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It’s always nice to see a promotion person getting a promotion.
Mike Chester has been anointed EVP, Promotion & Commerce at Warner Records. The happy news was spread by COO Tom Corson, to whom Chester reports.
In his expanded role the well-liked and devilishly handsome Chester will continue to lead the label’s promo department while also overseeing whatever the hell “commerce” is. We’re just kidding—we kinda know: riding herd on strategy related to streaming, digital and commercial platforms and trying to remember not to call Daniel Ek “buddy.” Right?
Chester joined the Bunny in 2018 as EVP Promo, leading a thorough renovation of the department, seeing his crew score 30+ #1 singles at various formats, breaking acts like Dua Lipa and Saweetie and holding the industry record for dodging Todd Hensley’s calls.
Corson took a deep breath and offered this novelistic quote: “The creation of this new post not only recognizes Mike’s wide-ranging creative vision and unparalleled drive, but reflects the rapid evolution of the media landscape. As fans consume music from multiple sources, from radio to streaming to gaming, boundaries between platforms are increasingly fluid.
We’re fortunate to have an executive of Mike’s deep knowledge, experience, and passion to bring together these key promotional and commercial areas under a unified strategic approach. Combined with his outstanding artist-relations skills, Aaron and I both feel Mike is the perfect choice to leverage exciting newfound opportunities for our amazing talent and their music.”
“I’m thrilled to take this next step in my career under the incredible leadership of Tom and Aaron,” reads Chester’s quote. “The people at Warner are phenomenal, and our artist roster—from emerging talent to superstars—is delivering one fantastic record after another. Long-term artist development is our top priority, and the avenues to bring more music to more fans are multiplying by the day. I’m looking forward to working with our promo and commerce teams to break records and build careers in a hugely dynamic, expanding musical environment.”
Before beginning his Warner tenure, Chester served for four years at Scooter Braun’s SB Projects as SVP, Marketing and Promotion; there he worked closely with Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, among other hot acts, and dodged Todd Hensley’s calls. Prior to that he spent a decade at Def Jam, where he worked his way up to VP Promo. He started his career at Arista.