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Warner Music Group announced changes to its division overseeing Argentina and Chile on Tuesday (Feb. 11), bringing in Tomás Talarico as the new managing director of Warner Music Southern Cone (née Cono Sur), effective immediately. He succeeds Guillermo Castellani, who will stay on as a consultant during the transition. Talarico will report to Alejandro Duque, president of Warner Music Latin America.
Talarico brings extensive industry experience, having founded MOJO, an independent record label and digital distributor, in 2014. Under his leadership, MOJO expanded across Argentina, Chile and Peru, becoming a key player in the tropical and urban music markets. The company has collaborated with approximately 150 artists and labels, managing audiovisual production and music publishing. According to the hiring announcement, MOJO’s success includes more than 50 Gold and Platinum certified singles and multiple industry awards, including eight Gardel Awards and two Pulsar Awards.
Throughout his career, Talarico has played a significant role in developing emerging artists such as ECKO, Grupo Zumbale Primo, Kaleb Di Masi, Papichamp and Uriel Lozano, among others. He was also a key contributor to the collaborative project Un Poco de Ruido. He’s also a musician, having released five rock and pop albums as a guitarist and singer-songwriter.
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Before founding MOJO, Talarico was a pioneer in digital music distribution, working with companies focused on MP3 and ringtone sales. His early career included a role as a supervisor at Tower Records.
Duque praised Talarico’s entrepreneurial mindset and ability to bridge music and technology “to the service of artists,” also praising Castellani role in developing the careers of major Warner artists such as Maria Becerra and Tiago PZK.
Talarico expressed excitement about joining WMG, highlighting the opportunity to utilize the resources of an international label to support the region.
“To be able to tap into the resources of a major label to superserve the exceptional talent in this region is an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I also want to pay tribute to the remarkable Guillermo Castellani who has nurtured such a strong team and played a huge role in the wider music industry. He leaves big shoes to fill, and I’m looking forward to building on his legacy!”
Castellani reflected on his time at Warner Music, which dates back to early 2002, and lauded the support of Duque and the Warner Music Southern Cone team.
“I am grateful to the family of Warner Music Southern Cone for allowing me to enjoy my work every day: without them it would have been impossible to reach the goals we achieved,” he said. “I wish Tomás success in writing the following chapter in the Southern Cone. I am sure that he will lead Warner Music in its continuous growth so that it will remain a magnet for new music talent in this part of the world.”
Warner Music Group has expanded its corporate development team by appointing Alfonso Perez-Soto as executive vp of corporate development, focusing on recorded music, and Michael LoBiondo as senior vp of corporate development, focusing on publishing. Both will report to Michael Ryan Southern, executive vp and chief corporate development officer, who has led WMG’s global M&A activities since August.
The company said this new structure provides WMG with dedicated dealmakers for each side of the business, enabling targeted investments and acquisitions across music rights and technology. Due to this reset, the leaders of Warner Music’s Emerging Markets territories, who previously reported to Perez-Soto, will now report directly to Simon Robson, president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, recorded music.
Perez-Soto has spent much of the last two decades at Warner Music, having joined the company in 2005 as vp of business development for Latin America and US Hispanic markets. He was bumped up to senior vp in 2012 and in 2017 originated the position of senior vp, global business development and chief commercial officer, emerging markets. A year later he was elevated once again to executive vp of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, and in 2021 was promoted to president of emerging markets. In that role, he has designed and implemented a growth strategy based on M&A, geographical expansion and organic artistic success that significantly expanded Warner’s footprint in these emerging territories. Earlier in his career, Perez-Soto held stints at Telefonica, Universal Music Group and Nokia.
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LoBiondo has been serving as head of business development for Warner Chappell Music, WMG’s music publishing arm, since 2021. In this role, he’ ha’s been responsible for identifying and executing strategic acquisitions and partnerships to benefit the publisher’s frontline songwriters and its iconic song catalog. Prior to this, he held various positions at WMG, where he had a hand in numerous major initiatives, including the acquisition of Parlophone Label Group and several Series A music technology investments. Between his tenures at Warner, LoBiondo worked at the artist development company mtheory. He began his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Southern expressed confidence in Perez-Soto and LoBiondo, calling them “tenacious and curious leaders with a deep understanding of the music industry and its key players… We’ve committed to grow WMG through a mixture of organic and M&A activity. Now we’ve got a dedicated dealmaking beacon for each set of rights that’ll enable us to continue to improve our service to artists and songwriters.”
What a difference a year can make.
