Eric Wong named President & CMO for Warner Recorded Music 09 Jul 2020
Industry Leader Joining Company in Newly Created Worldwide Role
Warner Music Group announced today that industry leader Eric Wong is joining the company as President & Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Warner Recorded Music, effective August 17th. Wong, who is currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Island Records, will continue to be based in New York and will report to Max Lousada, Warner Music Group’s Global CEO of Recorded Music.
In this first of its kind post at Warner, Wong will serve as the head of worldwide marketing, spearheading a one-company mission to expand careers for global artists and elevate local artists to the global stage. A key member of Warner Recorded Music’s senior leadership team, he will work closely with the company’s labels around the world to create and drive comprehensive marketing strategies, as well as overseeing Warner’s international A&R function, which helps achieve close collaboration across Warner’s network of local repertoire centers.
“If you want to propel the global conversation around artists, you need to be able to cut through the noise with the intensity, fluidity, and creativity needed to produce superstars,” said Max Lousada. “I’ve known Eric since he was with Atlantic over a decade ago. He’s a bold, inventive marketer with a true fan’s sensibility, and he’s been behind a string of disruptive campaigns that have launched global careers. He’ll have a worldwide remit to drive our one-company philosophy as we grow our artist development capabilities and expand our ability to make great talent impossible to ignore.”
“Max and his team have a visionary view of how artist development should work in the streaming age,” said Eric Wong. “The Warner global roster, from local talent to international superstars, is incredible, and I’m excited to work with everyone in the U.S., UK, and around the world to create the most inventive, impactful campaigns to break and sustain artists’ careers. I want to thank Max for this fantastic new opportunity, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Jessica Keeley-Carter and the global team.”
WMG currently operates in over 70 countries across the globe, and has continued its ambitious international expansion in 2020. So far this year, the company has opened its first offices in Turkey, Vietnam, and India, and announced its investment in Africori, the largest music distributor in sub-Saharan Africa.
Eric Wong reunites with Warner Music following nearly ten years at Universal Music Group. He served initially as EVP of Marketing for Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ), executing strategies for Kanye West, Rihanna, Avicii, Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Bon Jovi, and others. His responsibilities were expanded to overseeing the label group’s marketing, digital, creative, artist development, video promotion, and video production departments. Wong was named EVP/General Manager of Island Records in 2014, leading the way in shaping a new identity for the label. In 2018, he was promoted to Island’s COO, heading operations, strategy, and marketing for the label’s entire roster, including superstars such as Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Elton John, and Jessie Reyez. Wong was named to Billboard’s prestigious Power List in both 2019 and 2020.
Wong first joined IDJ in 1999 after graduating from New York University. During his early years at IDJ, he developed marketing campaigns and built relationships with the label’s roster of artists. In 2006, Wong was named to the dual posts of Chief Marketing Officer at Bad Boy Entertainment and SVP, Marketing at Atlantic Records, working closely with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jay-Z, Janelle Monaé, and others. Before returning to IDJ in 2011, he founded Wong Management in 2009, with a roster that included Mariah Carey.
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THE HEADLINES
Spotify talks growth, bundle royalties and short-video plans (see Digital)
BPI CEO calls on music industry and government to unite around 5 key priorities to support human artistry and sustainably promote British music (see News)
Hipgnosis Song Management fires back at Songs Fund board (see Business)
Blackstone bid for Hipgnosis receives backing from board (see Business)
Taylor Swift’s new album breaks Spotify records (see News)
Independence - what’s up with that BPI press release about 2023 music consumption? (see Comment)
Creator Remuneration Working Group meet for the first time (see News)
Concord's takeover of Hipgnosis (see Analysis)
Concord set to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund (see Business)
Is the music industry gaslighting artists? (see Comment)
BPI’s new Yearbook highlights an independent sector growing for a sixth consecutive year (see Reports)
Can’t cross the moat? Walk around it. (see Comment)
The conversation around Fandom needs to change (see Opinion)
Viagogo: Carrying on ticketing, despite the controversy (see News)
Taylor Swift songs return to TikTok (see Digital)
Spotify plans new remixing tools for the TikTok generation (see Digital)
Is Spotify plotting a largescale push into short-form video? (see Digital)