Sometimes, editing Music Week feels like a fairly big job (particularly on weeks like this edition’s record-breaking behemoth of a Q4 preview, which I always think of as our equivalent of the bumper Christmas Radio Times).
But, mammoth task though that has been, it’s hard not to spare a thought for Max Lousada as he starts his new, properly massive job today (Monday) as CEO of recorded music at Warner Music Group.
It’s probably no coincidence that he starts just as the Warner divestment process ends and Q4 begins, meaning he knows exactly what he has to work with.
His vision for the new gig has yet to be revealed, although his successful tenure in charge of Warner UK has set his stall out pretty clearly.
Changes are clearly coming at Warner Bros US sooner rather than later, but elsewhere it seems likely that Lousada will take the time to consult his team before making sweeping alterations.
That has certainly been his style in the UK, where he’s always given label bosses the freedom to build distinct record company identities.
It seems likely that Lousada will take the time to consult his team before making sweeping alterations
The recent relaunch of Sire suggests more of the same Stateside, while his greenlighting of the Firepit project also hints that the future of Warner may lie in being more of a wide-ranging, tech-savvy content company, rather than just a music one.
There may, of course, be a few bumps in the road along the way. Other top British execs landing plum jobs over the pond haven’t always found the locals overly friendly.
And who knows how challenging splitting his time between two locations and running the UK alongside the global job will prove.
But it’s great to see another UK exec answer the door when great opportunity knocks, especially as music’s biggest quarter gets under way. Let’s get to work.
You can revisit Max Lousada's Music Week Big Interview from February 2016 here.
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