WMG’s Cohen Renews For $3M & Hypebot Renews It’s $1 Challenge
Lyor Cohens’ new deal with Warner Music Group includes the following:
(i) the term of Mr. Cohen’s employment agreement was extended until March 15, 2013 and will be automatically extended for successive one-year terms unless either party gives written notice of non-renewal no less than ninety days prior to the annual March 15 expiration date (commencing with March 15, 2013), in which case the agreement shall end on the March 15 immediately following the receipt of such notice; (ii) an annual base salary of $3,000,000, subject to discretionary increases from time to time by the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee; (iii) a target bonus of $2.5 million, with a minimum of $1.5 million and a maximum of $5.0 million; (iv) his new title of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Recorded Music – North America
THE HYPEBOT CHALLENGE: Apple’s Steve Jobs works for a base pay of just $1 per year. But stock options and bonuses awarded when the company soared have made him a very rich man. Label execs are fond of telling us "its all about the music". It’s time they put their money where their mouths are.
Join me in challenging Lyor Cohen, Edgar Bronfman and other major label execs to follow Steve Jobs’ example and re-set your base pay at $1 plus generous bonuses based on results. They’ve made millions from music. Now they need to give something back. I’ll even pay the dollar.
Here’s the original challenge.
This is the best- when these dudes get paid 20K every paycheck for eating sushi and doing photo shoots with cigars- Not sure when their denial will break- they keep reducing staff who work and care about music- yet pay themselves 3 million? come on- some is smoking crack. Who’s fgonna do the mailings. the store visits, the uploading of music to the social sites?
I have an indie label. I don’t make money- My heart tells me if I make good records- the money will follow.
Lyor Cohen has arguably the worst performance record in the music business. (it is still a business right?) That must mean that he gets all the $$$ that very few of his artists or staff are seeing. Pretty soon it’s just going to be a couple of “big shot” execs to fill an entire office all by their short-sighted lonesome.