Former Warner Music CEO joins Web3 Board

Feb 15

The Web3 world celebrates former Warner Music CEO Steve Cooper and his recently appointed position on the board of mass-consumer Web3 company, Oneof, who connects “the next 100M non-crypto-native fans to iconic brands, artists, and athletes,” according to their website. Backed by Quincy Jones, OneOf has announced collaborations with the Grammy Awards, iHeartRadio, MusiCares, and is looking to further it’s reach inside the Web3 world.

Cooper spent almost twelve years as the CEO of Warner Music. Cooper joined WMG in 2011, following a company acquisition, and during his time at WMG, he’s instrumented some significant moves, including nine-figure deals for the catalogs of David Bowie and David Guetta, and the £487m deal for Parlophone Label Group, which included the repertoire of Coldplay, Kate Bush, and more. When Cooper announced his departure in June 2022, he wrote to staff (as reported by the Wall Street Journal), “I’m now six decades into my career, and of everything I’ve done, this is the job I’ve enjoyed the most,” while also including, “We’re just at the beginning of a new golden age of music.”

Now, after nearly a year since WMG and OneOf announced a new deal in January 2022, Cooper is taking his six decades of industry experience into the Web3 world, and it seems like he has a bit of a fire underneath him. Cooper helped create a record-high revenue for WMG in 2022, and he could easily carry that energy through the rest of his career and into retirement, but he said no. He sees a new mountain to climb, the new beginning of that golden age of music.

Will we get movement? Is this the corporate media overlords coming to claim their stake in the new arena? I don’t know.

Regardless, I’m excited.