X5 Music Group
X5 Music Group | |
---|---|
Parent company | Warner Music Group |
Founded | 2003Stockholm, Sweden | ,
Founder | Johan Lagerlöf Daniel Bäckström Stefan Enberg |
Status | Active |
Distributor(s) | Warner Music Sweden |
Genre | Various (classical, jazz, blues, folk, rock, pop) |
Location | Stockholm, Sweden Empire State Building, New York City, United States |
Official website | X5MusicGroup.com |
X5 Music Group is a
They have a partnership with Universal Music Group called U5, which releases approximately 50 digital compilation albums per month.[2] In 2013, X5 was named one of the Red Herring "Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe.[3]
In June 2016, X5 was acquired by Warner Music Group.[4]
History
Founding, business model
X5 Music Group was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2003[5] by Johan Lagerlöf, Daniel Bäckström, and Stefan Enberg.[1] All three founders had pre-existing connections in the music industry. CEO Lagerlöf, for example, had previously co-founded companies such as Mobilehits, Scandinavia's the most popular music site, and was also a songwriter/producer for Stockholm Records.[1]
X5 was created with the mutual vision of being digital-only.[6] Classical music was chosen as a focus; many classical compositions are in the public domain.[7] They also gained access to the catalogs of about 50 other companies, mostly independent classical labels in Europe, and repacked them into what The Wall Street Journal called "like classical mix-tapes."[8]
X5's producers partly focus on sales data to determine what should go into compilations, paying mind to
The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music
The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music compilation includes selections performed by the
It was #1 on iTunes' Classical Albums chart for over a year,[1] and remained in the iTunes Classical Top 10 for over three years, selling more than 200,000 copies.[9]
Expansion
X5 expanded into the United States in 2009,
X5 continued to expand its catalog of compilations, and in 2010 had 13 titles on the Billboard Year End Top 50, tying for the top spot with
In 2011 X5 was the No. 2 classical music label on the US charts, second only to Universal.[9]
Also in 2011 the label began branching into genres such as folk, bluegrass,[8] blues, and jazz.[7] They began forming partnerships with non-classical labels such as Sun Records, whose back catalog included artists such as Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.[7]
The Greatest Video Game Music
In November 2011 X5 released one of its most successful albums, The Greatest Video Game Music, performed by the
Classify app
In early 2012 X5 launched Classify, an
In March 2015, Spotify discontinued support for apps in their players, including Classify.U5 partnership
“A few years ago we were flipping through the charts and we said, ‘My God, who are these guys?’ What they're doing is disruptive, so we decided to partner with them and innovate rather than fight them.” |
— Ross Foster, Universal's VP of commercial affairs[6] |
In its early years, X5 drew mainly from the catalogs of independent classical labels. In its first year of operations in the United States they licensed labels such as Cooking Vinyl, Alligator Records, and the Welk Music Group, also commissioning its own recordings.[10] X5 announced in April 2013 that it had started U5, a joint venture with the music conglomerate Universal Music Group. It gave X5 access to over 50,000 of Universal's classical tracks, and another 50,000 jazz and blues songs.[6]
U5 produces digital compilation albums, curating and releasing more than 50 per month.[2] The first slate of releases included expansions to the 50 Greatest series, adding The 50 Greatest Violin Pieces by Joshua Bell, The 50 Greatest Piano Pieces by Lang Lang and The 50 Greatest Performances of Classical Music.[2] Later releases focused on jazz and blues, including artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.[12]
X5 also partners with Universal Music on the Spinnup distribution platform for unsigned artists.[18]
Recent years
In April 2013 The New York Times stated that "X5’s techniques are now widely imitated, and its profit margins are the envy of any record label." At that time the company had sold over 230 million downloads internationally,[6] and was putting out several thousand albums a year.[13] As of summer 2013, X5 had a catalog of 8,000 albums, with about 50% of those being titles custom produced by the company.[1] From 2009 to 2013 X5 had 24 albums on the Billboard 200; all 24 were custom digital releases produced by X5.[1]
X5 was named one of the Red Herring "Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe" in 2013.[3]
Label partners
The following is a list of labels and licensing companies that have partnerships with X5 Music Group:[19]
- Alligator Records (blues)
- ARC Music (world, folk)
- BIS Records (classical)
- Cooking Vinyl (modern folk, rock, etc.)