Warner Music Group said on Thursday that revenue from its first fiscal quarter fell 5% to $1.67 billion from a year ago, as the company suffered tough comparisons to a period last year when it still had BMG as a physical and digital distribution client and enjoyed a $30-million boon from a digital licensing renewal deal.
But the third-biggest major music company also showed that the deep staffing cuts and wind-down of certain businesses over 2024 freed up money for investment — such as the $450-million acquisition of Tempo Music‘s catalog — and growth, like Atlantic’s half-a-percentage point market share expansion.
WMG’s quarterly results — which included a nearly 40% decrease in operating income and $27 million in restructuring costs and impairment charges — depict a company deep in transformation. Chief executive Robert Kyncl is trying to increase efficiency in legacy businesses and technology, while standardizing its sprawling global network, and striking more lucrative deals with streaming platforms.
Recorded music revenue in the first fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2024, fell 7% to $1.35 billion from last year’s quarter, as BMG’s termination of its distribution deal created a $32 million drag (evenly split between streaming and physical revenue). Last year’s quarter also included the extension of one artist’s licensing agreement worth $75 million, and the $30-million renewal of a digital partner’s license.
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WMG says if you strip those three things out, total revenue rose 3.4%.
Overall, digital revenue and streaming revenue each fell by around 2%.
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (adjusted OIBDA)–which measures the profitability of a company’s core businesses–fell 19.5% to $363 million, and adjusted OIBDA margin fell to 21.8% from 25.8% in the prior-year quarter. If you take out the negative impacts of the licensing agreement and digital partner renewal, the company said its adjusted OIBDA fell by just 0.3% and adjusted OIBDA margin decreased 0.8 percentage point.
The company said adjusted OIBDA margin was also dragged down by the 8% rise in the value of the U.S. dollar since last year’s presidential election. (Almost 60% of Warner’s income is earned in euros and other currencies that trade against the dollar, according to the company.)
“All of these impacts will stabilize over time,” Kyncl said on a call with analysts discussing the earnings. “We’re confident about the future. Our goals are clear: increase our share of the pie, meaning market share; grow the pie itself by increasing the value of music; and become more efficient, providing greater cash flow, both for re-investment and for shareholder return.”
The company’s net income was up nearly 25% to $241 million, boosted by foreign exchange hedging activity and the sale of a $29-million of an investment. Free cash flow was up 12% to $296 million.
Other highlights from the company’s earnings and conference call:
» Within Recorded Music, digital and streaming revenue both fell by 3.9% and 3.7%, which reflects a 2% decline in subscription revenue and an 8.2%-decline in ad-supported revenue. If you strip out BMG’s termination and the digital partner’s license renewal, the company says recorded music streaming revenue was up 1.5% and subscription revenue increased 5.3%, while ad-supported revenue still fell by 7.9%. Nonetheless, physical revenue rose 7.8% thanks to the strength of releases by Linkin Park, Charli XCX, Teddy Swims, Mariya Takeuchi and Benson Boone.
» Music publishing revenue rose 6.3% to $323 million from growth in digital, performance and other revenue, partially offset by lower mechanical revenue.
» Warner completed multi-year publishing and recorded music licensing deals with Amazon and Spotify over the past year, Kyncl said, though he declined to provide much detail. The deal with Spotify notably includes a new publishing agreement with a direct licensing model with Warner Chappell Music for the United States and several other countries. “There’s more work to do with others and for all of this to cycle through, but this is a really great step in the right direction.”
» Atlantic’s market share ticked half a percentage point up, a small win Kyncl attributed to the growing investments made in A&R last year. He said the investments came as a result of money left over after it made” organizational changes and investments into technology … [and] exited some non-core businesses.” Kyncl later said, “Our goal was to reinvest the majority of those savings into strategically important initiatives that will propel our business forward. This enabled us to increase our A&R investment by double-digits last year and this year.”
» Kyncl said buying Tempo is “a great example” of the company’s acquisition strategy. “As we become more efficient, we are creating a virtuous cycle that will enable greater reinvestment that delivers accelerated growth.”
Spotify and Warner Music Group have signed a new multi-year agreement covering both recorded music and music publishing, following Spotify’s similar deal with Universal Music Group earlier this year. The partnership, announced today (Feb. 6), aims to drive innovation and increase the value of music for artists, songwriters and fans.
The agreement focuses on advancing audio-visual streaming, expanding music and video catalogs, and, notably, introducing new paid subscription tiers with exclusive content bundles. It also reinforces “artist-centric” royalty models that reward artists for attracting and engaging audiences. Additionally, the new publishing deal introduces a direct licensing model with Warner Chappell Music in several countries, including the U.S.
