BMG has upped Fred Casimir to EVP Global Recordings, making him responsible for driving the revenues of BMG artists outside their domestic markets.
Casimir takes on the new job in addition to his existing role of President Continental Europe which he has held since January 2016.
Casimir first joined the new BMG in 2009 from sister Bertelsmann company Fremantle Media, where he was responsible for that firm’s music-related businesses across Europe including licensing, artist projects and music publishing.
As well as building BMG’s European infrastructure, Casimir has been instrumental in developing BMG’s recordings business – from the initial catalogue licensed from Sony BMG and the acquisition of Union Square Music in the UK to the development of the company’s revenue share deals with artists and the signing of Rick Astley, whose album 50 has sold over 300,000 copies in the UK.
Casimir will now take charge of BMG’s international team, responsible for driving revenues outside an artist’s country of signing.
BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “The development of our fast-growing recordings business is an absolute priority for BMG, and the creation of this new role sees us building further capacity to accommodate that growth.
“In a globalised streaming world, success can come from anywhere and so we have structured our organisation to give all of our artists the best shot possible at maximising their international potential.
“Fred Casimir has played an important role in the development of BMG both within Europe and more broadly and I congratulate him on this promotion.”
BMG’s recordings business has recently enjoyed successes including Kylie Minogue’s Golden which was released in April scored Top 10 chart entries around the world, hitting No.1 in Australia, Ireland and the UK.
The firm also released Lil Dicky’s ‘Freaky Friday’, which has hit No.1 on iTunes in 38 countries and achieved BMG’s first No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart.
Forthcoming frontline releases from BMG include albums from Lenny Kravitz, Alice In Chains, The Prodigy, Avril Lavigne, Dido, Lil Dicky, Marianne Faithfull and Boy George & Culture Club.
Said Casimir, “BMG has come a long way in the record business in the past four years, but we have really only just begun. We have a very strong pipeline to the end of the year and 2019 is already looking very good indeed. I am delighted for this opportunity to further contribute to the BMG success story.”Music Business Worldwide
