Quantcast
"His promotion to President is in recognition of his development as a leader, and confirms his status as one of the most talented, trusted and respected members of the Columbia team."
——Columbia Chairman Don Ienner

COLUMBIA'S WILL TO
POWER: UPDATE

Botwin Tapped as Label President by Ienner
As you heard first on hitsdailydouble.com, now it's Will Botwin's turn.

Hot on the heels of Island's promotion of Julie Greenwald (see hitsdailydouble.com 1/4)and Atlantic upping Craig Kallman and Ron Shapiro at Atlantic Records (see hitsdailydouble.com 1/4), the veteran label exec has been named President of Columbia Records Group by Chairman Don Ienner. Botwin will continue to report to Ienner, who had held the post since 1989, when, at 36, he became the youngest President in the label's 119-year history. His 13-year reign makes him the company's longest-serving prexy ever.

Botwin will work closely with Ienner, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the label and developing its strategic direction. He will continue to oversee A&R and Marketing, as well as assume expanded responsibilities in all areas of the company. Ienner had been known to be grooming Botwin for the top slot since recruiting him to the label in 1996 as Sr. VP. Botwin was upped to Executive VP Columbia Records Group/GM Columbia Records in 1998.

Said Ienner: "Since joining our team more than six years ago, he has grown into one of the music industry's finest executives. His promotion to President is in recognition of his development as a leader, and confirms his status as one of the most talented, trusted and respected members of the Columbia team. He'll continue to work by my side as we guide Columbia into the future. And now he gets to eat in the executive dining room, too.

"I look forward to working closely with Will as we continue to identify and nurture the very best new talent and further develop and enhance the careers of our heritage artists who are the backbone of this company's legacy. Which means get ready for those Boomtown Rats reissues."

Added Botwin: "Given the illustrious history of this pioneering label and its consistent prominence in the marketplace, being named President is a great honor and an even greater responsibility. Donnie has always demonstrated great faith in me, and I will continue to work extremely hard to live up to his confidence and to fulfill our commitments and responsibilities to our artists. This is a dream come true for me, right up there with this story appearing in Billboard."

Prior to coming to Columbia, Botwin ran his own Side One management company for 15 years, with a client list that included Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Los Lobos, Liz Phair, Mark Isham, Steve Earle, Lisa Loeb, Luscious Jackson and Rosanne Cash. He began his industry career as a college promotion rep at Capitol Records.

As expected, Sr. VP A&R Tim Devine will be given the newly created post of West Coast GM for Columbia in the Santa Monica office. The six-year label vet will retain his title.

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)