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Warner Music Information
Warner Music Group
The Warner Music Group is one the world's 'Big Four' record labels, and the only one to be independently run. It is owned by group of private investors headed by CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Its labels include the Atlantic Records Group, Reprise, Rhino, Rykodisc, Sub Pop and East West Records.
The history of WMG began with the foundation of Warner Bros. Records in 1958, when the Warner Bros. movie company decided to expand its interests into record production.
In 1967 Warner was bought by Seven Arts Ltd for $84 million dollars and the company name evolved into Warner Bros-Seven Arts. One of the first decisions of the new boardroom was the purchase of Atlantic Records. However, in only two years Warner Bros-Seven Arts was forced to sell its operations due to mounting financial concerns. The new owners were the Kinney National Company, a funeral parlour conglomerate.
1970 saw a dramatic change in Warner Bros' fortunes, sparked off by the success of the Woodstock film. As a result of the boon Kinney purchased Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records.
Financial scandal in 1972, in Kinney's non-entertainment interests provoked another name change, this time to Warner Communications Inc. The company then decided to tie up its three record labels into one unified group and name them Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (WEA).
In 1987 Warner purchased the music publishing company Chappell Music and renamed it Warner-Chappell Music. The same year the company announced that it was to merge with Time Inc, the USA's largest magazine publisher. When the merger was completed two years later Time Warner emerged.
In 2000 EMI and WMG announced merger plans, but these were curtailed by European anti-trust laws. There were, however, no restrictions on WMG's parent company Time Warner merging with AOL the very same year, at a cost of $183 billion - at that time the largest corporate merger in history.
Time Warner, rumoured to be beleaguered by a hefty debt load, sold off their record company for $2.6 billion to a group of investors headed by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. The spin-off was completed on February 27, 2004.
The increasing dominance of Universal and Sony in the 'Big Four' bundle provoked rumours of another merger attempt between the WMG and EMI. The rumours eventually proved founded when 2006 not only saw EMI attempt a buy-out of WMG but Warner propose a takeover of EMI. Both offers were nevertheless rejected by their respective boards.
Haydn Mullineux, 2006
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Interviews with A&Rs at Warner Music
Interview - Jeff Blue, VP of A&R at Warner California - Sep 12, 2001
“For three and a half years, I spent every day with Linkin Park...”
Jeff Blue is VP of A&R at Warner California. Linkin Park, Beautiful Creatures and Impur are some of the rock acts for whom he is A&R. He previously worked at Zomba Music Publishing, where he signed Limp Bizkit, Korn, Macy Gray, and Linkin Park. Read about how he finds new talent, what he looks for in an artist and much more.
How did you get started in music biz and what has been the route to becoming an A&R?
I started out as a drummer. I went to UCLA for my undergraduate studies and was in a band there. I was acting and doing commercials, and finally ended up going to law school. I passed the bar but decided that law really wasn’t for me. When I got out, I found out what A&R was, and wanted to break into the business. But because I had a law degree and was a lawyer, nobody would give me a chance. So I decided to become a journalist. I started out with small magazines and ended up within about a year doing freelance writing for publications like Billboard, Hits, Entertainment Weekly, and Music Connection, and writing for my own magazine Crossroads. Everything I wrote was about unsigned artists. I wanted to meet A&R people and have something for them. A lot of the unsigned acts I wrote about ended up breaking, and that’s how I got some attention. At the same time I was performing in, managing, writing for and producing a band, and was an attorney working for a law firm. I ended up gaining a little notoriety that way, because I was all over the place. Eventually I landed a job at Zomba Music Publishing mainly because I had broken some acts through journalism.
What qualities got you your first A&R appointment?
I think I was extremely driven and very diverse. I could play instruments, knew my way around the studio and wrote music. I also had a legal background and knew how to negotiate deals. I could express myself because I was a journalist, and used to cover music and critique it. I think the qualities that I gained from being a writer and that I learned from experience helped me communicate to other people what was lacking and what was good in their material. I knew how to play, so I could talk to artists and explain ideas and suggestions.
Which qualities, in your opinion, are necessary to be a successful A&R?
