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X5 Music Group

February 16, 2023

X5 Music Group is a record label based in Stockholm, Sweden with a branch in Manhattan, New York. Founded in 2003, it is a digital-only label that primarily licenses pre-existing music for compilation albums. X5 originally focused on classical music, and in 2011 its custom album The Greatest Video Game Music, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, debuted at #23 on the Billboard 200. Since 2009 the company has had 24 albums on the chart; all 24 were custom digital releases produced by the label.[1]

X5 Music Group
Parent companyWarner Music Group
Founded2003 (2003), Stockholm, Sweden
FounderJohan Lagerlöf
Daniel Bäckström
Stefan Enberg
StatusActive
Distributor(s)Warner Music Sweden
GenreVarious (classical, jazz, blues, folk, rock, pop)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Empire State Building, New York City, United States
Official websiteX5MusicGroup.com

They have a partnership with Universal Music Group called U5, which releases approximately 50 digital compilation albums per month.[2] In 2013 X5 was named one of the Red Herring "Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe.[3]

In June 2016, X5 was acquired by Warner Music Group.[4]

History

Founding, business model

X5 Music Group was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2003[5] by Johan Lagerlöf, Daniel Bäckström, and Stefan Enberg.[1] All three founders had pre-existing connections in the music industry. CEO Lagerlöf, for example, had previously co-founded companies such as Mobilehits, Scandinavia's the most popular music site, and was also a songwriter/producer for Stockholm Records.[1]

X5 was created with the mutual vision of being digital-only.[6] Classical music was chosen as a focus; many classical compositions are in the public domain.[7] They also gained access to the catalogs of about 50 other companies, mostly independent classical labels in Europe, and repacked them into what The Wall Street Journal called "like classical mix-tapes."[8]

X5's producers partly focus on sales data to determine what should go into compilations, paying mind to keywords and SEO.[8] The New York Times stated "To attract classical neophytes, X5’s collections have search-engine-friendly titles and simple, self-explanatory cover art."[6] Accordingly, compilations often have titles such as The Most Essential Classical Music for Your Baby and Classical Music for Hipsters.[9] On May 26, 2008, X5 released The 50 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music.[10] The album cost about $150 to compile, and by April 2013 had brought in $3.4 million in revenue.[6]

The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music

Main article: The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music

The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music compilation includes selections performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of David Parry, with soloists such as pianist Finghin Collins.[11] According to Allmusic, "While the term 'greatest' may be debatable in the instance of some of the pieces, 'popular' is a description that's easier to support, for there's no denying the staying power of these pieces."[11]

It was #1 on iTunes' Classical Albums chart for over a year,[1] and remained in the iTunes Classical Top 10 for over three years, selling more than 200,000 copies.[9]

Expansion

X5 expanded into the United States in 2009,[12] setting up an office in the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York. Former Amazon and eMusic music executive Scott Ambrose Reilly was hired as North American CEO.[13] Noelle Bell was also hired as an account manager.[14]

X5 continued to expand its catalog of compilations, and in 2010 had 13 titles on the Billboard Year End Top 50, tying for the top spot with Universal Music Group.[1][8] In August 2011 The 99 Most Essential Chopin Masterpieces was ranked No. 1 on Amazon MP3's classical bestsellers chart. The compilation stayed among the chart's top 100 for 20 months.[8]

In 2011 X5 was the No. 2 classical music label on the US charts, second only to Universal.[9]

Also in 2011 the label began branching into genres such as folk, bluegrass,[8] blues, and jazz.[7] They began forming partnerships with non-classical labels such as Sun Records, whose back catalog included artists such as Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.[7]

The Greatest Video Game Music

Main article: The Greatest Video Game Music

In November 2011 X5 released one of its most successful albums, The Greatest Video Game Music, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by Andrew Skeet.[10] The twenty-one track set[15] features classical orchestrations of video game themes such as Super Mario Bros., Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, and Angry Birds.[16] It debuted at #23 on the Billboard 200 - the highest debut for an orchestral release since 2005's Star Wars Episode III soundtrack.[16] It received praise from IGN[15] and was named "weirdest hit album" of 2011 by Rolling Stone. A sequel was released in October 2012.[16]

Classify app

In early 2012 X5 launched Classify, an app created through a partnership with Spotify that helps music browsers discover classical music.[7] The software was downloaded 500,000 times in the first month,[7] and X5 released statistics saying Classify brought sales of The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music up by 50%, helping it to top the iTunes classical chart.[17] In May 2013, X5 announced Spotify apps for world music, blues, and jazz to be released in August.[6] In March 2015, Spotify discontinued support for apps in their players, including Classify.

