{"id":97718,"date":"2021-04-16T16:37:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T15:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?post_type=people&p=97718"},"modified":"2021-04-16T16:38:24","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T15:38:24","slug":"craig-kallman","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/people\/craig-kallman\/","title":{"rendered":"Craig Kallman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craig Kallman is a New York-based A&R specialist, and is the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Records.<\/p>\n

Kallman began his music career in the 1980s as a DJ in Manhattan. He then founded Big Beat Records<\/a>, an independent label, in 1987.<\/p>\n

Big Beat was eventually purchased by Atlantic, where A&R specialist Kallman has worked since 1991.<\/p>\n

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Craig Kallman: Atlantic Records career to date<\/h6>\n

After joining Atlantic Records in 1991, Craig Kallman, established his A&R credentials by signing and developing several major artists, including Aaliyah, P.O.D, Brandy, and Timbaland.<\/p>\n

While serving as co-president of Atlantic Records 11 years later in 2002, Kallman established an alliance between Atlantic and VP Records, a famous independent dancehall and reggae record label. Their first collaboration was Sean Paul\u2019s album, Dutty Rock<\/em>, which sold over six million copies and even won a Grammy.<\/p>\n

In 2005, the year Warner Music Group floated on the New York Stock Exchange, Kallman was named Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records Group.<\/p>\n

During his time as CEO of Atlantic, Kallman has signed several successful artists, including Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Trey Songz, Flo Rida, Wiz Khalifa, and many others.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Kallman was the brains behind Atlantic Records’ extension into the film soundtrack industry.<\/p>\n

Atlantic Records has developed and released notable soundtracks including the OST for Furious 7<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 which contained See You Again<\/em> the No. 1 single by Wiz Khalifa \u2013 and the Twilight<\/em> series.<\/p>\n

Craig Kallman is credited with co-writing and producing Daydreaming<\/em> by Lupe Fiasco, which won a trophy at the 2008 Grammy awards.<\/p>\n

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Craig Kallman: Vinyl collection<\/h6>\n

Craig Kallman is known for his investment in rare vinyl, with a collection exceeding 1.5 million records.<\/p>\n

Discussing his vinyl collection with the Atlantic blog<\/a>, Kallman said: “I started collecting vinyl when it was still the dominant music format, and I\u2019ve continued to be drawn to it for its superior sound quality.<\/p>\n

“The enjoyment I get from vinyl or hi-res recordings led naturally to my pursuit of striving for sonic excellence in all our artists\u2019 recordings.”<\/p>\n

Craig Kallman, Atlantic Records<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Listening to something on vinyl or hi-res can be a real revelation, because you\u2019re hearing everything that\u2019s actually on the original recording and everything that the artist and producer really intended.<\/p>\n

“The enjoyment I get from vinyl or hi-res recordings led naturally to my pursuit of striving for sonic excellence in all our artists\u2019 recordings.”<\/p>\n

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Craig Kallman: Professional philosophy<\/h6>\n

In 2016, the year of his 25th anniversary with Atlantic Records, Craig Kallman gave an interview to Music Business Worldwide in which he discussed his approach to working with artists.<\/p>\n

He said: “Today\u2019s artists are smart about the industry \u2013 they know it\u2019s usually executive musical chairs all over the place.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists sign to people who believe in them, and they want to know you\u2019re going to be there to fulfil the dreams you\u2019re promising them. You can\u2019t do that if you\u2019re jumping around to the next company for a bigger payday.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Artists sign to people who believe in them, and they want to know you\u2019re going to be there to fulfil the dreams you\u2019re promising them.”<\/p>\n

Craig Kallman, Atlantic Records<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Added Kallman: \u201cWe run the A&R department here differently to any other A&R department; it\u2019s all for one, one for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cA&R is usually cutthroat and very individual-driven \u2013 if you think about Geffen, where Gersh, Kalodner and Zutaut were all trying to kill each other. We\u2019re kind of the opposite. Everyone helps and contributes to each other\u2019s records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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