Kyncl says the major is not willing to "grow [indie distribution] at all costs" in a talk that also hit on the company's Spotify deal, recent reorganization and tech investments.
"We’ve not just helped our artists and songwriters do new, brave, and disruptive things, we’ve held ourselves to the same standard," Kyncl says in a year-end note to staff.
CEO Robert Kyncl discussed higher wholesale prices for DSPs, Elliot Grainge and the 10K team's "intensity," and putting money to work in A&R.
It’s all about streaming — the artists doing the best, how it helps Warner’s catalog and CEO Robert Kyncl's insistence that Spotify is not a proxy for the industry.
The new app, which Kyncl says will roll out later this year, was announced at the Web Summit conference in Qatar this week.
Warner Music will sell its owned and operated media properties such as Uproxx and HipHopDX in order to reinvest $200 million in other parts of the company.
“One thing I’d like us all to remember is that our world has fundamentally changed… the music business is in a very different place than it was 10 years ago,” Kyncl writes.
Kyncl spoke at the Code Conference on Tuesday, saying, "You have to embrace technology, because it's not like you can put technology in a bottle."
Lyor Cohen said that artificial intelligence can "open up a new playground for creativity" at the Made on YouTube event on Thursday.
The third-largest label marked the second straight quarter of lackluster results for its recorded music division, with revenue roughly flat over the year-ago period.
