ago. Though, in this particular ranking, Columbia is an unfortunate casualty of the end-of-March cutoff date; Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter debuted the week after with the biggest first week of the year, which will be reflected in the second quarter. In eighth, Epic Records saw a big boost, posting a 2.99% share (up from 2.06% last year), though that also seems like it will be trending higher in Q2, with the twin Future/Metro Boomin albums still growing. Sony Latin (2.38%, up from 1.92%) and Sony Nashville (2.08%, down from 2.30%) round out the top 10 in current market share.
Among the label groups, UMG’s dominance continued, with its 33.90% current share ticking up slightly from 33.59% in the first quarter of 2023, while Sony Music Group’s 26.91% came in lower than last year’s 28.46% — again, likely a quirk of the calendar. Still, despite Warner Records’ individual surge, the Warner Music Group’s overall current share slipped to 15.98%, down from 16.81% in Q1 last year. (WMG’s market share still contains 1.09% from BMG, despite the latter announcing that it would be ending its distribution arrangement with Warner; projects that were in the works prior to the agreement ending are still going through the Warner system, a BMG spokesperson says.) The big beneficiary in current market share is the independent sector, which grew its mark from 21.15% in Q1 last year to 23.21% this year by distribution ownership, a significant increase. Both the independent release of the chart-topping Ye and Ty Dolla $ign album Vultures 1 and the huge success of Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” contributed to the boost.
The numbers are more static when looking at overall market share, which includes back catalog, though the trends are still there: Universal (38.23%, up from 37.65%) and the indies (16.28%, up from 16.18%) both were up over Q1 2023, while Sony (27.23%, down from 27.62%) and WMG (18.26%, down from 18.55%) dipped. By label ownership, the independent sector remains larger than any individual major, accounting for 36.09% in overall market share, albeit down from the 37.38% it had in Q1 2023.
Among the individual labels, Republic’s huge current numbers pushed its overall market share above Interscope’s for first place, at 9.94%, up from 9.16% last year, while Interscope’s second-place showing at 9.85% still represented growth from its leading 9.44% last year. Atlantic’s strong catalog numbers meant that in overall share it remained in third place, at 7.65%, besting Warner Records, which jumped into fourth at 6.72%. Interscope, meanwhile, retained its top spot in catalog market share, at 10.09%, with Republic (9.03%) and Atlantic (8.43%) behind.
Country artist Orville Peck has signed with Warner Records – and has already teased new music on the way.
“I was ready for a change,” Peck tells Billboard. “I spent most of last year making several huge changes to all aspects of my life – my career being just one of them. I was ready for a clean start.”
Today (April 1), Peck announced his first release on the label: a collaboration with Willie Nelson. The pair will duet on a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” a song originally released in 1981 by Latin country artist Ned Sublette and covered by Nelson in 2006. Peck himself previously performed a rendition for SiriusXM and at his 2023 Hollywood Bowl show.
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Jeff Sosnow, EVP of A&R at Warner – whom Peck calls “the GOAT” – tells Billboard he met Peck a few years ago and was taken “not only by his musical acumen and knowledge, but also his sense of purpose, ambition and curation of his own world, which all extends from the music.”
“It’s rare to come across an artist who checks so many necessary boxes for a path to success – great songs, singular voice, curation of overall aesthetic and visuals, ambition, communication and work ethic. With [what’s ahead], we have a real opportunity to fortify and grow Orville’s base and reach.”
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In 2019, Peck released his debut album Pony on Sub Pop. The following year, in 2020, he signed with Columbia and released his major label debut EP Show Pony. Two more EPs followed in 2022 leading up to his second full-length that August, Bronco.
“I was drawn to Warner because of their unique emphasis on their artists,” says Peck. “It may seem like it should be the standard but more and more, the music industry invests less and less in artists.” He says in addition to Sosnow being “a genuine fan of music,” he has “great respect” for Warner CEO and co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck along with COO and co-chairman Tom Corson. “They have helped me to feel so motivated,” he adds.
Currently, Warner is on a hot streak with its superstars and emerging talent alike. Next month (on May 3), Dua Lipa will release her anticipated album Radical Optimism, while Zach Bryan is currently playing to sold-out arenas on his The Quittin Time Tour. Plus, rising acts like Teddy Swims and Benson Boone occupied the Hot 100’s top two slots last week with “Lose Control” and “Beautiful Things,” respectively.
“The last five years have proven Warner has the patience and ingenuity to work with real artists with vision and songs and grow with them,” says Sosnow. “The structure of the company has put us in a unique place where we do indeed have a special sauce.”
Peck is signed to Brandon Creed’s Good World Management, and is managed by Creed along with Dani Russin and Anika Capozza. The firm says: “Warner has been in Orville’s corner for many years and when the moment arose to work together, they immediately seized the opportunity with incredible support and enthusiasm…We are so excited for this new partnership and couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them.”
As Peck says, this next chapter can be defined by “evolution and exploration. I have honestly never felt so excited about my career before.”
Adds Sosnow: “The possibilities are really limitless for Orville. He is a generational talent.”