In a statement, WMG CEO Robert Kyncl emphasized the collaboration’s role in expanding the music ecosystem and delivering value to artists and songwriters.
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“It’s a big step forward in our vision for greater alignment between rights holders and streaming services,” Kyncl said. “Together with Spotify, we look forward to increasing the value of music, as we drive growth, impact, and innovation.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek highlighted 2025 as a pivotal year for Spotify’s innovation, “and our partners at Warner Music Group share our commitment to rapid innovation and sustained investment in our leading music offerings. Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for audiences worldwide—making paid music subscriptions more appealing while supporting artists and songwriters alike.”
During Warner Music’s August 2024 earnings call, Kyncl addressed the relationship between labels and digital service providers and refuted the notion that they are entrenched adversaries. “I know that investor attention has recently been focused on the dynamics between labels and DSPs, with some speculating that we’re adversaries playing a zero-sum game,” he said. “That’s simply not the case. We’re actively engaged with our partners around ways to drive growth for all of us.”
WMG announced its new pact with Spotify moments before reporting results for is fiscal first quarter, which saw a dip in revenue that it attributed to the termination of its distribution agreement with BMG, among other factors. The label group on Thursday also announced that it had agreed to purchase a controlling stake in Tempo Music Investment, a catalog company that owns rights to songs by Wiz Khalifa, Florida Georgia Line and others, in a deal sources say is worth several hundred million dollars.
Warner Music Group is buying a controlling stake in Tempo Music Investment, a catalog company that owns rights to songs by Wiz Khalifa, Florida Georgia Line and Brett James, in a deal sources say is worth around $450 million. WMG said it will acquire the stake from Tempo’s founder, Providence Equity Partners. Providence will remain a […]
During the course of Robert Kyncl’s nearly two-year tenure as Warner Music Group’s CEO, the former YouTube exec has focused on positioning the historic label for longtime growth.
In early 2024, WMG reported record earnings but announced a 10% workforce reduction. Then, August saw a major leadership shakeup: Max Lousada exited, Julie Greenwald was briefly chairman of Atlantic Music Group before leaving, and Elliot Grainge became AMG’s CEO. Under Grainge, Atlantic restructured and new leadership came in at 10K Records and 300 Entertainment. These moves signaled a loud-and-clear generational shift in leadership, marking a transformative year for Atlantic and Warner.
Looking back at a year of bombshells and breakouts — success stories include Zach Bryan, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Charli xcx, Dua Lipa and more — Kyncl writes in a note to staff, obtained by Billboard, that he is grateful for their dedication in a year he has long-dubbed the “Year of the Next 10.”
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In the note, Kyncl writes that the company achieved significant milestones, including having the most listened-to artist (Bruno Mars), the No. 1 song of the year (Boone’s “Beautiful Things”), and the most in-demand songwriter (Amy Allen). He also highlights the importance of change and innovation in the music industry, celebrating the team’s success in delivering originality, which “gives this industry its energy and optimism.”
“We’ve not just helped our artists and songwriters do new, brave, and disruptive things, we’ve held ourselves to the same standard,” he writes. “The industry is at a pivot point, and the changes we’ve made this year put us on the front foot.”
He highlights that WMG was a clear leader in onboarding new talent in the marketplace, with artists like Boone, Swims and Allen receiving critical acclaim. Established acts also reached new heights, he notes, with Mars becoming the world’s biggest streaming artist, Charli xcx exhibiting “radical newness” during brat summer and Linkin Park making a notable return with a new singer. The company further expanded its reach through catalog reissues by the likes of the Grateful Dead, Madonna, David Bowie, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, among others.
Kyncl writes that, internally, WMG has focused on growth by increasing A&R investments by double digits, overhauling leadership, and advocating for new pricing and royalty models in streaming. The company also embraced AI — Kyncl cites the recreation of Randy Travis’ voice as a prime example — and prioritized global market share through a streamlined structure.
Looking ahead to 2025, Kyncl encourages continued innovation, aiming to amplify unique voices, grow the music ecosystem and deepen fan engagement. He rounds out the memo by celebrating the team’s efforts and hinting at exciting projects on the horizon.
“There’s still plenty of work to do, but we’re getting stronger, faster, bolder all the time,” he says. “As I’ve said before, focus and simplicity brings great intensity and impact.”
Read the full memo below:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your incredible dedication and passion over the past year.
