Warner Music UK imprint East West is set for a revival as Atlantic Records A&R Paul Samuels joins the team in a dual role.
Samuels’ new joint title is VP, A&R, Atlantic & East West Records UK.
In addition, East West will launch a new specialist imprint for mainstream entertainers called Warner Music Entertainment.
Samuels began his career working for Atlantic Records Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman on his first independent label Big Beat Records.
When Big Beat was bought by Atlantic, the exec started working with the label’s wider roster and helped to break Estelle globally with her multi-million selling hit ‘American Boy’.
At Atlantic UK, where he was promoted to VP, A&R in 2014, Samuels has signed a number of acts including Craig David, Spiller and Flux Pavilion for North America, and Sinead O’Connor, Estelle, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Rumer, Enter Shikari, Delilah, Honne, Kwabs, and Dan Owen on global deals.
He has also worked with multi-platinum selling artists Birdy and James Blunt.
Samuels’ first signing to East West is Irish artist Áine Cahill who recently toured with JP Cooper and Kodaline. At Warner Music Entertainment, he will receive additional A&R support from Ric Salmon.
“Paul’s appointment and the launch of Warner Music Entertainment are a sign of our intent for East West.
“We’re determined to grow the label’s reputation as a home for artists with the power to move pop culture and the talent to become household names, whatever the genre.”
dan chalmers, east west
Dan Chalmers, President, East West Records said: “Paul’s appointment and the launch of Warner Music Entertainment are a sign of our intent for East West.
“We’re determined to grow the label’s reputation as a home for artists with the power to move pop culture and the talent to become household names, whatever the genre.
“Paul is widely respected for his ability to discover and nurture exciting acts that’ve had huge hits and long careers, and pairing him with [MD] Angie [Somerside], who is one of the most inventive marketers in the business, makes for a dynamic combination.
“As we invest more in A&R, we’ll be nurturing a new generation of stars at East West, while providing an industry-leading service to mainstream stars at Warner Music Entertainment.”
Samuels said: “I’m really excited for the chance to work with Angie and Dan on the East West revival.
“angie and dan have already began to create an impressive roster, together we’re going to develop it further and recapture the spirit of the legendary label.”
paul samuels
“They’ve already began to create an impressive roster, together we’re going to develop it further and recapture the spirit of the legendary label.
“East West has always been known for extraordinary artists like Áine Cahill and I can’t wait to introduce even more quality new voices to the mix.”
Somerside, who joined East West last year having previously held roles as GM at Columbia Records and MD at Mute, continued: “We’ve already had some impressive success and I can’t wait to take it to the next level with Dan and Paul.
“East West is synonymous with nurturing acts – and we have developed an exceptional, passionate team at the label who are all working towards helping to break some great new pop stars.”
angie somerside, east west
“East West is synonymous with nurturing acts – and we have developed an exceptional, passionate team at the label who are all working towards helping to break some great new pop stars.
“This is an exciting new era for East West Records and Warner Music Entertainment.”
East West is currently home to artists such as Robert Plant and Lindsey Buckingham, as well as new talent like Dusky Grey and Nikhil D’Souza.
Warner Music Entertainment will look after Bette Midler, Alexander Armstrong and Sheridan Smith, with new music from Boyzone and Cliff Richard on the way later this year.
Music Business Worldwide