Orville Peck
Ben Prince
Multiple Grammy-winning jazz guitarist-vocalist George Benson is rejoining the Warner Music Group (WMG). In addition to new music arriving later this year, the legendary artist and WMG are celebrating the reunion with a previously unreleased video featuring Benson in a live performance of the track “Lady Blue” in the late ‘70s. Explore Explore See latest […]
Benson Boone has had a few appearances on the Hot 100, scraping No. 100 with “Ghost Town” in November 2021 and reaching No. 82 with “In the Stars” in May 2022. But nothing has compared with his latest song, “Beautiful Things,” which rocketed onto the chart at No. 15 in its first week. The track garnered 15.7 million on-demand U.S. streams in the week ending Jan. 25, according to Luminate, and debuted at No. 5 on the Streaming Songs chart.
That instant success for the song has been a long time coming. Boone signed to Warner Records alongside Dan Reynolds’ Night Street Records in October 2021 and has emerged more than two years later as a heavy hitter, having spent that time in writing rooms honing his craft and developing as an artist. That’s the exact type of story that many have said is in the past in the current record business.
Now, he’s become just the latest in Warner’s recent run of success stories, which are coalescing in the first part of this year as Zach Bryan, Teddy Swims, Kenya Grace and Boone all occupy spots in the top half of the Hot 100. Meanwhile, another Warner artist, Brandy Clark, is one of the top-nominated acts at this weekend’s Grammy Awards with six nominations. This success with Boone, Clark and other artists such as Billy Strings (three Grammy noms), Rufus du Sol, Nessa Barrett and others earns Warner Records executive vp of A&R Jeff Sosnow the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Sosnow talks about the rapid rise of Boone’s latest hit, the songwriting and artist success story Clark is enjoying and the evolution of artist development in the modern record business at a time when many deride the major labels as chasing after virality and one-off unicorn hits. “In this moment,” Sosnow says, “the artist development piece at Warner Records is no bulls—.”
This week, Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” debuted at No. 5 on the Streaming Songs chart and No. 15 on the Hot 100. What key decision(s) did you make to help make that happen?
It starts with the music. I had worked with producer Evan Blair over the last few years with another one of my artists, Nessa Barrett. I had a hunch Evan and Benson would hit it off and work well together. “Beautiful Things” was the first song that came together. After that, it really became a collaborative effort between our viral and marketing teams supporting Benson and his manager Jeff Burns’ incredible social campaign and teasing cadence. But certainly, it comes back to the music resonating in such a way with potent visuals that make for a magical moment.
Boone signed to Warner alongside Dan Reynolds’ Night Street Records in October 2021. What work have you done to help develop him as an artist over the past few years?
Dan and his brother, Mac, had signed Benson, and Jon Chen at Warner Chappell turned me on to Benson who at the time had one song, “Ghost Town.” Together with co-publisher Coulter Reynolds we have put Benson with a group of core writers and producers after some trial and error. He found his footing and confidence as a writer and artist. The level of consistency in his writing is reflected over the arc of two years of consistent streaming. And it’s not just one or two big songs. But then you throw in the fact that Benson is a world-class performer and you watch thousands of kids sing every word to every song — not just the bigger ones — and you know the hard work and patience has paid off. Some used to call this artist development.
This is his third Hot 100 entry, but first in the top half of the chart. What is it about this song that has made it resonate so much — and so quickly?
A great vocal can never be underestimated. I think Benson’s passion cuts through. There’s an urgency and a universal lyric. But again, his clever visuals on the social platforms and effective music video helped punctuate the visceral feel the song has.
Brandy Clark is nominated for six Grammys this year, part of a dozen nominations that artists you’ve signed have earned. What made her year so special, and how has she developed and grown as a songwriter and artist?
Brandy is the most prolific songwriter I’ve ever worked with. It’s been an honor to work with Lenny Waronker on Brandy’s last few records. She always amazes us because we literally go through upwards of 100 to 150 demos to get to what comprises the album. Brandy’s openness to collaboration is a key ingredient to her success. It was an amazing moment when I was able to get Michael Pollack in with Brandy for just one day. They came out with “Dear Insecurity,” which is simply one of the most powerful songs of this or any year. Enter Brandi Carlile to produce and feature on the song, and you walk out with a timeless record. As great as the album itself is, “Dear Insecurity” was always the centerpiece for me.
How has the rise of different technologies and social apps changed how the role of A&R functions?
Many A&R people rely heavily on data, and it is such an incredible tool to have. We have always had various iterations of data — watching market-by-market ticket sales, radio spins, etc. But other constants that seem to prevail in the A&R process are a great song and a great voice. So technology hasn’t really affected one’s gut instinct and intellectual ability to speak to artists and producers and make decisions about pulling the trigger on a signing, or whether a song is working or not.
A lot of people bemoan the state of artist development these days, but many of the artists you’ve signed have grown and developed extended careers. What would you say about the perception that labels don’t invest in artist development like they used to?
I don’t think labels as a whole have really, truly been beacons of artist development the last five years. I can say that what Aaron [Bay-Schuck] and Tom [Corson] have done in their time at Warner Records is to trust me with acts like Billy Strings, Rufus Du Sol, Benson, Nessa and Michael Marcagi. Each has a different arc and story, but the common thread is patience and belief in the artists and the A&R person’s ability to have real, honest conversations that will push them while also protecting and supporting them for the long haul. And in this moment, the artist development piece at Warner Records is no bulls—.