The 51st State

Why Warner UK’s restructure is a bad thing for British music.

Last week Tony Harlow, the highly respected exec who led Warner’s UK business for the last six years, announced that he’d stepped down from his role. Implicit in Warner Music Group’s accompanying announcement was that there’d be no backfill for Tony; no standalone lead for the UK’s recorded music business. Warner’s frontline label presidents would now report into the respective US-based CEO’s of Atlantic and Warner Records.

Mull that over for a bit. The group of British labels that either birthed or subsequently managed the repertoires of Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and Radiohead, and has since released records from Muse, Biffy Clyro, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX, Dua Lipa, Stormzy and Fred Again, no longer has a standalone leader.

There’s no figurehead at Warner to engage with other industry stakeholders, external partners and govern…