Capitol Records UK has officially launched at Universal Music, led by Nick Raphael as President.
Raphael will report into Universal Music UK CEO and chairman David Joseph. Raphael’s current team at London Records, including Senior Vice-President of A&R Jo Charrington and Head of Marketing Tom Paul, are all moving across to the new setup which will be based in London.
It’s first time the historic Capitol Records label has had a standalone presence in the UK. The label, part of EMI, launched in the US in 1942 where it recorded and released the music of such luminaries as The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Nat King Cole from its landmark Los Angeles headquarters, the Capitol Records Tower.
Following UMG’s purchase of EMI Recorded Music in 2012, the Capitol Music Group is being reborn in the US, with Steve Barnett joining as Chairman and CEO in November.
David Joseph said: “For us to work with Capitol is an honour and a tremendous opportunity – it’s a label with an incredible past but what the new team are doing promises a huge amount for the future. Here in the UK, the same can be said for what Nick’s leadership can do for the label, with Capitol joining Virgin EMI, Island, Polydor and Decca to complete our line-up of frontline labels.” The UK launch will see Raphael working closely with US-based British executive Barnett – the pair first worked together 12 years ago at Sony.
Raphael said: “When David approached me to run Capitol Records in the UK I jumped at the opportunity to run a legendary label with an incredible roster and the chance to work with Steve Barnett again.”
[Pictured, Nick Raphael with Capitol Music Group CEO and chairman, Steve Barnett]Music Business Worldwide