DAVIS TO DRIVE A&R FOR WARNER CHAPPELL U.K.

Amber Davis has been promoted to Head of A&R at Warner Chappell Music U.K. after five years at the pubco, during which time she's signed some of the biggest songwriters to have broken out of the British music scene in recent years, among them Dave, J Hus, Raye, Skepta and Stormzy.

Previously A&R Director, her new role will be effective starting 10/1. She reports to Mike Smith, Managing Director of Warner Chappell Music UK.

Warner Chappell Music Co-Chair and CEO Guy Moot hired her as an A&R assistant at EMI Music Publishing more than 10 years ago. “I knew then that she had the drive, determination and diligence to go far, as well as a real feel for how to help songwriters fulfil their potential.”

Smith noted, “Amber’s one of the standout A&Rs of her generation and yet one of the most modest people you’ll ever meet. Her role in the U.K. urban scene cannot be underestimated, but she’s also proved adept at working with writers from Girls Aloud to Celeste.”

At WCM, victories for Davis include Skepta’s Konnichiwa (2016) winning the Mercury Prize and seeing him named Songwriter of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 2017, multiple Brit Award winner Stormzy’s Gang Signs And Prayer (2017) became the first grime album to top the U.K. charts and won Best Album at the Ivor Novellos. Most recently, Dave enjoyed a #1 album with Pscyhodrama (2018), which has been nominated for the 2019 Mercury Prize.

Davis also supports a wider roster of songwriters including B Young, Celeste, DJ Spinall, Dyo, Katy B, Odunsi (The Engine), Ssega, Steel Banglez,Swifta and Tom Zanetti. Before joining WCM as Creative Director in 2014, Davis spent 10 years at EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV, where she signed Girls Aloud, Two-Inch Punch and Tinie Tempah.