What really makes a song go viral? And how do labels make them a hit? In this episode, Billboard On the Record sits down with the CEO of Atlantic Records, Elliot Grainge, on the first anniversary of his appointment to the job to talk about the label and the forces that are shaping the modern music industry, from the rise of TikTok and the aftershocks of COVID to the way new audiences are discovering music in real time. Grainge shares how he is building a new team at Atlantic, the genres that inspire him, and why artificial intelligence could dramatically change how artists are found and supported.
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Billboard On the Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions.
Kristin Robinson:
Welcome to ‘On the Record,’ a new music business podcast with Billboard and SickBird Productions. I’m your host, Kristin Robinson, and today, we are joined by a very special guest, Elliot Grainge, CEO & Chairman of Atlantic Music Group and founder of his own label, 10K Projects. I wanted to have him on to chat because Elliot became CEO of Atlantic almost exactly a year ago today, a move which shocked many in the music industry when it happened. Elliot was just 30 years old at the time and hadn’t spent that much time working within the major label system before his hiring. Instead, he cut his teeth building his own independent label, 10K Projects, working with artists like Ice Spice, Trippie Red and Surfaces. His first foray into the major label system was when he sold a stake in his company to Warner Music Group in 2023, but if any 30-year-old could take on the CEO job at a label as big as Atlantic, it might be Elliot. That’s because he’s been raised in one of the most storied music industry families in history. His father Lucian Grainge is the CEO and chairman of Universal Music Group, the largest major music company in the business and a competitor of Warner Music Groups. And Elliot also has other industry ties. His grandfather ran a record shop, his cousin was an early champion of Amy Winehouse and his uncle founded Ensign Records. In just a year at Atlantic, Elliot has put some impressive wins on the board. He propelled “Ordinary” by Alex Warren to the top of the Hot 100 and Pop Airplay Charts.
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