Dan McCarroll Named President of Warner Bros. Records

After spending his first year getting the lay of the land, Warner Bros. Records chairman/CEO Cameron Strang is making moves to put his stamp on the label and building his management team. Dan McCarroll has been named president of the label, as he moves over from Capitol Records, where he held the same title. This latest appointment comes on the heels of Brian Frank Senior joining as EVP of marketing & strategy and Dion Singer being pointed executive VP of creative marketing.

McCarroll, who reports to Strang and is based in the label’s Burbank, Calif., headquarters, served as Capitol Records president over the last few years helping to revive the fortunes of that label. There he led the label’s artist discovery and development efforts in the United States, with a roster that included Katy Perry, Emeli Sandé, Capital Cities, Ryan Adams, Sky Ferreira, Tori Kelly, the Beach Boys and Elton John.

“I am thrilled to join Warner Bros., whose creative culture has long been a model for our industry,” McCarroll said in a statement. “The company has a fantastic team, and it’s an honor to join with everyone to build on the label’s iconic legacy…I can’t wait to get to work with everyone and make some great music.”

WBR’s roster recently increased significantly following its parent company WMG’s decision to assign the majority of its Parlophone acquisitions to the label. Under the new structure, Warner Bros. Records will include new releases from Damon Albarn, Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Bat For Lashes, Eliza Doolittle, Conor Maynard, Gabrielle Aplin, among others, and catalog titles from Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Blur, Gorillaz, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Supergrass and Sinead O’Connor.

McCarroll had been executive VP of North America creative for EMI Music Publishing and signed and worked with  artists and songwriters as Butch Walker, Death Cab for Cutie, Pat Monahan and Train, John Mellencamp, Cobra Starship, Regina Spektor, Travie McCoy, Toby Gad, Steve McEwan, David Hodges, Alter Bridge, and Panic! At The Disco. Before that, McCarroll, who had spent many years as a touring and session drummer, had run the A&R department for The Music Company, the Elektra imprint formed by Lars Ulrich.

While Steve Barnett ultimately was named to head the Capitol Music Group as chairman/CEO, McCarroll had won the respect of the Universal Music Group senior management team after Capitol was acquired by UMG, which apparently did not go unnoticed by WBR execs.

“Enormously admired and respected throughout the music community, Dan brings a rare combination of talent and experience to our company,” Strang said in a statement. “An accomplished musician, publishing executive, A&R man, and label head, Dan has a deep understanding of artists and record making. He is the perfect fit for our music-driven mission at Warner Bros., and I’m looking forward to working closely with him as we deliver more great records from the incredible artists on the Warner Bros. label.”

While McCarroll is leading the creative team, Singer has been brought in to bolster the label’s marketing efforts. Prior to his new appointment Singer was previously senior VP of international artist development for WMG in London where he was involved in the creative for Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Jason Derulo and others. Meanwhile, Frank was formerly global Head of content & executive VO for Beats Music, the digital streaming service.

In the year since Strang–who is also the chairman/CEO of Warner/Chappell Music and oversees Rhino records as the head off WMG’s Music Publishing & Catalog Development division–the label has had success with DeRulo, Avenged Sevenfold among others and also has been involved in working radio for Macklemore and Lewis’ “the Heist.”

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