Polydor co-presidents Tom March and Ben Mortimer have declared that they are “definitely breaking new artists this year” in a conversation with Music Week.
Following a now infamously fraught 2016 for the industry on the new talent front, Polydor’s co-presidents believe that the biz has now turned a corner, and that their label is set to lead the way in the pursuit of new UK artists.
“I’m utterly convinced we’ve turned a corner in terms of having hits, whether it’s [down to] the quality of record or everyone starting to get the hang of how to break a record in the streaming age,” said Mortimer.
“We’re definitely breaking artists this year, we’re at it already,” added March. “I look at what’s real; we’ve got Maggie Rogers, who’s just sold out the Electric in Brixton, Lany have two Shepherd’s Bush Empire shows and Mura Masa hasn’t put out a debut album yet and we’re talking about the Roundhouse. That’s a real connection.”
The label also has a busy line-up for the rest of the year, with Take That’s Wonderland, likely to be one of 2017’s top sellers, due in March plus rumoured releases from the likes of Lana Del Rey and Haim.
“We’re pushing culture, we’ve got some great records at the minute and we’ve got some exciting bits coming up,” said March. “It feels very good indeed.”
You can read our full, exclusive interview with March and Mortimer here.
