LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Former Managing Director Wez Saunders has acquired Defected Records. He takes over as CEO from Simon Dunmore, who founded the company in 1999, and will stay in an A&R consultant role. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“Defected has always upheld house music’s standards globally by supporting innovative artists and consistently servicing our community with quality recorded music, live events, digital marketing strategies, and more,” says Saunders.
“I am grateful to Simon Dunmore for his ongoing mentorship and for trusting us to continue his legacy, evolving the next generation of Defected,” he goes on. “It is our intention – alongside partners, associates, talent, and staff – to preserve the culture and values that built such a powerful community of artists and fans while driving the business into a new era of investment, impact, and expansion.”
The news arrives after Defected says it has been its “most successful year yet,” with 2.4 billion streams in 2022 and over 600,000 tickets sold across more than 300 events, surpassing an online community of over 10 million.
The house music company says that its publishing arm, Defected Music, has also celebrated “significant success,” with Elton John and Dua Lipa’s Official UK Chart No. 1 “Cold Heart” and tracks from Beyonce’s latest album (also reaching No. 1 in the UK) Renaissance credited to Defected Music publishers.
Saunders joined Defected in 2014, initially as a Singles Manager. Before that, he had worked at his label, Endemic Digital, and other labels and as an artist manager.
