NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced that Verve Label Group president and CEO Danny Bennett will be departing the company amidst reorganization.
Bennett joined Verve in 2016 as UMG realigned some of its most prestigious jazz and classical imprints under the Verve Label Group moniker, which includes both the Verve and Impulse! labels and is the U.S. home to Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and ECM.
Commenting on his departure, Bennett said in a statement: “Being the CEO and president of Verve Label Group has been a remarkable experience and an incredible opportunity. I’m proud to be able to say that the company is now the leading Jazz and Classical label in the U.S. It has been an honor to work with Sir Lucian Grainge and Michele Anthony, along with the whole UMG family, and I’m thankful for the privilege of being able to build an amazing roster of new artists as well as a talented team of creative professionals who share my passion for the music.”
Under Bennett’s direction, Verve Label Group had a number of notable successes last year including: jazz icon John Coltrane’ first top 40 album in 51 years, Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album, Andrea Bocelli’s Si, which the singer’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the crossover classical album featuring duets with Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and others.
VLG’s roster and catalogues include Diana Krall, John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as contemporary acts Yuna, John Batiste, Cynthia Erivo, T Bone Burnett, Blake Mills, Tank and the Bangas, Shabaka Hutchings and his bands The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet, J.S. Ondara, and Ezinma and City of the Sun, among others.
Bennett will continue to run his artist management and strategic marketing company RPM Productions.
Universal Classics and Jazz president and CEO Dickon Stainer will take over direct responsibility for Verve Label Group, implementing a new global focus for its artists. Stainer will maintain his existing responsibilities overseeing the division including Deutsche Grammophon and the Decca Label Group, and will split his time between New York and London.
