Renowned Industry Veterans Jason Flom, Craig Kallman, Julie Greenwald and
Ahmet Ertegun to Lead New Company
NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Warner Music Group (WMG) announced
today the senior management structure of The Atlantic Records Group,
consisting of Atlantic, Elektra and Lava Records. Jason Flom, Lava Records'
President and Founder, has been named Chairman and CEO of The Atlantic Records
Group. At the same time, Atlantic's President, Craig Kallman, has been named
Co-Chairman and COO of The Atlantic Records Group, and Julie Greenwald,
formerly President of Island Records, has been named President, reporting to
Flom and Kallman. Ahmet Ertegun will continue with the company as Founding
Chairman of Atlantic Records. Flom and Kallman will report to Lyor Cohen,
Warner Music Group's Chairman and CEO of U.S. Recorded Music.
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In making the announcement, Cohen said, "A great music company always
needs a central heartbeat to guide the careers of both artists and executives,
and to nourish the creative process. I am very pleased to announce that Jason
Flom, Craig Kallman, and Julie Greenwald, along with Ahmet Ertegun's guidance,
will now assume this very serious responsibility. Jason has proven himself
from the outset as an exceptional music man. Jason's A&R resume alone
chronicles a remarkable history of contemporary music, and the extraordinary
success he has enjoyed with Lava Records is evidence of a natural leader with
uncommon business instincts. Craig, right out of college, created a
pioneering independent label from scratch, and went on to build an outstanding
career distinguished by unerring leadership in both the indie and major
company arenas. He has a brilliant track record in discovering and breaking
talent in a diversity of musical genres. With these two amazing music
executives leading the company, and with Julie Greenwald, who has demonstrated
consummate skills in management, operations and marketing, we now have the
ideal team in place. Along with Ahmet Ertegun, whose wisdom and musical
sensibility have sustained Atlantic -- if not American popular music culture
-- for decades, we have an unparalleled depth and breadth of executive talent.
The thorough grasp of the nuances of our business these executives have
demonstrated and their aggressive entrepreneurial spirit is exactly what our
newly energized Warner Music Group needs to meet the challenges of a changing
marketplace."
Said Flom: "From the time I started as a trainee field merchandiser for
Atlantic 25 years ago, I always dreamed that this moment would come. This
will always be Ahmet's house and it's my goal to continue his vision by taking
chances and breaking important new artists. Having grown up listening to
bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Queen, and to now be working
side-by-side with Craig, leading the company that spawned these incredible
artists, is both a great honor and an awesome responsibility. I want to thank
Ahmet for showing the way, and Lyor for opening a new door. With the benefit
of Julie's enthusiasm and experience, we promise to deliver great artists and
great records, marketed and promoted by the best team in the business."
Said Kallman: "I'm very excited to be part of the team which has been
charged with the mission of leading this company into the future. The
histories of Atlantic and Elektra are sources of incredible inspiration,
legacies of amazing music from groundbreaking artists who have reflected and
shaped our contemporary culture. Both labels began life as innovative,
grassroots-driven indies that ultimately transformed the music business, and
Lava has become a worthy addition to that tradition. That entrepreneurial
spirit will continue. I look forward to partnering with my colleague Jason as
we strive to forge a great new company for a new era. It is an honor to
continue to work with Ahmet, who has been a great mentor. And I am delighted
to join forces with Lyor, my longtime friend, and to welcome our new friend
Julie into the fold."
Said Greenwald: "As two of the most respected and important music
companies in this business, Atlantic and Elektra have a combined roster of
talent and a rich heritage that is second to none. Working together with
Jason, Craig Ahmet and the incredibly talented staff that has been assembled,
I am excited to be part of this great team as we create a forward-looking and
innovative music company of the future -- one that can easily adapt to the
evolving industry and takes full advantage of change. Moving forward, we will
work hard to make The Atlantic Records Group the most creative and supportive
environment for new and existing talent, one that offers the most exciting
opportunities for artistic development in the industry."
Said Ertegun: "When we started Atlantic Records nearly 57 years ago, we
did it because we were first and foremost music fans. I am thrilled to say
that as this company enters a new era, it will continue to be run by real
music people. Lyor Cohen follows in the tradition of the great music men of
our business, whose lives and careers have been driven solely by passion and
creativity. Needless to say, I am immensely proud that two of Atlantic's own
sons, Jason and Craig, are assuming the senior posts in our new label group.
