Elliot Grainge Talks First Year As CEO of Atlantic: ‘Good Music, Good Songs, Good Artists Are Forever’

It’s been precisely 1 twelvemonth and 1 time since Elliot Grainge became chairman/CEO of the Atlantic Music Group. At the time, it was a determination that shocked galore successful the manufacture — Grainge was conscionable 30 years old, had lone a twelvemonth of acquisition wrong the large statement system, and was replacing a longtime respected person successful Julie Greenwald. Not to notation the information that his euphony manufacture pedigree, arsenic the lad of 1 of the industry’s astir almighty men successful Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, loomed ample implicit him.

One happening detractors couldn’t instrumentality distant from the younger Grainge, however, was that helium knew however to marque a opus spell viral. As founder/CEO of his ain autarkic label, 10K Projects, of which helium sold a 51% involvement to Warner Music Group successful 2023, Grainge and his squad achieved a drawstring of integer hits with songs similar “In Ha Mood” by Ice Spice, “Sunday Best” by Surfaces, “Miss The Rage” by Trippie Redd, “Lemonade” by Internet Money, “Mad At Disney” by Salem Ilese and more. He was aboriginal to place and champion the SoundCloud rap scene, and deed his stride during the pandemic lockdowns with TikTok anthems.

Still, successful a accepted statement satellite of vigor promotion campaigns and firm reddish tape, occurrence astatine AMG did not consciousness guaranteed for the young executive.

One twelvemonth later, his imaginativeness for Atlantic Music Group — which includes Atlantic Records, 10K Projects, 300 Entertainment, Roadrunner and Fueled by Ramen — is starting to instrumentality shape. During his tenure, Grainge has overseen a bid of sizable layoffs and restructures to remake the large successful his image. Today’s Atlantic is much digitally-focused, with a smaller unit and a fig of 10K apical brass installed astatine the top, similar Zach Friedman arsenic COO and Tony Talamo arsenic wide manager. (The 2 antecedently served arsenic 10K’s co-presidents and besides provided the indie with integer selling services done their ain steadfast Homemade Projects.)

It’s hard to contradict the success. In the past year, Atlantic’s sagging existent marketplace share, which had fallen from 9.16% astatine the extremity of 2021 to 5.24% arsenic of mid-year 2024, has improved to 7.75% (with the summation of 10K’s 1.51%) done the extremity of September 2025, and Grainge’s authorities has breached still-emerging Atlantic artists similar Ravyn Lenae, Alex Warren and The Marías to caller heights. In the past 2 weeks, 2 antithetic Atlantic signees person held the No. 1 spot connected the Billboard 200 with Breach by Twenty One Pilots and Am I The Drama? by Cardi B. “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars and “Azizam” by Ed Sheeran person furthered the occurrence of already-cemented stars. Clairo and Hilary Duff person conscionable joined the fold.

Several of those artists were already connected the roster earlier Grainge joined, but since helium has taken the helm, determination has been a measurable upward displacement successful the company’s show and a fig of illustration hits.

To speech done his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic the Atlantic CEO, and however helium envisions the aboriginal of labels, Grainge sat down for an interrogation for Billboard’s new euphony concern podcast, On the Record. Excerpts from the speech are below. (Disclosure: this writer worked astatine 10K Projects from 2020 to 2021.)

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