The general experience of getting into a studio and understanding how to write is imperative. I think that’s an experience which is essential in developing the skills for A&R. I guess you could just say, “Hey, I really like or don’t like this song”, but I think it’s really important to have the ability to communicate to an artist what you think is good or not good about it. As an A&R you have to be able to guide an artist, that’s your job, to do that you have to be able to tell them what you recommend and believe works and what doesn’t, what exactly, which note, and be able to discuss that area with them.
Which are some of the acts you have worked with?
When I was VP of A&R at Zomba Music Publishing between 1995 and ‘99, I signed and developed Macy Gray. She had given up and gone back to Ohio where I tracked her down and convinced her to get back into the music business. I worked on her demos, worked on creating her entire package as an artist, shopped her to a major record label and got her a deal. I also signed Limp Bizkit, Korn and Linkin Park. This was all around 1996 and 1997. I went to Warner brothers in 2000 and the act that I brought in there was Linkin Park.
Which acts are you currently working on?
I have an act called Impur and they’re a band of 14, 15, 16 and 20-year-olds, like Metallica meets Incubus meets Linkin Park but heavier. No DJing, no rapping, very melodic and the kids are just phenomenal musicians.
How were you approached by them?
A friend of mine told me about the drummer who was 11 at the time and said how amazing he was. I ended up hearing a demo that wasn’t very good but because I was right down the street from where they were playing I went up and saw them and was actually very impressed. I made a development deal and have now been working with them for over a year and a half. I’m with them six hours, six days a week. I have them in a rehearsal room right next to Warner Brothers. I spend a lot of time with every one of my bands. For three and a half years, I spent every day with Linkin Park, also in the development process, and I was able to sign them. So all in all I’ve been with Linkin Park for a total of six years now. I’m a big believer in the spending-time way of developing. I have a band called Beautiful Creatures, just released. They are like an old school rock band in the vein of Guns and Roses and AC/DC. I spent a year and a half, every single day, with them, writing and creating a sound that people haven’t heard in a long time and trying to make it special and new. The album just came out and has had a good first week.
How did Linkin Park come about?
I’ve always had interns working for me. When I was at Zomba Music Publishing I had an intern from UCLA named Brad Delson. He saw me signing Macy Gray and Limp Bizkit. He was a very talkative kid, very self-assured. He told me that he was starting a band and that it was going to be bigger than any of my other bands. He was like a kid brother to me. He gave me some early songs, and I gave him a hard time about them. I went to see his band anyway, the first show they ever did, was really impressed, and offered them a publishing/development deal on the spot. We ended up doing the deal but I couldn’t get the band signed. I went through two bass players and one singer. Almost three years into the band I found Chester Bennington. I was at a music conference and a friend told me about this singer from Phoenix. I was so desperate I called him up when I was in Texas and told him, “I’m sending you the music and the original songs and I want you to sing over them.” It was his birthday, and he said he couldn’t do it, so I promised him that this band was going to be huge and asked him if he could please do this for me. He actually left his birthday party, went into a local studio at night, sang the tracks and sent them back to me the next day. When I received them at my house, I listened to them, thought they were really good, and told the band that I had found their singer. It took a while, they auditioned a lot of people, but eventually Chester managed to get into the band. I was adamant about Chester being in the band. I was totally convinced, so I flew him out on my own dime. I just knew this was the kid. Obviously he is one of the most talented vocalists in the music business. He combined with Mike, Brad, Phoenix, Joe and Rob are just pure talent and have, I believe, a very long career ahead of them.
How do you find songs and producers for your acts?
Well, I work with a lot of my acts in terms of developing them so the producer is something that I take very seriously. I never really look for songs for the acts but I look for producers who have good song ability. Some of the producers I’ve hired were because we couldn’t get another producer and we were just very lucky. For example with Linkin Park we went through a whole selection of producers and nobody wanted to do it. Don Gilmore was the only one who was really interested, he was the only one available, and he ended up being perfect and doing a phenomenal job on it. So we were very fortunate with some of our decisions, which were made on our gut instinct, and where we didn’t go for the “name” guy.
