Miles Leonard

Miles Leonard
Occupation Chairman of Parlophone & Warner Bros. Records UK

Miles Leonard is a British music industry executive and is Chairman of Parlophone & Warner Bros. Records UK. He has previously worked for Virgin Records, EMI Records, Roadrunner Records and been credited as signing and breaking artists including Gorillaz, Coldplay, Tinie Tempah, The Verve and for reviving the career of Kylie Minogue.[1]

Career

Leonard started his career as an NVQ level plumber before starting in the music industry as an A&R scout at Virgin Records in 1991. Within his first year at Virgin he signed the band The Verve. He then worked for Roadrunner Records before joining Parlophone in 1996.[1]

When Kylie Minogue signed to Parlophone in 1999, Leonard played a major role in reviving a career that lost direction and had reached a relatively low ebb in the UK while the artist was signed to Deconstruction Records. According to Leonard: "There was something there that hadn't been achieved by her last label, and I didn't think it really had anything to do with her. She was still very strong vocally, and still definitely a star. I believed in her as an artist and I knew that with the right project, the right songwriters, the right producers, the right team, she would still have a fanbase out there."[2] Minogue's first single with Parlophone, "Spinning Around", saw the artist achieve her first UK #1 in ten years and heralded the start of a major career revival.

On April 23, 2008 Leonard was confirmed as the president of Parlophone.[3] On April 6, 2011, EMI Music UK announced that it had appointed Leonard to the newly created position of "President of Parlophone & Virgin A&R Labels", where he will lead both Virgin and Parlophone’s music discovery and development teams in the UK.[4] In 2013 he became co-chairman of Warner Bros. Records UK.[5][6]

In 2012 he took the lease of the Ring O'Bells public house in Compton Martin jointly with Matt Fisher from the Butcombe Brewery.[7]

In 2013 he was appointed Chairman of Warner Bros. Records UK, following Warner Music Group's acquisition of Parlophone Label Group.

References

  1. 1 2 "Interview with Miles Leonard". HitQuarters. 21 Feb 2002. Retrieved 16 Feb 2011.
  2. ↑ "Miles Leonard Interview". Hit Quarters. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "EMI rings changes". Music Week. 23 Apr 2008. Retrieved 16 Feb 2011.
  4. ↑ "Miles Leonard promoted to lead Virgin & Parlophone A&R for EMI Music UK". emimusic.com. 6 Apr 2011. Retrieved 1 Sep 2011.
  5. ↑ Pakinkis, Tom (25 July 2013). "Parlophone's Leonard also made Warner Bros UK Co-Chairman". Music Week. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Warner Music U.K. Restructures After Parlophone Buy, Christian Tattersfield & Miles Leonard Promoted". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ring O'Bells, Compton Martin". Butcombe Brewery. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
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