Music Week broke the news yesterday that Tony Harlow is stepping down from his role as CEO at Warner Music UK.
In his statement to staff, Harlow said that his departure after six years would create “new long-term opportunities and space for our amazing senior management team to continue to grow as individuals and as leaders”.
Now we know what those opportunities look like for top execs at the company, as it makes moves to help support British talent break through in the US.
Warner Music Group has announced that its flagship Atlantic Records and Warner Records labels in the UK and US will collaborate more closely across A&R and marketing to give artists from both countries greater global impact.
In this new framework, Atlantic UK co-presidents Ed Howard and Briony Turner will join the global leadership team of Atlantic Music Group (AMG) and report to AMG CEO Elliot Grainge.
Joe Kentish, president of Warner Records and Parlophone Label Group in the UK, will join Warner Records’ global leadership team and report to Warner Records Group chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and chairman & COO Tom Corson.
Warner Music UK’s other teams, including the shared services that support both labels, will be overseen directly by Simon Robson, president, EMEA, Recorded Music, WMG’s most senior recorded music leader in the UK, in partnership with Isabel Garvey, COO of Warner Music UK.
The announcement follows the decision of Tony Harlow, CEO of Warner Music UK, to step down from the role in October after almost six years at the helm.
Robson’s role is confirmed following the global shake-up a year ago when the seasoned exec was made part of the global leadership team to oversee Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA). The UK & Ireland group were made part of European operations.
Simon Robson, president, EMEA, Recorded Music
The move to align Atlantic and Warner Records builds on a long track record of partnership between the US and UK labels, which has seen British artists become some of WMG’s biggest global acts including Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Charli XCX, and more.
Meanwhile, their American counterparts – including Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, Alex Warren, Ravyn Lenae, and more – have been making a huge impact on UK charts as they build international careers.
“It amplifies the organic connection and turbocharges the process of breaking acts across both markets, accelerating global careers with greater speed and scale,” said a Warner Music statement about the new framework.
This strategic move will put more firepower behind British artists
Robert Kyncl
Robert Kyncl, CEO of WMG, said: “The UK is home to some of our biggest artists and most exciting emerging talents, who are helping shape culture around the world. It’s also a hugely influential ignition point for global stars who are growing their fanbases. This strategic move will put more firepower behind British artists, while strengthening the UK’s place in our ecosystem, as one of our highest priority markets. Above all, both our UK and US teams will be able to better mirror the way music moves in the world, further strengthening WMG’s collective impact and competitive edge.”
Joe Kentish said: "At Warner Records UK we are completely focused on taking British artists to the world. The UK market is more competitive than ever, and success requires the strongest possible connection with our US partners. By aligning Warner Records UK and US into one global force, we’re combining British creativity with American firepower, building on the incredible partnership we have with Tom and Aaron, and setting our artists up for worldwide success."
This is an incredible opportunity for British artists to more directly access greater resources and reach
Simon Robson
Ed Howard and Briony Turner said: “Atlantic Records was named after the ocean which lies between the UK and the US to symbolise the cultural links between these two countries. For the last two decades, Atlantic UK and US have together developed many of the most popular stars in the world, so this move is a very natural next step. We see eye-to-eye with Elliot and the Atlantic US team on the importance of building inventive campaigns that match the vision and ambition of our extraordinary artists, so we’re looking forward to embarking on this adventure together.”
Simon Robson added: “Today, artists have global aspirations for their careers from day one. In a streaming environment, where weight of population is an influential factor, this is an incredible opportunity for British artists to more directly access greater resources and reach. I’m looking forward to working more closely with our UK artists and leaders, as we continue to introduce the most distinctive British voices to the world stage.”
MAIN PHOTO: (L-R) Briony Turner, Ed Howard, Joe Kentish
FOLLOW 