U5 partnership

“A few years ago we were flipping through the charts and we said, ‘My God, who are these guys?’ What they’re doing is disruptive, so we decided to partner with them and innovate rather than fight them.”
— Ross Foster, Universal’s VP of commercial affairs[6]

In its early years, X5 drew mainly from the catalogs of independent classical labels. In its first year of operations in the United States they licensed labels such as Cooking Vinyl, Alligator Records, and the Welk Music Group, also commissioning its own recordings.[10] X5 announced in April 2013 that it had started U5, a joint venture with the music conglomerate Universal Music Group. It gave X5 access to over 50,000 of Universal’s classical tracks, and another 50,000 jazz and blues songs.[6]

U5 produces digital compilation albums, curating and releasing more than 50 per month.[2] The first slate of releases included expansions to the 50 Greatest series, adding The 50 Greatest Violin Pieces by Joshua Bell, The 50 Greatest Piano Pieces by Lang Lang and The 50 Greatest Performances of Classical Music.[2] Later releases focused on jazz and blues, including artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.[12]

X5 also partners with Universal Music on the Spinnup distribution platform for unsigned artists.[18]

Recent years

In April 2013 The New York Times stated that "X5’s techniques are now widely imitated, and its profit margins are the envy of any record label." At that time the company had sold over 230 million downloads internationally,[6] and was putting out several thousand albums a year.[13] As of summer 2013, X5 had a catalog of 8,000 albums, with about 50% of those being titles custom produced by the company.[1] From 2009 to 2013 X5 had 24 albums on the Billboard 200; all 24 were custom digital releases produced by X5.[1]

X5 was named one of the Red Herring "Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe" in 2013.[3]

Label partners

The following is a list of labels and licensing companies that have partnerships with X5 Music Group:[19]

Selected discography

Cat. # Artist Title Notes Year
London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music #1 for 3 weeks on Classical Albums Chart 2009
X5CD101 Carola Häggkvist Elvis, Barbra & jag #1 on charts in Sweden[20] 2011
Various The 99 Most Essential Chopin Masterpieces #1 on Amazon MP3's Classical Best-sellers[8] 2011
Jo Stafford 'A' You're Adorable #1 on charts in Sweden[21] 2011
X5CD114 London Philharmonic Orchestra The Greatest Video Game Music #23 debut on Billboard 200[16]
#1 on iTunes' Classical Albums chart for 1+ year[1]		 2011
X5CD118 London Philharmonic Orchestra The Greatest Video Game Music II 2012
Bond Play #94 on the ARIA Charts 2012
Darin Zanyar "Nobody Knows" #1 on Swedish DigiListan Chart[22] 2013
Darin Zanyar So Yours #32 on Belgium Ultratip 100 Chart[23] 2013
Orphei Drängar, Myrra Malmberg The Greatest Video Game Music III : Choral edition 2016

