James Steven, the longtime head of Warner Music’s corporate communications, has moved to the Universal Music Group as its new executive vp/chief communications officer, UMG announced today (Jan. 6). The move, widely discussed in industry circles for weeks, will be made official when Steven starts on Jan. 26, reporting to UMG’s chief administration officer Will Tanous.
Steven, who initially joined Warner Music Group in 2007, had previously worked under Tanous at WMG, before Tanous moved to Universal in 2013 as executive vp/head of global communications. Steven then took over the top communications role in 2015, a position he has held for the past decade. Tanous himself was promoted to his current position in 2021, which gave him more strategic, corporate and policy responsibilities, leaving an opening for a top communications person at the world’s largest music company.
Related
“We welcome James to UMG and look forward to his contributions,” Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “Given Will’s broadened role, it was important that we brought in a communications executive with experience and perspective — one who was able to step right in to help us continue to shape the future of music.”
While serving in the top comms job at Warner, Steven helped the company through a period of transition — not just in the broader recorded music business, which saw an uptick in fortunes due to widespread streaming adoption, but within the company itself. Warner became a public company once again through an IPO in 2020, and has gone through a major overhaul since the appointment of CEO Robert Kyncl in 2022, with its flagship labels Atlantic and Warner Records, as well as the broader corporate structure, all reshaped for a new era of the business. In his new role at UMG, Steven will have a global purview overseeing the company’s communications around the world.
“I know first-hand the extraordinary skill and dedication James brings to strategic communications and storytelling,” Tanous said in a statement. “His love of music and his broad experience across media and technology makes him an ideal fit for UMG as we enter the next phase of growth, driven by strategic initiatives that will unlock new opportunities for artists, songwriters and fans alike.”
In a press release announcing his new role, Steven did not comment.