In January, I talked about 2024 being the Year of the Next 10, where we moved to set ourselves up for the next decade. We’ve ended the year with the No.1 most listened-to artist, No. 1 song of the year, and the most in-demand songwriter of the year. I know the last twelve months have been intense, and I’m so grateful to you all for rising to the occasion. We’ve achieved something that only a really collaborative and committed team could… We simultaneously delivered for our artists and songwriters, while doing the tough work of change.
And change is a necessity in this business… Music is nothing without the new. New sounds, new ideas, fresh looks, different directions. That’s what stands out. That’s what cuts through the noise. That blast of originality is what gives this industry its energy and optimism.
There are countless examples of innovative successes across the company. In a note like this, I can’t be comprehensive, so please excuse that I’ve picked just a few examples to highlight our trajectory.
NEW TALENT
When it comes to impactful new talent, we’ve led the industry this year.
Benson Boone had the biggest song of 2024 worldwide, and Teddy Swims had the biggest song of the year in the U.S., the largest market. Both are signed to Warner Records and Warner Chappell, and both are up for Best New Artist at the Grammys. Amy Allen became the planet’s hottest songwriter and is nominated for Grammy Songwriter of the Year, alongside WCM’s Jessi Alexander and RAYE.
Across the world, we have an extraordinary new generation lighting the way forward, including Artemas, Aziya, Bea and her Business, BENNETT, Bug Eyed, Dasha, Florence Road, Forrest Frank, Jeff Satur, Jordan Adetunji, The Marías, Michael Marcagi, Tokischa, Roxy Dekker, TitoM, and Yuppe.
NEW HEIGHTS
We’ve also helped established artists and songwriters reach new heights, telling their stories in bold, new ways.
Bruno Mars became officially the biggest artist in the world (smashing records with 138 million monthly listeners on Spotify!), thanks in part to new collaborations, including with ROSÉ, who herself set new streaming records for a K-pop soloist.
Then there’s the radical newness of Charli xcx’s Brat, or the record-breaking return of Linkin Park, with a soulful new singer. As well as incredible new projects from stars around the world such as Alex Warren, Ana Mena, Ayed, AYLIVA, Bailey Zimmerman, Burna Boy, Cardi B, Charlie Zhou, Coldplay, CYRIL, Dani Fernández, David Guetta, Diljit Dosanjh, Don Toliver, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Fred again.., Geolier, Gunna, Iñigo Quintero, Jack Harlow, Kenya Grace, King, Lay Zhang, Lil Uzi Vert, María Becerra, Megan Thee Stallion, Michael Bublé, Miriam Bryant, Myke Towers, NLE Choppa, SCH, twenty one pilots, TWICE, and Zach Bryan to name a few; along with reissues of iconic music from David Bowie, Grateful Dead, Green Day, Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Neil Young, and Talking Heads… all of which won new fans, and drove new spikes in streams.
NEW WORLD
We’ve not just helped our artists and songwriters do new, brave, and disruptive things, we’ve held ourselves to the same standard. The industry is at a pivot point, and the changes we’ve made this year put us on the front foot.
There’s still plenty of work to do, but we’re getting stronger, faster, bolder all the time. As I’ve said before, focus and simplicity brings great intensity and impact:
➞Due to the changes we’ve made, we’ve delivered on our promise to put more money behind the music… growing our A&R investment by double digits.
➞We prioritized market share growth, bringing in pioneering new leaders in major markets, including the U.S. with Atlantic and in Japan, while investing in talent and entrepreneurs in high-growth territories, such as India.
➞We’ve shrunk the world, flattening our company, to make it easier for artists to break worldwide, while fully globalizing our catalog and distribution services.
➞We’ve successfully advocated for innovation in pricing and royalty models at the streaming services, while demonstrating the potential of AI (with Randy Travis still my personal favorite example!).
The throughline here is our powerful ability to amplify unique voices, crank up the contrast, and bring the shock of the new. Going into 2025, let’s lean into that expertise… we want to expand the music ecosystem while, crucially, growing our share. Our mission is to turn dreams into stardom and audiences into fans.
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a well-deserved break. So many exciting things to come in 2025!
Robert
Over the past decade, vinyl has grown from a can-you-believe that comeback story to a serious business. Vinyl sales revenue in the U.S. grew 10% in 2023 to $1.4 billion, the same size as the market for Latin music. (The latter brings in far more money overseas. So, over the last few years, to feed demand, labels have started to release a growing array of products, from “collectible” color variations of hit pop albums to high-end products aimed at the audiophile market.