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "X5 Music Group Company Overview". Shore Fire Media. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c "Universal Music Group and X5 Music Group Form Unique Joint Venture, U5". Universal Music Group. April 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  3. ^ a b "2013 Red Herring Europe Finalists". Red Herring: The Business of Technology. April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  4. ^ "Warner Music Group acquires Swedish playlisting firm X5 Music". Music Business Worldwide. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. ^ Barth, Chris (October 25, 2011). "How Tiny X5 Music Group Is Slaying Label Goliaths On The Billboard Charts". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sisario, Ben (April 17, 2013). "A Label Finds 99 Ways to Make Classical Profitable". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  7. ^ a b c d e Talty, John (July 30, 2012). "X5 Music Group Relies on SEO Tricks, But Inching Closer to Legitimacy". International Business Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Ethan (August 31, 2011). "The Internet's $10 Million Mix Tapes". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  9. ^ a b c Collins, Jennifer (February 23, 2012). "Searching search engines for the sound of music". Marketplace. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  10. ^ a b c Christman, Ed (August 7, 2012). "X5 Signs Up Alligator, Highway 87, Nacional, Six Degrees Records". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  11. ^ a b Sanderson, Blair (November 23, 2009). "The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  12. ^ a b "Universal Music, X5 Music Bring Together Blue Note Records and Verve Catalogs For First Time". X5 Music. July 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  13. ^ a b Flamm, Matthew (May 8, 2013). "Dining on music with Scott Ambrose Reilly". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  14. ^ "X5 Music Group Announces New Hire Noelle Bell, Digital Music Veteran". Shorefire Media. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  15. ^ a b Grischow, Chad (November 7, 2011). "London Philharmonic Orchestra: The Greatest Video Game Music Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  16. ^ a b c d "Nintendo, Sega Go Orchestral With 'Greatest Video Game Music II". X5 Music Group. October 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  17. ^ "X5 Music Group says Spotify app boosted album downloads". MusicAlly. April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  18. ^ "Universal-backed digital distribution and A&R platform Spinnup launches in the UK". Complete Music Update. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  19. ^ "Partners". X5 Music Group. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  20. ^ Listplacering (läst 2 april 2011)
  21. ^ Hung, Steffen. "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  22. ^ Nobody Knows at no. 1 in Sweden.
  23. ^ So Yours chart position in Belgium (Flanders).

