NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Warner Music Group has tapped music entrepreneur Scott Cohen to serve in the newly-created position of Chief Innovation Officer for the label giant’s Recorded Music division.
Cohen, who co-founded the digital music, film & video distribution company The Orchard, will report to Max Lousada, WMG’s CEO, Recorded Music.
Cohen’s new portfolio will see him working with Lousada and other members of Warner’s senior management team to help chart the long-term course for the company, with an eye towards the intersection of music, technology, and culture.
A noted public figure on the subject of music tech, Cohen is an outspoken proponent of augmented reality and virtual reality, and the sometimes controversial subjects of Blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence.
He is also the co-founder of CyborgNest, a company exploring the interface of biological and digital intelligence. However, he began his career in the 1980s in the more traditional field of music management with both indie and major labels.
In 1997, Cohen and Richard Gottehrer (co-founder of WMG’s Sire Records label), started The Orchard on New York’s Lower East Side to provide independent artists the ability to sell their music to mainstream audiences.
With the launch of iTunes in 2003, The Orchard delivered the largest catalog of independent music to the digital music consumer. A year later, they had become the first indie digital distributor to hit one million paid downloads.
In subsequent years, The Orchard expanded into video, music licensing, marketing & analytics, royalty collections, sports media, and other arenas. Two decades after its formation, the company is now owned by Sony Music and has operations in 40 global territories.
Cohen sat on the British Phonographic Industry Council for many years and sits on the boards of many companies. He is also a human rights activist and strict vegan. Cohen holds a BA degree in Psychology from George Mason University.
