Warner Music Group today (Wednesday) appointed Robert Kinkel as its CEO, handing over the reins to the outgoing business head of YouTube, as the record label tries to diversify its revenue streams. Kinkel, 52, succeeds Warner Music’s longest-serving CEO, Steve Cooper, who is set to leave the media company by the end of next year.
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Kinkel, who will start his new position on January 1, announced his resignation from YouTube last month, after working for 12 years at the company. Before that, he was vice president of content at Netflix. The move comes at a time when the music industry is looking for growth beyond streaming, by signing deals with ad-supported social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.
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After enjoying a boom in revenue during the Corona shutdowns, the sector is facing risks, as a result of rising inflation that has begun to hurt consumers’ wallets. Shares of Warner Music, the label behind artists like Ed Sheeran, Lizo and Dua Lipa, have fallen 40% this year and are trading around the 2020 IPO price of $25 a share.