WMG's flagship label, Warner Bros. Records, is rebranding as Warner Records after 61 years. The major label is billing this the latest step in the company’s ongoing evolution. But let's be honest, "Bros." was always an awkward add-on.
This "evolution" follows Aaron Bay-Schuck joining Warner Bros. as U.S. Co-Chairman & CEO in October 2018, Tom Corson being appointed U.S. Co-Chairman & COO in January 2018, and Phil Christie being named President of the UK label in 2016.
Maybe now that "Bros" is officially gone, the label make room for a women or two in the executive suite?
The name change also follows the company’s recent move to a new, state-of-the-art headquarters in downtown LA’s Arts District.
As you might imagine, there's also a "bold" new logo, "with an artful simplicity and impactful typography that are ideally suited to the digital world" which apparently needs some 'splaining:
"The circular icon – suggesting a record, a sun, and a globe - is a nod to the label’s past, present, and future. The openness of the design gives it the flexibility to embrace all Warner Records artists and all genres of music around the world.
Warner Bros. Records was founded in March 1958 as an arm of Warner Bros. Pictures, whose “shield” logo was adopted by the fledgling label and has been used by the company ever since. In 2004, when Warner Music Group was sold by Time Warner and became the world’s largest independent major music company, it was agreed that Warner Bros. Records would continue to use the Warner Bros. name and logo for 15 years."
The new Warner Records brand identity and logo were developed in partnership with Emily Oberman and her team at Pentagram. Pentagram has worked with Rolls Royce, London Fashion Week, Rotten Tomatoes, and Sundance Institute, and Sotheby’s, as well as music projects for the likes of The Rolling Stones and The National.
“For the first time in the label’s history, we’ve had the opportunity to create a distinct, modern identity entirely of our own,” said Corson and Bay-Schuck. “The timing couldn’t be better, since we all feel the label is at a moment of reinvention that builds on our legacy, while moving into a future driven by fearlessness and creativity. We have a growing roster of world-class artists, a rejuvenated team, and an incredible new location. It’s a new day for Warner Records, an iconic label that was born in the California sun, and is at home everywhere on earth.”
“We’re signing and developing the next generation of British artists to move global culture, so we wanted the Warner Records brand to have the power and freedom to mean different things to different people around the world,” said Christie. “A new logo isn’t meaningful on its own, and our label will always be defined by the originality of our artists, our music, and our people.”
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