Robert Kyncl: Last News

Thania Garcia Brandi Carlile will be honored with the Songwriter Icon award by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) as part of the organization’s annual meeting at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on June 14. “Brandi Carlile is in a class of her own,” said NMPA President and CEO David Israelite in a statement. “A critical success who has become a cultural and commercial force, she consistently has delivered stunning lyrics and vocals that cut to the heart of the human experience. We are thrilled to celebrate what she has given and continues to give to the craft of songwriting.” The first-ever NMPA Non-Performing Songwriter Icon award will be presented to country hitmaker Ashley Gorley and RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier will be presented with the NMPA Industry Legacy award. Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl will deliver a keynote conversation on the “value of music and the ever-evolving opportunities for songwriters, artists, and creators” in the context of streaming and artificial intelligence.

Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl has echoed comments by his Universal counterpart Lucian Grainge on the need to restructure the way streaming royalties are paid out. Speaking on the major label’s Q2 earning’s call yesterday, he said that “it can’t be that [an] Ed Sheeran stream is worth exactly the same thing than a stream of rain falling on the roof”.The former YouTube exec’s comments came as he announced disappointing results for the record label, with revenues showing almost no growth year-on-year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor New Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl faced a light release schedule during his first two quarters in office and has promised not to candy-coat the results. Although the company’s revenue was up 4% and its publishing division posted a strong quarter, the company is just beginning to emerge from that thin stretch of releases with strong performances from three recent albums from its Atlantic Records division, from Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow and Tiesto. As he did in his first earnings call, Kyncl nodded to that situation and then looked ahead to a robust release schedule for the remainder of 2023, with upcoming releases from Dua Lipa, David Guetta, Lil Uzi Vert, Burna Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Tiago PZK, Bailey Zimmerman, and others. “I’m very confident in the path forward, as we combine creative and marketing excellence with tech innovation to propel our growth,” he said.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Warner Music Group will eliminate 270 positions as part of a wider evolution of the company, new CEO Robert Kyncl announced to the company’s staff in an email obtained by K In order “to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve,” according to the memo. It was not immediately clear which positions or divisions will be affected. Warner is the world’s third-largest music company and includes the labels Atlantic, Warner, 300-Elektra, Parlophone, the reissue division Rhino and others, as well as Warner Chappell Music publishing. Kyncl was announced as the new CEO last September and in February took over for Steve Cooper, who left the company after 11 years. Kyncl, who for years had bridged the tech and entertainment worlds in major roles at Netflix — including overseeing the company’s shift to streaming — and YouTube, in which he was pivotal in repairing the streaming giant’s formerly contentious relationships with music companies. His unexpected move into the top position at Warner ushers in a new kind of tech-forward leadership at major labels.

according to the trade body IFPI.In addition, sales of physical formats rose by 4%, generating $4.6bn (£3.7bn) in revenues. Almost half of that figure (49.8%) came from Asia, where buying CDs and vinyl as souvenirs is a staple of the “idol” culture of Japan and South Korea.Performance royalties also rose by 8.6% to $2.5bn (£2.04bn), surpassing pre-pandemic levels.However, record labels are pushing for prices to rise to increase the industry’s income from streaming services.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Over the past couple of years, virtually every conversation about the challenges facing artists in the music-streaming economy has had one proposed quick fix: Raise subscription prices. As Milana Lewis, CEO of the distribution and payments platform Stem, told Variety last summer, “The price of everything else on earth is going up, and they all keep finding new ways to make subscriptions cheaper” via family and student plans, bundling and other initiatives. Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer have already done so, but others remain with the same $10 U.S. monthly price as when they started. New Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl brings a view from the other side to the top of the music industry: He was head of business for YouTube — where he led a sea change in the streaming giant’s relationship with the music industry by, guess what, introducing a paid music subscription service — and at Netflix, where he presided over the company’s shift from DVDs to streaming.

Thania Garcia Anitta and her label Warner Records have long been involved in a public dispute over the Brazillian pop star’s desire to have her contract terminated, but the dispute has grown increasingly hard to ignore in the past few weeks, as she has taken her issues directly to fans on social media. On March 8, Anitta uploaded a series of explainers to her Instagram story that started with a repost of the label’s use of her image for a post in celebration of International Women’s Day. The singer has been expressing her anger both on Instagram, where she posts in English, and Twitter, where she uses Portuguese. “Communication at Warner is so good that [they’re] posting me on a Happy women’s day looping post, even tho I had to go public to ask for the ‘woman respect’ that this date represents,” the singer wrote in her first post, saying the Warner post was “using [as] background the song they said would never break without a feat cuz I wasn’t strong enough for that.” The reference was to “Envolver,” a major hit in many markets in 2022, with Anitta alleging the label didn’t believe her own star power was sufficient without a feature from a bigger guest artist.

