COHEN TO INNOVATE FOR WARNER MUSIC

Scott Cohen, co-founder of The Orchard, has joined Warner Music Group in the newly created position of Chief Innovation Officer, Recorded Music.

Cohen will work closely with Warner’s senior management team to help chart the long-term course of the company at the intersection of music, technology and culture. He reports to WMG Recorded Music CEO Max Lousada.

“Scott spots and champions emerging technology with the same level of passion, creativity and ambition that our A&Rs bring to artist development,” Lousada said. “A valuable addition to our senior team, he’ll be an amazing brand ambassador and thought-leader, who joins a great lineage of maverick entrepreneurs at the independent major.”

A prominent public speaker on new business models for the digital age, Cohen is also the co-founder of CyborgNest, a company exploring the interface of biological and digital intelligence.

Cohen, who got his start in management in the ‘80s, and Richard Gottehrer, co-founder of WMG’s Sire Records, started The Orchard in 1997 as an independent distributor of digital music.

Cohen said: “It’s no longer enough for entertainment companies to merely embrace change, they need to create the future themselves. What attracted me to Warner was the sense that Max and his team are building an environment where truly original, disruptive ideas can flourish. Warner is uniquely positioned to take an agile but principled approach to growing the universe of opportunity for music.”