- EMI Music
- HHO Multimedia
- Glyndebourne (London Philharmonic)
- Nacional Records (world)
- Sun Records (R&B, folk)
- Six Degrees Records (world)
- Luaka Bop (world, etc.)
- ONErpm (distribution)
- Universal Music Group
- Blue Note(jazz)
- Decca Records (classical)
- Deutsche Grammophon (classical)
- Spinnup (unsigned artists)
- Welk Music Group (world)
- Warner Music Group (parent label; all genres)
Selected discography
Cat. # | Artist | Title | Notes | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry | The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music | #1 for 3 weeks on Classical Albums Chart | 2009 | |
X5CD101 | Carola Häggkvist | Elvis, Barbra & jag | #1 on charts in Sweden[20] | 2011 |
Various | The 99 Most Essential Chopin Masterpieces | #1 on Amazon MP3's Classical Best-sellers[8] |
2011 | |
Jo Stafford | 'A' You're Adorable | #1 on charts in Sweden[21] | 2011 | |
X5CD114 | London Philharmonic Orchestra | The Greatest Video Game Music | #23 debut on Billboard 200[16] #1 on iTunes' Classical Albums chart for 1+ year[1] |
2011 |
X5CD118 | London Philharmonic Orchestra | The Greatest Video Game Music II |
2012 | |
Bond |
Play | #94 on the ARIA Charts | 2012 | |
Darin Zanyar |
"Nobody Knows" | #1 on Swedish DigiListan Chart[22] | 2013 | |
Darin Zanyar |
So Yours | #32 on Belgium Ultratip 100 Chart[23] | 2013 | |
Orphei Drängar, Myrra Malmberg | The Greatest Video Game Music III : Choral edition |
2016 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "X5 Music Group Company Overview". Shore Fire Media. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c "Universal Music Group and X5 Music Group Form Unique Joint Venture, U5". Universal Music Group. April 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b "2013 Red Herring Europe Finalists". Red Herring: The Business of Technology. April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "Warner Music Group acquires Swedish playlisting firm X5 Music". Music Business Worldwide. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Barth, Chris (October 25, 2011). "How Tiny X5 Music Group Is Slaying Label Goliaths On The Billboard Charts". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sisario, Ben (April 17, 2013). "A Label Finds 99 Ways to Make Classical Profitable". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c d e Talty, John (July 30, 2012). "X5 Music Group Relies on SEO Tricks, But Inching Closer to Legitimacy". International Business Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c d e f Smith, Ethan (August 31, 2011). "The Internet's $10 Million Mix Tapes". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c Collins, Jennifer (February 23, 2012). "Searching search engines for the sound of music". Marketplace. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c Christman, Ed (August 7, 2012). "X5 Signs Up Alligator, Highway 87, Nacional, Six Degrees Records". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b "Universal Music, X5 Music Bring Together Blue Note Records and Verve Catalogs For First Time". X5 Music. July 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "X5 Music Group Announces New Hire Noelle Bell, Digital Music Veteran". Shorefire Media. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- ^ a b Grischow, Chad (November 7, 2011). "London Philharmonic Orchestra: The Greatest Video Game Music Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b c d "Nintendo, Sega Go Orchestral With 'Greatest Video Game Music II". X5 Music Group. October 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "X5 Music Group says Spotify app boosted album downloads". MusicAlly. April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "Universal-backed digital distribution and A&R platform Spinnup launches in the UK". Complete Music Update. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ^ "Partners". X5 Music Group. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ Listplacering (läst 2 april 2011)
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Nobody Knows at no. 1 in Sweden.
- ^ So Yours chart position in Belgium (Flanders).