{"id":2021153,"date":"2026-07-01T12:26:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2021153"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:26:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:26:34","slug":"u-k-industry-titans-behind-u2-ed-sheeran-form-breaking-wave-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2021153","title":{"rendered":"U.K. Industry Titans Behind U2 &amp; Ed Sheeran Form Breaking Wave Group"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Breaking-Wave-Music-Group-press-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024&#8243;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"a-content a-content--featured a-bb-pro-article-image-offsets a-bbpro-font-body-m a-dropcap\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"pmc-paywall\">\n<div class=\"pmc-contextual-player\" data-pmc-adm-ad-id=\"10140328\">\n<h3>\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tFormer executives at Warner Music Group and Island Records and worked with major acts including U2 and Ed Sheeran have come together to launch a new venture Breaking Wave (BWG).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe music company, formed by <strong>Jeremy Marsh, Marc Marot, James Radice, Nick Stewart <\/strong>and<strong> Beth Claridge<\/strong>, will operate as a \u201creal alternative to the major label model that increasingly frustrates and forgets the needs of artists,\u201d they say in a press release. \u201cIn a world where major labels have impossibly large rosters, BWG is the opposite of that. The launch represents a return to hard won expertise and experience from a golden age of British record success, offering artists the time and attention they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-align-items-center u-align-items-flex-start@mobile-max  lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest  lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column@mobile-max u-width-710@desktop lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-u-margin-tb-1 u-margin-b-250@mobile-max u-margin-t-275@mobile-max u-margin-t-250@desktop u-margin-b-250@desktop u-margin-lr-n1@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-1 lrv-u-border-color-brand-secondary-dark lrv-u-border-t-1 lrv-u-padding-tb-1  lrv-u-padding-tb-1@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-r-1@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-l-00@mobile-max u-grid-gap-18@desktop u-grid-gap-0@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-text-align-center lrv-u-flex-shrink-0 lrv-u-padding-a-050 u-padding-l-0625@mobile-max u-padding-b-0.375@mobile-max  lrv-u-background-color-brand-primary u-margin-t-n2@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-l-1@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-075@mobile-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-article-related-module-title a-article-related-module-title--color-brand-primary a-font-accent-xl u-font-weight-800 u-letter-spacing-0179 u-line-height-normal lrv-u-color-grey-dark bb-pro-related-stories-label lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between  a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n<div class=\"o-card  lrv-u-width-100p\">\n<div class=\"o-card__image-wrap lrv-u-flex-shrink-0 u-width-191 u-width-150@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image   lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/P103LW3L-e1777402269278.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Ed Sheeran at Deadline Spotlight: Anatomy of a Song - &quot;F1&quot; held at The Motoring Club on January 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.\" height width><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content  lrv-u-padding-l-150@desktop lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column lrv-u-justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  c-title a-font-basic u-font-size-22@desktop u-font-size-16@mobile-max u-line-height-26px u-line-height-22px@mobile-max u-margin-b-0.625@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line@desktop a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max lrv-u-color-grey-dark lrv-u-color-grey-dark:hover\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tEd Sheeran Exits Warner Music Group After 15 Years: \u2018I Leave With So Much Love &amp; Gratitude\u2019\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"o-article-byline \/\/ lrv-a-unstyle-list a-font-accent-m lrv-u-color-grey lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-word-spacing-n3px u-padding-t-0.875@desktop u-padding-t-00@mobile-max\">\n<li class=\"lrv-u-flex a-byline-color\">\n<div class=\"c-tagline  u-word-spacing-n3px a-children-link-color-black:hover a-truncate-ellipsis-2line\"><span>Ariel King<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBWG will operate across four key pillars for their artists, acting as a record label, music publisher, artist manager and on special projects. Its first signees are 10cc, British singer-songwriter Rumer and electronic duo Lemon Jelly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBWG has already secured distribution deals with PIAS &amp; and Virgin Music Group to help support their artists\u2019 releases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMarsh will assume the role of chief operating officer for BWG. He previously served as managing director and president at Virgin, RCA, BMG and Warner Music Group. He played a key role in the careers of Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Take That, Soul II Soul and more. Marsh\u2019s most recent role was at Warner as vice chairman, executive vp of international and its global chief marketing officer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tFormer Island Records managing director Marotis named BWG\u2019s chief creative officer. Marot oversaw the career of U2 for 18 years including the release of their 1990 LP <em>Achtung Baby<\/em> and 2000\u2019s <em>All That You Can\u2019t Leave Behind<\/em>. During his tenure at Island, the label signed Tricky, Pulp, PJ Harvey and Nine Inch Nails. Following his departure, he set up a management company that worked with clients including Paul Oakenfold, Richard Ashcroft and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tRadice joins as chief legal officer, following his previous role of senior vp legal and business affairs at WMG. He has negotiated contracts with recording acts such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Coldplay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tStewart, who signed U2 to Island Records in 1980, is named chairman of BWG. He also has worked with Sir Elton John, Blondie, Eagles and more during his career at Island, Polygram, Sony, BMG and Warner Music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe leadership team is completed by Claridge who assumes the role of general manager. Over the past two decades, she has worked on campaigns for Stevie Wonder, Eagles, 40 Cent and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u00a0\u201cWe have the experience and we can offer the time, Marsh says in a statement. \u201cNobody talks about giving an artist that. They tend to talk about the budget they have, they don\u2019t mention how much time they will dedicate to the artist. The emphasis is on artists with existing global reach. That is great if you are one of those, but that is not a system that would have signed a busker from Suffolk like Ed Sheeran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cBy integrating our record label, publishing arm, management division and our special projects \u2014 which includes major investments in transmedia and film \u2014 we\u2019ve created a self-sustaining business. We marry many years of deep-rooted industry experience with an agile commercial structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\" alt=\"Billboard VIP Pass\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/uk-industry-titans-u2-ed-sheeran-breaking-wave-music-group\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Breaking-Wave-Music-Group-press-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024&#8243;] Trending on Billboard Former executives at Warner Music Group and Island Records and worked with major acts including U2 and Ed Sheeran have come together to launch a new venture Breaking Wave (BWG). The music company, formed by Jeremy Marsh, Marc Marot, James Radice, Nick Stewart and Beth Claridge, will operate as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2021153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2021153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2021153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2021153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2021153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}