Warner Bros. Records (WBR) has partnered with award-winning songwriter Justin Tranter and Katie Vinten, most recently Co-Head of A&R for Warner/Chappell Music, to launch a new label called Facet Records.
Vinten will also serve as an A&R Consultant to Warner Bros. Records and will continue with Warner/Chappell in a consultancy role, working with a selected roster of songwriters.
Justin Tranter is one of the most successful pop songwriters in the music business today, with over 40 million single sales and 7 billion streams to date on Spotify.
The launch of Facet comes at a buoyant time for WBR, following the recent arrival of Co-Chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and the fact that the label last week saw two of its artists – Dua Lipa and Bebe Rexha – nominated in the Best New Artist category at the Grammys 2019.
Tranter co-wrote Fall Out Boy’s 2014 quintuple-platinum Centuries in addition to hits such as Selena Gomez’s Good For You feat. A$AP Rocky, Justin Bieber’s Sorry, DNCE’s Cake By The Ocean, Hailee Steinfeld’s Love Myself, Fifth Harmony’s Dope, Britney Spears’ Slumber Party, and Gwen Stefani’s Used To Love You.
Kicking off 2018, Tranter became the only songwriter nominated for both Song of the Year at the Grammys with Issues by Julia Michaels and Best Original Song at the Golden Globes with Home from Ferdinand, performed by Nick Jonas.
Tranter won Songwriter of the Year at the BMI Pop Awards for the second consecutive year and received a nomination for Songwriter of the Year for the Spotify Secret Genius Awards.
Among many recent credits, Tranter co-wrote Linkin Park’s Heavy, Imagine Dragons’ Natural, Bebe Rexha’s I’m A Mess, Shea Diamond’s Kesha Complexion, Leon Bridges’ Beyond, Cardi B’s Thru Your Phone, Janelle Monáe’s Make Me Feel, and Lady Gaga’s Heal Me from A Star is Born.
Tranter is also an advocate for the LGBTQ community and serves as a GLAAD board member.
Katie Vinten joined Warner/Chappell in 2012, serving initially as Director, A&R, before being promoted to SVP and Co-Head of A&R in 2016.
She has been instrumental in the careers of songwriters Justin Tranter, Audra Mae (Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert), Captain Cuts (Walk the Moon, Halsey), Mattman and Robin (Imagine Dragons, Janelle Monáe, DNCE), Nick Monson (Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas), Asia Whiteacre (Hailee Steinfeld, 5S0S), and Felix Snow (SZA, Kiiara), as well as performing artist/songwriters Bishop Briggs, Kygo, K Flay, Hailee Steinfeld, Julia Michaels, and Christina Aguilera.
“Justin is a true visionary and one of the greatest songwriters in the game, with a remarkable ability to bring the best out of people.”
Aaron Bay-Schuck, Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Co-Chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck said: “Justin is a true visionary and one of the greatest songwriters in the game, with a remarkable ability to bring the best out of people.
“Justin is a fierce champion for artists and their songwriting peers, takes risks, dares to be different, and fights daily for the causes they believe in, both within and outside the scope of the music business.
“Katie is a brilliant A&R person who has been the guiding force behind an incredible roster of chart-topping songwriters, Justin among them.
“To be able to partner with both of them in their mission to identify and develop the next generation of superstars is an honor and a privilege for all of us at Warner Bros. Records.”
“I am beyond honored and excited to begin this next chapter with Warner Bros. Records.”
Justin Tranter
Justin Tranter added: “I am beyond honored and excited to begin this next chapter with Warner Bros. Records.
“It makes perfect sense to partner with my queen Katie Vinten on this label venture, since we built my songwriting career from the ground up.
“The work we have done with Aaron Bay-Schuck on artist projects like Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, and Imagine Dragons changed our lives forever.
“And now, as we continue working with him, we can’t wait to change other people’s lives as well. Thank you so much Max Lousada for this beautiful opportunity.
“I named our label Facet because the most precious stones deserve thought-out, passionate facets to make them really shine. I know, with the help of Aaron, Max, Tom Corson, and the whole WBR team, that’s exactly what we are going to do.”
“It is with great enthusiasm and joy that Justin and I announce the start of Facet.”
Katie Vinten
Katie Vinten said: “It has been a great privilege to work with Jon Platt and the team at Warner/Chappell over the past six years and I’m thrilled to be able to continue consulting on a limited roster.
“It is with great enthusiasm and joy that Justin and I announce the start of Facet. We’ve had an amazing run of success at Warner/Chappell, much of that in collaboration with Aaron, and we’re already hard at work lining up our first artist endeavor.
“It all started with a belief in each other’s potential, and we launch this label with the same relentless faith in what we can accomplish together.
“Special thanks to Max, Aaron, and Tom for their support and recognition of our abilities to nurture success with the quietly shining stars of today, who will get the global recognition they deserve tomorrow!”Music Business Worldwide
