As expected, Scott Cohen has joined Warner Music Group in the newly created position of Chief Innovation Officer, Recorded Music, the company announced today. Cohen, who co-founded the digital music, film and video distribution company The Orchard, reports to Max Lousada, WMG’s CEO of Recorded Music. According to the announcement, in his new post, Cohen will work closely with Lousada and other members of Warner’s senior management team to “help chart the long-term course of the company at the intersection of music, technology, and culture.”
Max Lousada said: “Scott spots and champions emerging technology with the same level of passion, creativity and ambition that our A&Rs bring to artist development. A valuable addition to our senior team, he’ll be an amazing brand ambassador and thought-leader, who joins a great lineage of maverick entrepreneurs at the independent major.”
Scott Cohen said: “It’s no longer enough for entertainment companies to merely embrace change, they need to create the future themselves. What attracted me to Warner was the sense that Max and his team are building an environment where truly original, disruptive ideas can flourish. Warner is uniquely positioned to take an agile but principled approach to growing the universe of opportunity for music.”
Cohen began his music career in the late ‘80s in artist management. In 1997, he and veteran producer/ Sire Records cofounder Richard Gottehrer launched The Orchard with the goal of providing independent artists with the ability to sell their music to mainstream audiences. With the launch of iTunes in 2003, The Orchard provided the largest catalog of independent music to the digital music consumer. In subsequent years, The Orchard expanded into video, music licensing, marketing & analytics, royalty collections, sports media, and other arenas. Two decades after its formation, the company is now owned by Sony Music and has operations in 40 global territories.