APPOINTMENTSWarner Music has hired Tim Matusch as VP Strategy & Operations. Matusch previously worked with new Warner CEO Robert Kyncl at YouTube.Booking agency Midnight Mango has announced that Barry Stewart has joined its team of agents. “It’s been a breath of fresh air to join such a supportive and dynamic group of very talented people”, he says.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Days after top YouTube exec Robert Kyncl was named as the next CEO of Warner Music Group, the company revealed in an SEC filing that he will earn approximately $15 million in his first year on the job, depending on performance targets. When Kyncl’s name was first mentioned as a potential successor to outgoing CEO Stephen Cooper, who leaves after 11 years in the role, many wondered whether the job would be sufficiently appealing for the executive who led Netflix from DVDs to streaming and has been YouTube’s business chief for much of his 12 years at the company. However, the SEC filing makes clear that the job is financially appealing: He will receive a base salary of $2 million, a target performance-based bonus of $3 million and an annual grant of performance share units with an aggregate, pre-tax value of $10 million.

Robert Kyncl, a 12-year veteran of YouTube’s senior executive team, will become CEO of Warner Music Group on January 1.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor After a fast courtship, outgoing YouTube head of business Robert Kyncl has been named CEO of Warner Music Group and will replace Steve Cooper when he steps down next year.  According to the announcement, Kyncl and Cooper will serve as co-CEOs for the month of January 2023. As of February 1, 2023, Kyncl will become sole CEO of WMG and assume Cooper’s board seat on WMG’s Board of Directors. Kyncl brings strong music-industry experience to the job: YouTube is both the world’s largest video-streaming platform and the largest music-streaming platform, and he played a huge role in its negotiations with labels and publishers and generally received high marks (remarkably, considering the often-contentious relations between the two sides). He’s also pioneering force in the streaming business: Before he was chief business officer of YouTube, he led Netflix from DVDs to digital.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor When YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl announced late last month that he’ll be leaving the company after 12 years in the job, many observers quickly moved him to the front of the line to replace outgoing Warner Music CEO Steve Cooper, who’d announced just two months earlier that he’ll be stepping down after 11 years in the job. After all, Kyncl knows the music industry  — YouTube is both the world’s largest video-streaming platform and the largest music-streaming platform, and he played a huge role in its negotiations with labels and publishers and generally received high marks (remarkably, considering the often-contentious relations between the two sides). He’s also pioneering force in the streaming business: Before he was chief business officer of YouTube, he led Netflix from DVDs to digital, a transition that was much more complex and fraught with potential failure than he and the company made it seem.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Robert Kyncl will exit YouTube in early 2023 after more than 12 years as a senior exec at video giant. He most recently served at YouTube’s chief business officer, helping to grow it into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse. Kyncl’s departure was announced in a memo Monday to YouTube staff by CEO Susan Wojcicki, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. Kyncl is leaving “to start the next chapter in his career,” Wojcicki wrote. “Under his leadership, YouTube forged new relationships and partnerships in music, traditional media and tech, and our creator ecosystem – without him, the term ‘YouTuber’ wouldn’t be a mainstream term.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorMiguel Quiroga, after spending more than 20 years of his career at Verizon, is joining YouTube as VP of product partnerships.Quiroga will oversee the YouTube experience across the video platform’s partner ecosystem. That includes managing and developing partnerships for YouTube’s suite of products, including the YouTube app (on mobile and connected-TV devices), YouTube Music, YouTube TV and the platform’s shopping services.Quiroga replaces Heather Rivera, who exited YouTube in February 2022 after nearly 15 years at Google to join grocery-delivery company Instacart.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorYouTube is getting out of the business of originals: The Google-owned video giant said it is winding down its original productions team after more than six years.Earlier, news broke that Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s global head of original content, will leave the company in March. Going forward, YouTube will only be funding programs that are part of its Black Voices and YouTube Kids funds, chief business officer Robert Kyncl said in a statement Tuesday.Citing the growth of YouTube’s Partner Program for ad-revenue sharing — which now tops 2 million participants — Kyncl said “now our investments can make a greater impact on even more creators when applied towards other initiatives.” “We will honor our commitment for already contracted shows in progress and creators who are involved with those shows should expect to hear from us directly in the coming days,” Kyncl wrote in the message posted to Twitter.When it first started out in originals, YouTube had planned to make a run at the subscription-streaming business.

YouTube’s return to its roots as a platform for user-generated content is complete. Following the news that YouTube Global Head of Original Content Susanne Daniels has resigned after more than six years, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl just announced the streamer’s retreat from original programming to focus on creator-driven initiatives such as Creator Shorts Fund, Black Voices Fund, and Live Shopping programming.