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Victoria Banks Reflects On Her Survival...And Success

I feel a bit like a survivor who is holding on somehow despite the odds. When I signed my first deal in 1998, royalty streams were alive and well.

Victoria Banks Reflects On Her Survival...And Success

By External Source

I feel a bit like a survivor who is holding on somehow despite the odds. When I signed my first deal in 1998, royalty streams were alive and well. I have seen the decline of record sales and the rise of streaming basically obliterate all other income streams except radio play for commercial songwriters.


There are now only 400 people doing what I do professionally in Nashville when there were 4000 twenty years ago.

I’ve also had to deal with the lack of radio play for female artists in the country genre. Even though I naturally gravitate toward writing from a female perspective, I have had to learn to focus primarily on writing with and for male artists in order to stay marketable.

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--- Victoria Banks, Songwriters Association of Canada

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Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

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