Warner Music Names Robert Kyncl Next CEO

Warner Music Group Corp. named departing YouTube business chief Robert Kyncl as its next chief executive, betting on a tech veteran as the industry expands into social media, games and the metaverse.

The Wall Street Journal reports Kyncl will succeed Steve Cooper, who said he would be stepping down in 2023 after 11 years on the job as the music company’s longest-running CEO. The two men will serve as co-CEOs in January, and then Mr. Kyncl will take the position solely and assume Mr. Cooper’s board seat on Feb 1.

Robert Kyncl

Mr. Kyncl’s move from YouTube to Warner Music—the label behind Ed Sheeran, Madonna and other stars—speaks to the industry’s search for revenue beyond streaming, and the company’s strategy of filling the top role with an executive with a business background rather than a music insider.

Mr. Kyncl, 52 years old, said late last month that he would be leaving Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube. During his 12 years there, he helped build the Google unit from an upstart into a video giant. Before that, Mr. Kyncl spent more than seven years overseeing content partnerships as a vice president at Netflix Inc. Mr. Kyncl, who got his M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, didn’t come up the ranks in the music industry.

But he isn’t a stranger to the business. For years, YouTube has been the largest music-streaming platform globally by listeners, a popular destination for younger users to discover new music. Mr. Kyncl had a hand in negotiating licensing deals with labels and publishers.

Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries Inc. controls Warner Music, said Mr. Kyncl’s tech experience will help create new revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters.

Mr. Kyncl joins Warner Music during a resurgent period for the music business, with global recorded music revenue rising 19% to $25.9 billion in 2021, its seventh consecutive year of growth thanks to streaming. But he will likely face pressure to revive a stock price that is lower than when the company went public in June 2020 and navigate a shifting industry amid broader concerns of an economic downturn.