Whether you’re a fan of blues, R&B, hip-hop soul, rock, country or jazz, chances are Warner Music Group (WMG) is behind many of your favorite songs, albums and artists.
WMG’s family of record labels includes Atlantic Records, Elektra Records, Rhino Records and Warner Bros. Records – a catalog that features some of the most iconic and successful in music history.
The artists on WMG’s labels span genres and generations – from Led Zeppelin to Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac to Aretha Franklin, David Bowie to Bruno Mars, Tom Petty to Coldplay and countless others.
WMG has long and storied roots in Nashville, going back decades to the seminal recordings of Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson to current superstars like Blake Shelton and Hunter Hayes. Warner Music Nashville, WMG’s country music wing, was formally established in 2009 and operates on iconic Music Row.
This fall, WMG announced it would expand in Nashville, creating 175 new jobs at a second location in Nashville, a downtown office that will include financial, legal and administrative jobs for WMG’s newly formed U.S. Shared Services division. The expansion further solidifies WMG’s prominent role in Nashville’s $10 billion music industry as WMG also maintains its longstanding presence on Music Row.
We caught up with Kris Ahrend, WMG’s president of Shared Services, to get a sense on what will occur at WMG’s new Nashville office, and the company’s long term plans for the new operation. Ahrend will lead WMG’s new Nashville Center of Excellence for U.S. Shared Services alongside Ken Williams, chief financial officer for the division in Nashville.
