Dan Rosen named president of Warner Music Australia

Dan Rosen is to join Warner Music Australasia a full decade after his leading tenure as ARIA and PPCA CEO.

Announced this morning (September 30), Rosen takes the top job at Warner Music Australasia as President.

In the major music industry shake-up, Rosen will step into the slot left vacant by the departure of Niko Nordström, who is returning to his homeland, Finland, and will continue with Warner Music in a new role.

Previously, Dan Rosen was based in New York working as Head of Americas for KIT Digital, a NASAQ listed digital media company.

An award-winning independent musician who took out the triple j Unearthed in 2003 with his band Second Dan, Rosen starting his career on the business side of music as a lawyer, specialising in media and technology, with Minter Ellison and he went to serve as Advisor to the Minister of Communications.

Dan Rosen on stage at Bigsound 2019

Dan Rosen said he is honoured to be given the opportunity:

“And [I] would like to thank Niko for his hard work and dedication to the local industry over the last three and a half years. This is an exciting and dynamic time for music, with an explosion in opportunities across streaming and social media, especially given the levelling of traditional barriers in genre and geography.

“I am also very aware that the challenges of the pandemic demands that we remain very focussed on protecting creators’ rights,” Rosen added. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with the world-class team at Warner, expanding our investment in local talent, and strengthening the impact of Australia and New Zealand artists on the global stage.”

Rosen, who will conclude his ARIA and PPCA role in December 2020, said he has full confidence in ARIA and PPCA for the next phase:

“As an industry we ended the decade in a much stronger position than we started, with a return to growth, credibility and optimism,” said Rosen. “While the events of the past year with COVID-19 has slowed this progress, I believe both ARIA and PPCA have the infrastructure and resilience to help lead the next phase of growth for our industry. I look forward to future challenges and will never stop championing Australian creativity.”

Through his roles leading ARIA and PPCA Dan Rosen oversaw the industry’s return to double-digit market growth and record PPCA distributions.

Denis Handlin AO, Chairman of ARIA, said:

“On behalf of the ARIA Board, we thank Dan for his outstanding service and dedication to the Australian music industry. Dan has been instrumental in the transformation of our industry bodies through his passion and loyalty and ensured that Australian music labels and artists are rightly positioned locally and internationally.

“Dan has been a tireless advocate for the music and creative industries, both in Canberra at the Federal level as well as State governments through policy and funding; restored the preeminent nature of the ARIA Awards; and most recently, supported the sector during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with ‘Great Southern Nights’. We wish him the very best in his new role and are pleased that he will continue to be involved with ARIA now as a Board Member.”

ARIA Board. Left to Right – David Vodicka, Sebastian Chase, Natalie Waller, Dan Rosen, Karen Don, Niko Nordstrom, Denis Handlin AO (Chair), Emily Crews, Andrew Smith and Sophie McArthur Photo by Cole Be

George Ash, Chairman of PPCA, said:

“On behalf of the PPCA Board, I want to thank Dan for his dedicated service to the organisation. During his time as CEO, he championed the rights of Australian labels and recording artists, resulting in record revenues and distributions to our stakeholders.

“He achieved major policy outcomes with the Federal Government, won significant legal battles to establish increased rights and launched the ‘One Music Australia’ initiative. I look forward to us continuing our work together on the PPCA Board.”

Stu Bergen, who is CEO of International & Global Commercial Services at Warner Music Group Corp, added:

“He’s seen the business from all sides and has been a passionate and fearless defender and protector of the rights of music creators in the digital age.”

At Warner Music, Rosen succeeds Nordström who, late Tuesday, was named Executive Vice President, Warner Music Nordics and Managing Director of Warner Music Finland, and will return to his birthplace Helsinki.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.