Warner Music Group has acquired British-born West End and Broadway musical theater record label First Night Records, bringing recordings for shows including Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Miss Saigon and Singin’ in the Rain to its stable.
WMG’s Arts Music Division, led by President Kevin Gore, will oversee the company. As part of the deal, First Night co-founder John Craig will join the Arts Music team under a multi-year consulting agreement to identify and record musical theater productions in the U.K.
The acquisition joins a growing portfolio of labels under Arts Music, including the recently relaunched Sesame Street Records and imprints with Cloudco Entertainment and Build-A-Bear Workshop. It follows the establishment of the joint venture with Kurt Deutsch’s Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records in the States.
