It’s been a good week for Warner/Chappell boss Jon Platt and his team.
For one thing, Platt had been named on the illustrious Power 100 by Ebony in the US – rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Dave Chappelle, Viola Davis, Representative Maxine Waters, Chance the Rapper and Oprah Winfrey.
Meanwhile, Warner/Chappell has just been named the No. 1 music publisher in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2017, according to Billboard’s quarterly rankings of the top 10 publishers.
The company took the title from Sony/ATV, which had been No. 1 ever since it was involved in acquiring EMI Music Publishing in 2012.
Sony/ATV fell to third place in the Q3 list with an 18.67% market share for the top 100 radio songs.
Universal Music Publishing Group retained its hold on the No. 2 spot overall for the second quarter in a row, with a 20.37% market share for the top 100 radio songs.
“This latest accomplishment reinforces what we already know: that our focus on putting songwriters first is putting Warner/Chappell first.”
Jon Platt’s internal note
Warner/Chappell was up an impressive five percentage points over the previous quarter, hitting 22.99% of the market and landing cuts on 55 of the top 100 radio songs.
In addition, Warner/Chappell was the No. 1 country music publisher for the quarter, with market share nearly double that of the No. 2-ranked publisher.
Chappell CEO & Chairman Platt sent an internal note to his team yesterday (November 2) congratulating them on the achievement.
MBW has obtained that note, and it reads: “Alongside our success in the U.S., we are home to a thriving and growing global community of songwriters. We’re reaching new heights all over the world, including a creative resurgence in the UK, Germany and France.
“This latest accomplishment reinforces what we already know: that our focus on putting songwriters first is putting Warner/Chappell first – and that our songwriters are creating the biggest hits around the world.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the knowledge, dedication and passion that each of you brings to our company day in and day out.
“Congratulations to Katie, Ben, Ryan, their teams and our entire global team on a job well done.”
Katie Vinten and Ryan Press are Co-Heads of A&R; Ben Vaughn is President of Warner/Chappell Nashville.Music Business Worldwide
