A veteran executive of Warner Music Group is headed to SoundCloud, Billboard reports. During his 17-year tenure at Warner Music Group, Stephen Bryan helped the music company establish and grow its digital presence. Bryan was EVP of Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music group and will now take on the role of SVP of Business Development and Strategy for the digital platform.
This hire comes at a time of transition for SoundCloud, as the company seeks to figure out a business model that keeps the record labels happy.  Kaskade has been particularly outspoken about the current state of SoundCloud, transitioning his creative material to other platforms after his SoundCloud music was taken down by the site because of copyright infringement of Ultra Records.
Earlier this month, Billboard reported that SoundCloud was nearing a deal with three major labels, including Warner Music Group. Â Each of the three companies (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner) would receive a piece of equity in exchange for licensing deals. Â It will be interesting to see how Bryan’s presence at the company will impact its streaming monetization strategy. Â Bryan told Billboard, “The really compelling thing about the platform is that we’re at the early stages of listening moving to a streaming model — it’s inevitable that global listening will move to a streaming model. I see enormous growth as that continues to happen.”
Source: Billboard
Image: AP Images
