10K Projects has formed a joint venture with Runway Records, a newly launched label created and led by Ben Bijur. He recently joined Atlantic Music Group as VP of A&R.
Serving as a developmental hub for emerging hip-hop artists, Runway Records combines early-stage talent identification with internet-native growth strategies.
Runway Records’ first signing, Atlanta-based rapper Aziedoesntexist, is already generating over 800,000 daily streams within three months of her first release, Everglades. It reached the top spot on Spotify’s Viral Chart and has featured on more than a million video creations on TikTok.
Since launching just months ago, Runway Records has generated over 60 million streams and delivered three Top 10 records on the TikTok Top 50 chart.
“Ben has brought his keen sense of culture, the ability to identify emerging talent, and his entrepreneurial spirit to launching Runway Records, and we are here for it at 10K,” said Nico Ziangas, co-president of 10K Projects. “We’re looking forward to working with him and his team to continue to build the successful repertoire at Runway.”
Atlantic Music Group COO Zach Friedman said: “Ben is extraordinarily talented and determined as both an executive and entrepreneur. We are thrilled to have him working across Atlantic and Runway.”
Ben Bijur (photo credit: Kathlyn Almeida)
Ben Bijur said: “Under the leadership of Elliot [Grainge], Zach and Tony [Talamo], the new Atlantic Music Group is redefining what a record label looks like in 2026. Their ability to think differently and identify gaps in the market has driven meaningful success across the roster, and that forward-thinking approach is exactly what drew me to the company.
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of what they’re building. At the same time, Nico has built a best-in-class infrastructure at 10K Projects – one that truly empowers entrepreneurial ventures like Runway Records to operate and scale at a high level – and I’m incredibly thankful to be partnering within that ecosystem.”
Bijur has already signed emerging hip-hop artists since joining Atlantic, including Diamond*, Ksuuvi, Sorisa and Gorilla Glue & Lil Nakur, a viral Russian rap duo with more than 50 million global streams to date.
Bijur previously served as employee number one at Signal Records, a joint venture with Columbia Records, where he signed or played a developmental role with artists such as Topoppgen, Nino Paid, Vonoff1700, Bloodhound Q50, Lil Scoom, and others.
Collectively, artists he signed or developed at Signal Records have generated over 2.5 billion streams to date.
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