There’s a giant change taking place on the high of one in every of Warner Music Group‘s most vital international divisions.
Cat Kreidich is leaving her position as President of ADA Worldwide, WMG’s distribution and companies division for indie labels and artists.
Kreidich joined ADA as Govt Vice President in 2020, earlier than being promoted to President in 2021.
She succeeded Eliah Seton – now CEO of SoundCloud – within the place.
In an inside be aware despatched to ADA colleagues right this moment (July 22) and obtained by MBW, Kreidich stated: “We constructed an distinctive international group and expanded our international launch quantity, revitalized our model identification, and developed a digital platform particularly designed for impartial artists and labels inside the Warner provide chain. We made strategic acquisitions like RSDL, which Warner will go on to make use of to assist gasoline their total recorded music enterprise.”
In his personal inside be aware, Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group, stated: “Cat is a category act. A daring thinker and decisive chief, she’s at all times centered on what’s finest for the indie neighborhood – its artists, its labels, and its spirit. Underneath her management, ADA has grown its relationships throughout the inventive ecosystem, expanded its international attain, and strengthened its group and tech.”
Kyncl promised WMG’s staffers “an replace on ADA management [later] this week”.
Kreidich’s departure comes amid an growing focus throughout the trade on the majors’ impartial companies arms.
Simply final month, Rob Stringer, Chairman of Sony Music Group, informed Sony buyers: “In an setting the place practically half {the marketplace} is made up of the impartial music sector, gross sales flowing via [Sony’s] impartial distribution companies greater than doubled the final 4 years.”
Stringer famous that The Orchard now represents over 26,000 labels, whereas AWAL works with over 20,000 artists; he additionally claimed that “none of our rivals come near that magnitude of scale”.
In the meantime, Common Music Group is closely investing within the international scale of its personal indie companies division, Virgin Music Group (VMG).
Final yr, VMG accomplished the acquisition of Europe’s [PIAS], whereas additionally saying its proposed buyout of Downtown Music Holdings – house of FUGA.
Common/Virgin’s potential acquisition of Downtown will now, as confirmed earlier right this moment, be scrutinized by the European Fee’s regulators in a ‘section two’ investigation of the deal.
Mentioned regulators might wave via the acquisition, or alternatively drive UMG into modifying the buyout in Europe – together with potential divestments.
Label offers signed at ADA beneath Kreidich’s tenure included agreements with Rostrum Data and Three Six Zero Data.
ADA has additionally just lately signed offers with indie artists similar to Flume, Kesha, BANKS, and Paris Hilton.Music Enterprise Worldwide
