SONY BMG merges Nashville labels
RCA Label Group Nashville and Sony Music Nashville are separate operations no longer. In a delayed aftershock of the Sony-BMG merger, the company has restructured its country efforts, moving all its Music Row labels under a single umbrella called Sony BMG Nashville.
Joe Galante, the highly successful label kingpin who previously served as chairman of RLG Nashville, will head the newly combined group as chairman. John Grady, the well-liked president of Sony Music Nashville, is out.
The shake-up marks one of the first major moves by new Sony BMG CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz.
Country was one of the joint venture’s remaining areas yet to be streamlined. The only outward evidence of the merger in Nashville came last year when the Sony staff moved into the RLG building near the Row.
In an April 19 e-mail announcing the change, Schmidt-Holtz said the company was merging Nashville operations to create “a single powerhouse entity” that will be “better positioned to intensify our efforts in the areas of A&R and artist development, and to meet the challenges of a constantly evolving and highly competitive marketplace.”
To be sure, this is not the first time Sony BMG has integrated recorded music units as part of the merger. The company has pursued similar initiatives in catalog, classical and Latin. But Sony BMG’s reluctance to combine its country efforts — a move whose delay surprised many observers — illustrates the lingering integration pains the joint venture continues to experience.
EXECUTIVE SUITE SLIM-DOWN
A source close to the company says the merger is as much a leadership-streamlining effort as it is about combining operations. So far Grady is the only executive out of a job. And there are no immediate plans to consolidate or shutter any imprints, the source adds. Galante will command an A&R (artist and repertoire) center for the company’s country labels and report to Schmidt-Holtz. Schmidt-Holtz called Galante “a proven leader.”
There is no word yet about what’s next for Grady. He took the helm at Sony in May 2003, arriving from Nashville-based DMZ Records, where he also served as president. Among his biggest successes at Sony was the 2004 breakthrough of
Gretchen Wilson with her quadruple-platinum “Here for the Party” album.
Sony and BMG have a large presence in Nashville. RLG comprises the RCA, BNA and Arista Nashville labels. Its heavyweight acts include
Kenny Chesney,
Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn,
Martina McBride,
Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and
Sara Evans. Sony Music Nashville comprised the Columbia and Epic labels, with key acts including Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Van Zant and
Miranda Lambert.
BMG’s Nashville operations finished second among the major labels in country market share last year at 26.5 percent — more than double Sony’s 12.6 percent country share, Nielsen SoundScan reports. Through the first quarter of 2006, BMG claims 23.2 percent share in country versus 12.9 percent for Sony.
Industrywide country music sales slipped 3 percent in 2005 to 75.3 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Year-to-date country sales are up 23 percent at 21.6 million units.
Reuters/Billboard