Jason literally grew up in this company, from his start as a field
merchandiser 25 years ago to one of the industry's top A&R men and label
heads. Craig is cut from the same entrepreneurial cloth out of which this
label was created, and he has truly hit his stride as an exceptional,
visionary record man. Along with Julie, they form a leadership team of
extraordinary strength, depth, and above all, love for the music -- one that
is ideally suited to build upon the legacy of this great company."
Since 1995, Flom has served as President of Lava Records, the label he
founded within Atlantic Records. At Lava, Flom continued to build on an
exceptional A&R track record that includes a string of multimillion-selling
rock bands such as Twisted Sister, Skid Row and White Lion. In the 80s and
90s, he expanded the breadth and depth of his signings with such artists as
Tori Amos, Clannad, Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker, matchbox twenty, Sugar Ray, Edwin
McCain and The Corrs. He also brought Ireland's Celtic Heartbeat label to
Atlantic and oversaw the signing of Stone Temple Pilots and Collective Soul.
Since its inception, Lava has been responsible for breaking an incredible
string of new artists whose albums have sold in excess of 100 million units
worldwide.
Craig Kallman began his music industry career as a DJ at many of the top
clubs in New York City. In 1987, he founded the independent Big Beat label.
When the label was acquired by Atlantic in 1991, Kallman joined Atlantic as
Vice President/Assistant to the Co-Chairman and was later promoted to
Executive Vice President. In that position, he oversaw Atlantic's entire A&R
operation, working with such artists as Aaliyah, Brandy, Junior M.A.F.I.A,
Lil' Kim, P.O.D., and Linda Eder and Frank Wildhorn. Since 2002, he has
served as Co-President of Atlantic. That same year, Kallman forged an
alliance with pioneering dancehall reggae label VP Records, whose first
release by Sean Paul has sold over 5 million copies and earned three Grammy
nominations. He is also responsible for bringing to the label such artists as
Twista, T.I., The Donnas, Craig David, Nappy Roots, TapRoot, Trick Daddy, and
Trina.
Greenwald, who joined Def Jam Records in 1992, established the label's
award-winning marketing department and helped shape the company into the urban
powerhouse that it is today. Working with artists such as LL Cool J, Jay-Z,
DMX and Ashanti, she and her team helped the label land dozens of platinum and
gold records throughout the 90s. In 2002, she was simultaneously named
President of Island Records and promoted to Executive Vice President of Island
Def Jam. In these positions, she oversaw all aspects of the label that serves
as the rock and pop division of The Island Def Jam Music Group and played an
instrumental role in developing and promoting the careers of Sum 41, Mariah
Carey and Bon Jovi.
The son of the former Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Ahmet
Ertegun was born in Istanbul and subsequently raised in Switzerland, Paris,
London, and Washington, D.C. A passionate music fan and collector, Ertegun
founded Atlantic Records in New York City in the fall of 1947 -- serving not
only as an executive, but also as a producer and a songwriter as well. Under
Ertegun's direction, Atlantic evolved from a groundbreaking, independent r&b
and jazz label into one of the world's preeminent music companies -- and
established a legacy that includes such icons as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin,
John Coltrane and Led Zeppelin. Ertegun is a founder and current Chairman of
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In recognition of his pioneering
contributions to popular music, he was himself elected to the Hall of Fame in
1987, and the Museum's main exhibition hall in Cleveland bears his name. In
2000, he was honored as a "Living Legend" by the United States Library of
Congress on the occasion of the Library's Bicentennial.
About Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group, with its broad roster of new stars and legendary
artists, is the world's largest privately-held independent music company. The
company is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music
industry including Atlantic, Elektra, Lava, Maverick, Nonesuch, Reprise,
Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word. Warner Music International, a leading
company in national and international repertoire, operates through 37
affiliates and numerous licensees in more than 50 countries. Warner Music
Group also includes Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's leading music
publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide. For
more information about Warner Music Group, visit our corporate website at
http://www.wmg.com.
SOURCE Warner Music Group
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