Picture (L-R): Will McDonald, Shawn Cohen

Elektra Music Group, the newly formed stand-alone music company set to launch on Oct. 1, has announced two appointments to its A&R team. Will McDonald has joined the label as Vice President, A&R and Marketing, based in Nashville. Shawn Cohen has been named Senior Director, A&R, based in Los Angeles. McDonald and Cohen report to New York-based Elektra Music Group Co-Presidents Mike Easterlin and Gregg Nadel.

McDonald has spent the past decade with Dualtone Music Group, the Nashville-based independent label, most recently serving as Senior Director of A&R and Marketing. He was instrumental in signing much of the company’s roster, including multi-Platinum, Grammy-nominated folk rock band the Lumineers, as well as Shovels & Rope, Shakey Graves, Mt. Joy, and many others. Alongside his A&R duties, McDonald was involved in the marketing and product management of all of the label’s releases.

Elektra Music Group will include Elektra, Fueled By Ramen (FBR), Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, and Black Cement Records – which will be nurtured as unique, independent label brands. Co-Presidents Easterlin and Nadel will report to Atlantic Records Group Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman and Chairman & COO Julie Greenwald. The Elektra Music Group roster will include notable artists such as Twenty One Pilots, Sturgill Simpson, Zac Brown Band, Brandi Carlile, Fitz and the Tantrums, Paramore, Slipknot, Panic! At The Disco, Coheed and Cambria, Kaleo, Gojira, and others.

At launch, Elektra Music Group will boast a 60-plus member team embracing all key music company functions, including A&R, Artist Development, Business & Legal Affairs, International, Marketing, Promotion, Publicity, Sales & Streaming, and Video. The departments will be led and staffed by a combination of current members of the Atlantic, Elektra, FBR, and Roadrunner teams, as well as new hires.

Cohen most recently served as an A&R consultant, and is responsible for signing The Revivalists, who scored with the No. 1, RIAA Gold single, “Wish I Knew You.” He has worked with artists such as Jillette Johnson, Allday, and SPEAK. He previously spent six years at Wind-up Records, from 2010 until 2016, rising to Senior Director of A&R. He has also worked with artists such as the Griswolds, Citizen Zero, Crobot, Young Guns, and Filter, and spearheaded the formation of Eclypse Records with Feenixpawl.

“As we said when we announced the launch of Elektra Music Group, we’re going to be passionately devoted to long-term artist development,” said Easterlin and Nadel. “Signing and nurturing authentic artists will be at the core of everything we do, so it’s only fitting that our first staff announcement is about two of the most creative, independent-thinking young A&R people in the business. Will and Shawn come to us with great experience in discovering and working with original, compelling artists. And with Will in Nashville and Shawn in LA, we’ll solidify our cross-country A&R presence, which will enable us to build a dynamic roster of world-class talent.”

Pictured (L-R): BMLGR’s Matthew Hargis, BMLG’s Sandi Spika Borchetta, BMLGR’s Jimmy Harnen, Lady A’s Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, BMLG’s Scott Borchetta, Lady A’s Dave Haywood, BMLG’s Andrew Kautz, Allison Jones and Mike Rittberg

Lady Antebellum have signed with Big Machine Label Group’s BMLG Records. A reconnection of sorts for the trio whose success has taken them around the globe, the deal finds Lady A once again crossing paths with BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta and BMLGR President Jimmy Harnen.

“We have been truly blessed throughout our career to work with some of the brightest people in music,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “We’ve watched BMLG become the powerhouse they are from the sidelines and couldn’t be more excited to become part of their family. We hope to honor all the people who have been part of our story over the last 10 years – can’t wait to work with some old friends again and are excited for where it takes us all together!”

“Lady Antebellum is the consummate vocal group,” Borchetta says. “Hillary, Charles and Dave have a special chemistry that only the greatest bands of all time have and what you see is what they sing – and it’s the sort of thing no label can create, only magnify. I am delighted that we get to assist them in writing the next chapter in their extraordinary career.”

With nine No. 1 Country hits, two AC chart-toppers, a No. 2 spot on the Hot 100, Lady A hits critical mass with the American public over and over again. Their musically forward, fresh and uplifting sound has sold over 18 million albums. Their songs reflect youth, romance and an ideal of how people hope to live. They have appeared on nearly every TV show imaginable including being the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

“Our extreme belief in Lady A, admiration of their amazing career and the greatness they have yet to achieve, as well as being their biggest fans,” begins Harnen, “makes this the thrill of a lifetime.”

“It is also the grand reuniting of a large musical family,” Harnen continues. “Scott Borchetta and I worked with Linda Davis, Hillary’s mom (as well as her father Lang Scott) when we were both at DreamWorks. Michelle Tigard Kammerer worked closely with Lady A when they signed to CAA, and Matthew Hargis and I helped break the band at radio on their debut album. The long associations, close ties and the group’s always incredible music is literally why we do this.”

With seven GRAMMY® Awards, including the 2011 overall Record and Song of the Year awards for “Need You Now,” six Country Music Association Awards, including back-to-back Single of the Year nods for “I Run To You” and “Need You Now,” seven Academy of Country Music Awards, including three Top Vocal Group and Album of the Year trophies, and four straight American Music Awards for Favorite Country Group, the undeniable quality of the trio’s music defines them.

With 2017’s Heart Break receiving both GRAMMY® and Country Music Association Award nominations, after well-received solo albums from Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, Lady A is currently writing and recording new music that is poised to be the best music of their careers.

C.F. Martin & Co.® (Martin Guitar) has become the first company in the musical instruments industry to receive B Corp certification, on Sept. 1, 2018. This certification recognizes companies that use business as a force for good, meeting the highest standards of positive impact on society and the environment, focusing just as much on people and the planet as they do on profit.

“I am personally very proud of our B Corporation certification,” said Chris Martin, Chairman and CEO of C.F. Martin & Co. “Being the sixth generation of Martin to have the privilege of running my family business, I have always thought that corporate culture, used appropriately, can be a significant competitive advantage. Our partnership with B Lab and the community of Certified B Corporations will make us a better business in a very holistic way.”

B Corp launched in 2006. To date, there are over 2,500 B Corp certified companies worldwide, including Ben & Jerry’s, Athleta, Patagonia, and Seventh Generation. To earn the certification, C.F. Martin & Co. completed a process conducted by B Lab, the governing body of B Corp certification, which looked at over 170 different factors, examining Martin’s customers and vendors, its record of inclusion, its involvement in the community, its corporate governance, and its environmental impact. Things like average employee tenure, amount of charitable giving, energy savings plans, recycling policies, employee volunteer service, and upward mobility are all assessed.