Rob Cavallo Named Chairman Of Warner Bros. Records

Rob Cavallo, New WBR Chairman

WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP. has shaken up the executive hierarchy of WARNER BROS. RECORDS. WMG Chief Creative Officer ROB CAVALLO has been appointed Chairman of the WBR Label Group. WBR EVP/WMG INDEPENDENT LABEL GROUP CEO/ASYLUM RECORDS Pres. TODD MOSCOWITZ has been promoted to co-President/Co-CEO, while ATLANTIC RECORDS EVP/GM LIVIA TORTELLA has been upped to Co-Pres./COO. 

Exiting the company are WARNER BROS. RECORDS Chairman/CEO TOM WHALLEY and WARNER BROS. RECORDS COO/REPRISE RECORDS Pres. DIARMUID QUINN.

"The new WARNER BROS. executive team represents the ideal combination of skills to operate a successful music company in today’s radically evolving industry environment," WMG’s Vice Chairman/Chairman/CEO Recorded Music - AMERICAS and the U.K. LYOR COHEN said. "With ROB’s creative brilliance, TODD’s proven ability to develop and execute new business models and revenue streams and LIVIA’s established track record of building lasting artist careers, we have in place a group of executives who are uniquely positioned to continue to strengthen the reputation of WARNER BROS. as an artist-friendly haven with a visionary approach to discovering and nurturing new talent.

"TOM WHALLEY is one of this industry’s most accomplished executives and his contributions to WMG are enormous, having restored WARNER BROS. to its leadership position," COHEN added. "Just consider his near-decade of creative and operational success at WARNER BROS., including ranking as one of the country's top-three labels every year since 2003 and as the country’s top label in two of the last five years. TOM embodies a rare combination of great creative instincts with a deep understanding of the music business, and we are privileged to have had him lead WARNER BROS." 

"It is truly an honor to be named Chairman of a company that I’ve grown up in, that has played such an important role in shaping my career and embodies what it means to be an artist-oriented organization," CAVALLO said. "The team at WARNER BROS. has never lost sight of its core mission of serving artists and supporting the creative process. I’m so incredibly proud to have the opportunity to continue the legacy of the many great leaders of this company, from MO OSTIN to TOM WHALLEY, who exemplify this artist-centric mission in every aspect of their work. With TODD and LIVIA, and all of the great executives at the company, I’m confident that we can further enhance WARNER BROS.’ position as the preeminent home for artists, not just with respect to their work in the recording studio, but in all facets of their careers." 

"WARNER BROS. is one of the most respected brands in music, and with that comes a profound responsibility to insure that this company continues to be progressive and innovative in its approach to artist development, and treats its artists as true partners," MOSCOWITZ said. "There’s a great entrepreneurial spirit which lies at the foundation of this company, one that is more critical in today’s industry environment than ever before. I look forward to enhancing that sense of entrepreneurship and to creating the most effective platform possible to translate ROB’s creative vision into global artist successes. I want to thank TOM for his leadership and for helping to make WARNER BROS. the remarkable organization that it is today."

"Working at WARNER BROS., with its legendary artist roster and its talented employees, is truly a dream come true for me," TORTELLA said. "The WARNER BROS. logo stands for the finest music, regardless of genre, and most importantly for a commitment to building artist careers. By supporting ROB’s amazing skills as one of our industry’s most consistent discoverers and nurturers of talent, I’m confident we can achieve new levels of growth by continuing to focus on long-term artist development. I can’t think of a better, more passionate, talented and hardworking group of people to carry out that mission than the team at WARNER BROS. RECORDS."

Whalley Bids Adieu

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER reprinted an e-mail TOM WHALLEY just sent to staffers:

To The WARNER BROS. Family:

Moving on is never easy, but there always comes a time to do just that. The time has now come for me to leave WARNER BROS. RECORDS.

I began my career here in 1979 -- in the mail room -- with a dream that someday I might have the honor to serve as Chairman of this great company. To have had that dream come true for almost a decade has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received.

During that time, we’ve been guided by WARNER BROS. RECORDS’ unique philosophy, one that has helped build our special culture based on the combination of both the most creative executives and most talented artists in the industry. As a result, even with all the profound changes in our business and in WMG, we've managed to keep the emphasis exactly where it should be kept: on the music. We’ve never been afraid of music that was provocative or challenging, and we've never stopped nurturing our artists and helping them to build lasting careers. It's what this company has been about for 50 years. And always will be.

Because we've continually adapted and redefined what it means to be a modern music company, we’ve remained one of the best-performing labels in the industry. But, most importantly, we've achieved all we have without ever compromising the art. Or our artists’ vision. WARNER BROS. has remained true to its tradition and for the last nine years, we’ve continued to develop the careers of: BJORK, BUILT TO SPILL, MICHELLE BRANCH, CHRIS ISAAK, DEFTONES, DEVO, ENYA, ERIC CLAPTON, FAITH HILL, FLAMING LIPS, THE GOO GOO DOLLS, GREEN DAY, K.D. LANG, LINKIN PARK, MADONNA, METALLICA, NEIL YOUNG, PAT METHENY, RANDY NEWMAN, RANDY TRAVIS, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, R.E.M., SEAL, TOM PETTY and THE WHITE STRIPES, among others.

And established many great new artists including: AGAINST ME!, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, BIG & RICH, THE BLACK KEYS, BLAKE SHELTON, DAMIEN RICE, DISTURBED, HIM, JAMES OTTO, JASON DERULO, JOSH GROBAN, GUCCI MANE, MASTODON, MICHAEL BUBLÉ, MUSE, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, NEVER SHOUT NEVER, NEW BOYZ, THE RACONTEURS, REGINA SPEKTOR, RILO KILEY, ROBERT RANDOLPH, SERJ TANKIAN, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, TEGAN AND SERA, THE USED, THE WRECKERS and many more. The fact that we have three albums in the Top Ten this week is but one indication of the strength of our roster and our strong momentum.

This amazing roster is the result of the efforts of each and every one of you, an incredibly talented group of people who -- day in and day out -- constitute the very heart and soul of this company. An incredibly talented group of people I've been proud to call my colleagues and my friends.

Change is inevitable and more of it is certain to come, but your commitment and your passion will see you through whatever comes your way. Later today we will share with you the news about the new management team. But before then, let me say that I wish them only the best of success. They are going to be leading the greatest team in the business.

I want to sincerely thank LYOR and EDGAR for their leadership and their willingness to support my decision. I also want to thank all of the men and women whom I’ve had the great privilege to work with here through the years.

WARNER BROS. is an incredibly special place, I am so proud of you and the work we’ve done together.

With my appreciation,

TOM

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