Warner Music Group Forms 300 Elektra Entertainment Label Group Under Kevin Liles
The announcement finalizes the structure and new branding for the combined label group.
The Warner Music Group has officially unveiled the final form of its new label group following its $400 million acquisition of 300 Entertainment last December. The new entity will be called 300 Elektra Entertainment — or 3EE for short — and will encompass 300, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA Records, Public Consumption, YSL Records, distributor Sparta and the new film and content division 300 Studios, the company confirmed today (June 22).
As has already been confirmed, 300 co-founder (and longtime Warner Music veteran) Kevin Liles will run the combined companies as chairman/CEO. Each of Elektra and 300 will remain “independent identities and cultures,” according to a press release, with Elektra headed by longtime co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin and 300 by newly-appointed co-presidents Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab. The release also notes the creation of “a 3EE central hub of expertise” across all the teams.
“Every single brand within 3EE was born as an independent, entrepreneurial label made up of music-lovers who take risks, break rules and disrupt culture,” Liles said in a statement. “The mission of 3EE is to reimagine our value proposition to artists and creative partners globally. We fuel the spirit of our labels’ identities through the creation of powerhouse brand management teams that span genres and cultures. Our people are handpicked because they all live what they work and love what they do. Every label within the 3EE family is driven by a unique point of view and purpose, and, at the same time, they all benefit from our years of collective expertise, wisdom and influence. We call this #BiggerFamilyBusiness.”
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The new label group also arrives with a new logo, combining elements of the two titles labels. And a mission statement for the group lays out a plan for a label with “the power of people, the power of service and the power of action,” combined with Liles’ longtime mantra for 300 as having the “mindset of an independent and the muscle of a major.”
“From the day we walked in the door at 300, we’ve been on a mission to sign original artists and nurture a brand that stands out from the crowd,” Bass and Bouab said in a joint statement. “Mike, Gregg and the Elektra team share our artist-first philosophy, and the combination of our companies creates an exciting, collaborative environment where artists across the musical spectrum can be anything and achieve everything.”
“From Elektra to Fueled by Ramen to Roadrunner and throughout our label family, we’re defined not by one single identity, but by a collective of distinctive brands,” Easterlin and Nadel said in a joint statement. “We’re very excited to be joining forces with Kevin, Rayna, Selim and the entire 300 team to build a company that nurtures authentic artists, songs and visions from conception to global greatness.”