| Max Hole | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher Charles Maximilian Hole 26 May 1951 |
| Occupation | COO of Universal Music Group International |
| Spouse | Jan Ravens (1999-present) |
| Children | Louis Ravens, Jamie Hole, Mark Hole |
Max Hole (born Christopher Charles Maximilian Hole ; 26 May 1951) is chief operating officer of UMGI (International division of Universal Music Group) since 1 July 2010.[1] As head of central functions at UMGI's headquarters in London, he is also responsible for operations in territories and regions worldwide.[2] He was referred to in Billboard as "a serious contender for title of 'most powerful label executive outside America.'"[3]
Hole and English actress and impressionist, Jan Ravens, have been married since 1999 and have a son.[4][5]
Contents |
Max Hole began his career in the music industry in 1972 as founder with Geoff Jukes of Gemini Artists, an agency and management business, representing such musicians as Martin Carthy, Camel, Mungo Jerry and Arthur Brown.[6] In 1982, he was a manager in the artists and repertoire department at WEA. In 1990, he moved up to managing director for East West Records where he was closely involved with the career of Simply Red, among others. After sixteen years with Warners, in 1998, he took the position of senior vice-president for marketing and A&R for Universal Music's international division. He became executive vice-president in 2004, overseeing the promotion and marketing of top artists including Bon Jovi, Amy Winehouse, Snow Patrol, Justin Bieber, Andrea Bocelli, Juanes, U2, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, Shania Twain, and Bryan Adams and also assuming responsibility for Universal's Asia/Pacific business.[7][8] In 2010, he was appointed COO of UMG International following the appointment of the division’s chairman, Lucian Grainge, to CEO of Universal Music Group.[2]
Max also currently oversees Universal's worldwide classical business and therefore has been a major force behind the company's drive to “assert its classical music leadership as never before”. Max has been instrumental in a number of high profile signings, in particular Conductor, Pianist and all round major industry personality Daniel Barenboim, who signed to DG and Decca Classics in late 2010 [9] As C.O.O. Max instigated the relocation of Deutsche Grammophon to Berlin, and the relaunch of Decca Classics in London
As part of the reinvigoration of these two important labels, and reflecting his passion for popularising classical music, particularly among youth demographics, Max oversaw the signing and development of a number of new artists, including classical guitar sensation Milos Karadaglic to DG.[10]
Max spent much of the last decade as head of UMG's Asia Pacific region, and is one of the industry's most experienced executives in this part of the world. He steered Universal Music Japan's transition into a domestic-music powerhouse, and has facilitated significant deals with independent Asian music companies to promote homegrown talent, including Taiwan's Rock Records in 2008[11] and South Korea's Play Cube Entertainment in 2010. He led Universal’s renewed investment in the latter country after seven years away – a decision validated by the South Korean recorded music sector’s return to growth, as reflected in the 2010 IFPI digital music report. [12] [13]
Moreover, Max was a founding father of the landmark license deal between One Stop China, a joint venture with Warner and Sony, and China’s No. 1 search engine Baidu, for its new music download service in July. The agreement has seen the One Stop China partners license Baidu to offer more than 500,000 songs for download to Chinese music fans. The search engine had previously been a major source of internet piracy. [14]
Max charted #16 on the Guardian and Observer’s ‘Music Power 100’ earlier this year [15]
Max was instrumental in securing UMGI’s deal with John de Mol’s Talpa Media for ‘The Voice Of…’, a reality TV property similar to X Factor. Talpa has agreed to give UMG exclusive rights to record and promote artists emerging from it. The format attracted 3.2m viewers during its run in Holland. [16]