Rhino Entertainment, the catalog division of Warner Music Group, will announce today (Dec. 10) that it is launching a new premium reissue series, Rhino Reserves. The albums will retail for $31.98, with a level of quality higher than many reissues, for a price lower than higher-end audiophile reissues from Mobile Fidelity, which licenses albums from labels, or the company’s own Rhino High Fidelity albums. The first two albums, out Jan. 31 as part of Rhino’s annual Start Your Ear Off Right promotion, are Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel’s 1977 album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs and New Orleans icon Allen Toussaint’s 1975 Southern Nights.
One impetus for Rhino Reserves is the success of Rhino High Fidelity, an audiophile line that sells for $39.98 online, in numbered editions of 5000 (although the company often releases more unnumbered albums, if demand is high). The High Fidelity releases are sourced from analog tape and pressed on high-quality vinyl, and a few have sold out, including box sets of Doors and ZZ Top albums.
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“This is High Fidelity without the bells and whistles,” says Rhino senior director of A&R Patrick Milligan. “But these are in retail,” unlike the Rhino High Fidelity releases, which are only sold online. Milligan says the series will be sourced from analog masters, with the same attention to detail as the High Fidelity Series, and that the records will be pressed at Fidelity Records Pressing, the new plant owned by company behind Mobile Fidelity reissues. (The High Fidelity series is pressed at Optimal, in Germany.) They will be cut by mastering engineer Matthew Lutthans, although the first two releases will be done by Chris Bellman.
There is already some competition at this level. Blue Note has done well with its audiophile Tone Poet jazz reissues, as well as a high-quality but lower-priced set of reissues. Mobile Fidelity, which has been releasing high-end reissues for decades, is now more active than ever, as is Analogue Production. Both of those companies license the rights to reissue albums from the labels that own the rights.
Rhino Reserves will not release albums on a particular schedule, and the hope is that it will feature some hard-to-find classics, like the first pair of reissues, both of which are beloved by crate diggers but hard to find in high-quality pressings. Reissue buyers seem to be becoming a bit more varied in their tastes, as the generation that grew up with songs from the sixties gives way to one raised on seventies and eighties music.
Warner Music Group reported on Thursday that total revenue for its fiscal year rose 6% compared to a year-ago on strong digital and streaming subscription revenue. The company reported $6.43 billion in total revenue for the twelve months ending on Sept. 30, up 6% from the roughly $6 billion the company generated in the 12-months […]
Warner Music Group announced the launch of Warner Music Africa Francophone (WMAFR) on Thursday (Oct. 24).
The new venture will “spotlight incredible talent from Francophone Africa,” co-director Yoann Chapalain said in a statement. “It aims to connect diverse sounds and regions, elevate releases for maximum success, and expand the music’s reach globally.”
The launch comes at a time when demand for French-language music is growing. “Since 2019, French-language music streams have surged by 94%” on Spotify, the streaming service noted in a blog post in September.
“All regions of the world are embracing the richness and diversity of the French-language music scene,” according to Jeremy Erlich, head of music content at Spotify. “There’s been a sharp rise in the number of French-language music listeners on Spotify.”
Warner Music Africa Francophone will be a collaboration between Warner Music Africa, Warner Music France, and Africori, a distribution company. WMG previously announced that it acquired a majority stake in Africori in 2022.
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The company was working with around 7,000 artists at the time. “African music is booming all around the world and some of our artists are right at the heart of the explosion,” Yoel Kenan, CEO of Africori, said in 2022. “Through our partnership, Warner Music has proven that it is the perfect home for Africori and our artists going forward. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them as we break more artists on a global scale.”
WMAFR will be led by Chapalain along with Marc-André Niang. Chapalain also serves as A&R Manager at Africori, and Niang continues on as A&R director, French-speaking African repertoire at WM France.
“It’s important for us to be able to create new synergies for the development and structure of the Francophone market in Africa,” Niang said in a statement. “While the region is steeped in both culture and talent, the ecosystem faces challenges. Our team will connect creatives and help shape the environment to drive cross-cultural success.”
Simon Robson, WMG’s president of recorded music for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, likened WMAFR to 91 North, a joint venture between Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India that launched in 2023.
“There’s a strong cultural trade route between France and West Africa,” Robson added. “WM Africa Francophone will help us support the artists in that space.”
Warner Music Japan has appointed longtime Universal executive Takeshi Okada as the label’s new president and CEO, with a start date of Dec. 2. He’ll report to Simon Robson, president of international recorded music, who is temporarily overseeing WMG’s recorded business in the APAC region until a permanent appointee is announced. Okada transitions from EMI […]