External links

  • X5MusicGroup.com
  • X5 Classify App on Spotify

February 16, 2023
music, group, record, label, based, stockholm, sweden, with, branch, manhattan, york, founded, 2003, digital, only, label, that, primarily, licenses, existing, music, compilation, albums, originally, focused, classical, music, 2011, custom, album, greatest, vi. X5 Music Group is a record label based in Stockholm Sweden with a branch in Manhattan New York Founded in 2003 it is a digital only label that primarily licenses pre existing music for compilation albums X5 originally focused on classical music and in 2011 its custom album The Greatest Video Game Music featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 Since 2009 the company has had 24 albums on the chart all 24 were custom digital releases produced by the label 1 X5 Music GroupParent companyWarner Music GroupFounded2003 2003 Stockholm SwedenFounderJohan LagerlofDaniel BackstromStefan EnbergStatusActiveDistributor s Warner Music SwedenGenreVarious classical jazz blues folk rock pop LocationStockholm SwedenEmpire State Building New York City United StatesOfficial websiteX5MusicGroup comThey have a partnership with Universal Music Group called U5 which releases approximately 50 digital compilation albums per month 2 In 2013 X5 was named one of the Red Herring Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe 3 In June 2016 X5 was acquired by Warner Music Group 4 Contents 1 History 1 1 Founding business model 1 2 The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music 1 3 Expansion 1 4 The Greatest Video Game Music 1 5 Classify app 1 6 U5 partnership 1 7 Recent years 2 Label partners 3 Selected discography 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditFounding business model Edit X5 Music Group was founded in Stockholm Sweden in 2003 5 by Johan Lagerlof Daniel Backstrom and Stefan Enberg 1 All three founders had pre existing connections in the music industry CEO Lagerlof for example had previously co founded companies such as Mobilehits Scandinavia s the most popular music site and was also a songwriter producer for Stockholm Records 1 X5 was created with the mutual vision of being digital only 6 Classical music was chosen as a focus many classical compositions are in the public domain 7 They also gained access to the catalogs of about 50 other companies mostly independent classical labels in Europe and repacked them into what The Wall Street Journal called like classical mix tapes 8 X5 s producers partly focus on sales data to determine what should go into compilations paying mind to keywords and SEO 8 The New York Times stated To attract classical neophytes X5 s collections have search engine friendly titles and simple self explanatory cover art 6 Accordingly compilations often have titles such as The Most Essential Classical Music for Your Baby and Classical Music for Hipsters 9 On May 26 2008 X5 released The 50 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music 10 The album cost about 150 to compile and by April 2013 had brought in 3 4 million in revenue 6 The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music Edit Main article The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music compilation includes selections performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of David Parry with soloists such as pianist Finghin Collins 11 According to Allmusic While the term greatest may be debatable in the instance of some of the pieces popular is a description that s easier to support for there s no denying the staying power of these pieces 11 It was 1 on iTunes Classical Albums chart for over a year 1 and remained in the iTunes Classical Top 10 for over three years selling more than 200 000 copies 9 Expansion Edit X5 expanded into the United States in 2009 12 setting up an office in the Empire State Building in Manhattan New York Former Amazon and eMusic music executive Scott Ambrose Reilly was hired as North American CEO 13 Noelle Bell was also hired as an account manager 14 X5 continued to expand its catalog of compilations and in 2010 had 13 titles on the Billboard Year End Top 50 tying for the top spot with Universal Music Group 1 8 In August 2011 The 99 Most Essential Chopin Masterpieces was ranked No 1 on Amazon MP3 s classical bestsellers chart The compilation stayed among the chart s top 100 for 20 months 8 In 2011 X5 was the No 2 classical music label on the US charts second only to Universal 9 Also in 2011 the label began branching into genres such as folk bluegrass 8 blues and jazz 7 They began forming partnerships with non classical labels such as Sun Records whose back catalog included artists such as Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis 7 The Greatest Video Game Music Edit Main article The Greatest Video Game Music In November 2011 X5 released one of its most successful albums The Greatest Video Game Music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by Andrew Skeet 10 The twenty one track set 15 features classical orchestrations of video game themes such as Super Mario Bros Call of Duty Final Fantasy World of Warcraft and Angry Birds 16 It debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 the highest debut for an orchestral release since 2005 s Star Wars Episode III soundtrack 16 It received praise from IGN 15 and was named weirdest hit album of 2011 by Rolling Stone A sequel was released in October 2012 16 Classify app Edit In early 2012 X5 launched Classify an app created through a partnership with Spotify that helps music browsers discover classical music 7 The software was downloaded 500 000 times in the first month 7 and X5 released statistics saying Classify brought sales of The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music up by 50 helping it to top the iTunes classical chart 17 In May 2013 X5 announced Spotify apps for world music blues and jazz to be released in August 6 In March 2015 Spotify discontinued support for apps in their players including Classify U5 partnership Edit A few years ago we were flipping through the charts and we said My God who are these guys What they re doing is disruptive so we decided to partner with them and innovate rather than fight them Ross Foster