Warner Music Group
Universal Music Group Embraces AI “Soundscapes” With New Deal
Universal Music Group — the music label behind Sting, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande — has decided to embrace artificial intelligence, rather than only fight the new technology. UMG has signed a deal with sound wellness company Endel to enable its roster of artists to use proprietary AI technology to create mood music soundscapes […]
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Warner Music CEO on AI: “Framing It Only as a Threat Is Inaccurate”
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cardi B and Bruno Mars, posted higher second-quarter revenues, even as net income fell amid “macroeconomic, currency and release slate headwinds,” the music label reported on Tuesday. Overall revenue rose 2 percent to $1.39 billion, while net income fell 60 percent to $37 million, against $92 million in […]
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Warner Music to Cut 270 Jobs Amid Push to “New Tech Initiatives”
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cardi B and Bruno Mars, is set to lay off 270 employees, or around 4 percent of its global workforce. On Wednesday, newly-installed CEO Robert Kyncl told staff via an internal memo that “we’re reallocating resources towards new skills for artist and songwriter development and new […]
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Warner Music’s New CEO Calls Songs “Undervalued,” Charts “Next Phase of Our Evolution”
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cardi B and Bruno Mars, reported lower fiscal first-quarter revenue and earnings Thursday as new CEO Robert Kyncl set his sights on “the next phase of our evolution,” while also highlighting “a challenging business environment.” The latest quarter was hit by timing factors as the […]
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Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Music Publishing Drive Warner Music Revenue Growth
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Cardi B and Bruno Mars, reported higher fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and net income Tuesday, with its music publishing unit growing revenue 23.9 percent. The music major said that top sellers in its recorded music unit in the latest period included Sheeran, Jack Harlow, Dua Lipa […]
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Warner Music Taps Top YouTube Exec Robert Kyncl as New CEO
Warner Music Group has found its next CEO. The label says that Robert Kyncl will succeed Stephen Cooper on Jan. 1 of next year. Kyncl knows Warner Music well, having spent years as the chief business officer of YouTube, one of the label’s biggest partners. Kyncl announced his intention to step down from YouTube last […]
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“The Longest TV Negotiation I Have Ever Seen”: Behind Kate Bush’s ‘Stranger Things’ Sync Deal
Kate Bush’s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill” has been given “a whole new lease of life” with its starring role in a crucial scene of season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the music star said in June. Soon after, the song topped charts in multiple countries, setting records in the process. The success of […]
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Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Music Publishing Drive Warner Music Revenue Growth
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, reported higher fiscal third-quarter revenue and net income on Tuesday as music publishing revenue grew 30 percent and a bounce back in some parts of the business previously affected by the COVID pandemic. It also cited “solid underlying streaming growth […]
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Warner Music Group CEO to Step Down in 2023
Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper will leave the media company next year. In an SEC filing on Wednesday, WMG, home to the likes of Cardi B. and Bruno Mars said it “has begun planning for the succession” of Cooper, who will continue to serve as CEO until his replacement is found and appointed. Cooper, […]
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Music Services May Have Less Churn Than Video Streamers, Warner Music CEO Says
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, reported higher fiscal second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, driven by digital growth. Earnings for the latest period fell to $92 million from $117 million in the year-ago period, “primarily due to aggregate realized and unrealized losses on the mark-to-market of certain […]
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Warner Music Group Launches Podcast Network With Shows Led by Lupita Nyong’o, Jason Derulo
Warner Music Group has launched a podcast network that will include a slate of shows hosted by Lupita Nyong’o, Jason Derulo and Billy Mann. Called Interval Presents, the network is led by Allan Coye, WMG’s senior vp digital strategy and business development, and will focus on developing podcasts with subjects at the intersections of music, […]
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Warner Music Earnings Rise, Digital Revenue Jumps
Warner Music Group, home to the likes of Cardi B and Bruno Mars, reported higher fiscal first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Net income for the latest period, ending on Dec. 31, rose from $99 million to $188 million. Before the market open, the music major also posted a 21 percent increase in revenue for the fiscal […]
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