The most important thing in choosing a producer for me, since I’m a song person, is, I want a producer that’s also a song person so they can check me as well. I’m in the studio every single day and I’m very involved in everything in the record realm and I would like to have somebody as opinionated as I am. Of major importance to me in choosing a producer is their ability to write, play instruments, sing, and consequently their ability to communicate with the artists.
What proportion of your time do you spend looking for new acts to sign, in comparison with the time you spend dealing with already established acts in your roster?
I spend about seven hours a day with my acts. I spend about an hour in the car or in the office listening to unsigned acts. Sometimes I go out to see shows. I dedicate a lot to the artists I already have, that’s a promise I make to them. When I’m in the studio, it’s 16 hours a day. I go to the office in the morning. I may listen to music, take care of business, e-mails… And I’m on the cell phone the rest of the day. I’m in rehearsal or in studio and people can get hold of me there. I spend more time with the existing acts, but I do have my assistant listen to everything and hand me tapes and CDs at the end of the day.
How do you find new talent?
... to read the continuation of this article, click here.
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Interview - Jef Cahours, A&R at Warner Music France - Feb 6, 2006
“It’s very difficult for us to develop 2 artists in the same style, to have them played on the same radios and the same TV channels. It’s very difficult to be in competition with ourselves,”
… says Jef Cahours, head of A&R at Warner Music France. He was awarded No.1 on the France Top 10 A&R Chart 2004 for signing Tragedie (No.1 France).
Read about why Warner won’t sign two artists of the same style, what Jef considers to be an overproduced demo, how they approach the radio and what the advantage is of doing this as a major.
How did you get started in the music business?
I began as a musician and manager of a band in the middle of the 80’s. We did 4 albums, were touring for 10 years, and during that time I was doing the tour-management as well.
After that came to an end a friend of mine at Virgin asked me if I would like to be his assistant. I went there just to try for a few months, but I loved the job and stayed there. That was in 1995.
Then I went to V2 Records in 1999 and worked with Thierry Chassagne, who is my boss today, and I have followed him since then. I went with him to Sony Epic France and also when he built his joint venture with Warner in 2003. After Warner bought the label Up music he became president of Warner Music France, and that’s how I became head of A&R for Warner Music France.
What does your work involve?
I work with the other A&R guys and the management directors of the labels. We decide together if we sign an artist or not.
How do you find new talent?
Managers or artists themselves come to see me. I listen to a lot of projects sent by post and receive a lot of emails with mp3’s. I do this everyday; even during the weekend I listen to stuff at home.
After 2 minutes I know if the song will be interesting for us or not. If it’s interesting, I listen to it again later. I need more than one listen. After that we have meetings and share the different points of views.
How important is it that an artist is from France?
We really have to focus on French artists. We receive stuff from foreign countries, but it’s very rare that we sign these projects, because we have a radio quota in France which means that 40% of the music has to be French. Usually the rest is taken up by U2, Madonna or other known artists.
So it’s very difficult if you come with a non-French artist, especially when there has been no previous success in England or Germany. If the artist has success abroad it helps us with the decision.
If you have an English song and add 3 words in French, would it be rated as a French song?
No, sometimes we make some duets; if we want to launch an international artist in France then the lyrics have to be 50% in French. We are doing this with Seeed actually. I was in the studio last week with Saian Supa Crew to do half of the Seeed song in French for the radio.
2 out of 3 records sold here are locally produced and mainly in French. The Spanish market has quite the same characteristics. It’s very linked to the culture because French people listen very carefully to the lyrics. A good song with very good lyrics can be a smash hit here, but a very good song with bad lyrics won’t work. When you listen to a Beatles song you listen more to the lyrical melodies rather than the lyrical meaning, even if they have a good meaning. But in France the meaning of the lyrics can make the song.
How many acts do you work with at the same time?
4 or 5 actively, and 10-12 where only one track needs to be produced, where after the first single we have a 4-month time to eventually prepare the album. It’s not the same work finding a song for a new artist as it is controlling everything on the production with the producer and the people that are involved.
Do you have a limit on how many releases you can have?
... to read the continuation of this article, click here.
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