Universal s VP of commercial affairs 6 In its early years X5 drew mainly from the catalogs of independent classical labels In its first year of operations in the United States they licensed labels such as Cooking Vinyl Alligator Records and the Welk Music Group also commissioning its own recordings 10 X5 announced in April 2013 that it had started U5 a joint venture with the music conglomerate Universal Music Group It gave X5 access to over 50 000 of Universal s classical tracks and another 50 000 jazz and blues songs 6 U5 produces digital compilation albums curating and releasing more than 50 per month 2 The first slate of releases included expansions to the 50 Greatest series adding The 50 Greatest Violin Pieces by Joshua Bell The 50 Greatest Piano Pieces by Lang Lang and The 50 Greatest Performances of Classical Music 2 Later releases focused on jazz and blues including artists such as Miles Davis John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk 12 X5 also partners with Universal Music on the Spinnup distribution platform for unsigned artists 18 Recent years Edit In April 2013 The New York Times stated that X5 s techniques are now widely imitated and its profit margins are the envy of any record label At that time the company had sold over 230 million downloads internationally 6 and was putting out several thousand albums a year 13 As of summer 2013 X5 had a catalog of 8 000 albums with about 50 of those being titles custom produced by the company 1 From 2009 to 2013 X5 had 24 albums on the Billboard 200 all 24 were custom digital releases produced by X5 1 X5 was named one of the Red Herring Top 100 Most Innovative Companies in Europe in 2013 3 Label partners EditThe following is a list of labels and licensing companies that have partnerships with X5 Music Group 19 Alligator Records blues ARC Music world folk BIS Records classical Cooking Vinyl modern folk rock etc EMI Music HHO Multimedia Glyndebourne London Philharmonic Nacional Records world Sun Records R amp B folk Six Degrees Records world Luaka Bop world etc ONErpm distribution Universal Music Group Blue Note jazz Decca Records classical Deutsche Grammophon classical Spinnup unsigned artists Welk Music Group world Warner Music Group parent label all genres Selected discography EditCat Artist Title Notes YearLondon Philharmonic Orchestra David Parry The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music 1 for 3 weeks on Classical Albums Chart 2009X5CD101 Carola Haggkvist Elvis Barbra amp jag 1 on charts in Sweden 20 2011Various The 99 Most Essential Chopin Masterpieces 1 on Amazon MP3 s Classical Best sellers 8 2011Jo Stafford A You re Adorable 1 on charts in Sweden 21 2011X5CD114 London Philharmonic Orchestra The Greatest Video Game Music 23 debut on Billboard 200 16 1 on iTunes Classical Albums chart for 1 year 1 2011X5CD118 London Philharmonic Orchestra The Greatest Video Game Music II 2012Bond Play 94 on the ARIA Charts 2012Darin Zanyar Nobody Knows 1 on Swedish DigiListan Chart 22 2013Darin Zanyar So Yours 32 on Belgium Ultratip 100 Chart 23 2013Orphei Drangar Myrra Malmberg The Greatest Video Game Music III Choral edition 2016See also EditList of Classical Artist Albums Chart number ones of the 2010sReferences Edit a b c d e f g h X5 Music Group Company Overview Shore Fire Media Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c Universal Music Group and X5 Music Group Form Unique Joint Venture U5 Universal Music Group April 18 2013 Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b 2013 Red Herring Europe Finalists Red Herring The Business of Technology April 15 2013 Retrieved 2013 08 03 Warner Music Group acquires Swedish playlisting firm X5 Music Music Business Worldwide 2 June 2016 Retrieved 15 January 2018 Barth Chris October 25 2011 How Tiny X5 Music Group Is Slaying Label Goliaths On The Billboard Charts Forbes Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c d e f g Sisario Ben April 17 2013 A Label Finds 99 Ways to Make Classical Profitable The New York Times Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c d e Talty John July 30 2012 X5 Music Group Relies on SEO Tricks But Inching Closer to Legitimacy International Business Times Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c d e f Smith Ethan August 31 2011 The Internet s 10 Million Mix Tapes The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c Collins Jennifer February 23 2012 Searching search engines for the sound of music Marketplace Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c Christman Ed August 7 2012 X5 Signs Up Alligator Highway 87 Nacional Six Degrees Records Billboard Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b Sanderson Blair November 23 2009 The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music Allmusic Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b Universal Music X5 Music Bring Together Blue Note Records and Verve Catalogs For First Time X5 Music July 25 2013 Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b Flamm Matthew May 8 2013 Dining on music with Scott Ambrose Reilly Crain s New York Business Retrieved 2013 08 03 X5 Music Group Announces New Hire Noelle Bell Digital Music Veteran Shorefire Media February 10 2012 Retrieved 2013 03 12 a b Grischow Chad November 7 2011 London Philharmonic Orchestra The Greatest Video Game Music Review IGN Retrieved 2013 08 03 a b c d Nintendo Sega Go Orchestral With Greatest Video Game Music II X5 Music Group October 22 2012 Retrieved 2013 08 03 X5 Music Group says Spotify app boosted album downloads MusicAlly April 26 2012 Retrieved 2013 08 03 Universal backed digital distribution and A amp R platform Spinnup launches in the UK Complete Music Update 2014 07 08 Retrieved 2015 09 22 Partners X5 Music Group Retrieved 2013 08 03 Listplacering last 2 april 2011 Hung Steffen swedishcharts com Swedish Charts Portal swedishcharts com Retrieved 15 January 2018 Nobody Knows at no 1 in Sweden So Yours chart position in Belgium Flanders External links EditX5MusicGroup com X5 Classify App on Spotify Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title X5 Music Group amp oldid 1104970168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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