The music industry loves its history. The business is full of iconic names with decades of history: Columbia, Capitol, Atlantic, RCA, Warner and Island are all labels with venerable pasts and formidable presents, many of which are also associated with powerful and lauded founders and executives through the years. In the past year alone, several iconic imprints of the past have been revived such as Jive and Uptown, while the Virgin Music and Mercury Records brands have been relaunched to great success within the past half decade, to name a few.
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One of those iconic labels with an iconic founder is Reprise, founded by Frank Sinatra in 1960 and owned by Warner Records since 1963, which has in its long history been home to a glittering array of artists like Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder and Neil Young, and more recently, Green Day, Deftones and Michael Bublé. But while its roster has always been diverse, the label has long kept to the ethos established by founder Sinatra and his longtime attorney and business partner Mickey Rudin, and set in stone by its longtime president and legendary Warner executive Mo Ostin: that artists came first, and that they should have control over their own careers.
Last December, Warner decided to reinvigorate Reprise by naming longtime A&R executive Jeff Sosnow as its president, under the purview of Warner Records co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and co-chairman/COO Tom Corson. (Corson last week was also named COO of Warner Music Group.) Sosnow has a reputation as an artist-first A&R with wide-ranging taste: over the past dozen-plus years, he has signed the likes of Benson Boone, Rufus du Sol, Nessa Barrett, Billy Strings, Brandy Clark and The Neighbourhood, among others, to the Warner Records roster. Now, he’ll bring several of those artists with him over to Reprise, which will be home to Strings, Clark and Rufus du Sol in addition to Bublé, Josh Groban, Weezer, Deftones, My Chemical Romance, Green Day and The Linda Lindas, while Reprise will also remain the home of Young, who has remained on the roster since 1969.
“Reprise was built on the idea that artists should be free to be exactly who they are, with artist individuality and creative freedom at its core — without compromise,” Bay-Schuck says. “We saw an opportunity to reimagine the label for today’s landscape, creating a home for artists with distinctive voices, bold visions and long-term careers. I also believe it’s important to give artists choices. At Warner Records Group, every one of our brands has a unique perspective and Reprise was often one of the labels artists asked about when considering signing to Warner, so choosing to revitalize it was a no-brainer.”
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Now, Sosnow is gearing up to unveil the vision he’s had for Reprise since he was named its president eight months ago. Armed with a junior A&R exec and an assistant and backed by the broader Warner team, Sosnow is preparing to release new albums from Billy Strings, Weezer, the Linda Lindas and Young, as well as a big run of shows by Rufus Du Sol and a mandate to build out both his roster and his team. (He will remain executive vp of A&R at Warner in addition to his Reprise role.) “Our goal is for Reprise to continue being synonymous with groundbreaking artists and culturally-defining music,” Bay-Schuck says. “We want it to be a destination for artists who value originality, where careers are built with patience, ambition and a long-term vision. With Jeff at the helm, we’re confident Reprise will become one of the industry’s most dynamic creative engines for years to come.”
Here, Sosnow lays out what he’s hoping to achieve with Reprise, the influence that Ostin and longtime Warner executive and producer Lenny Waronker have had on him through his career, and the need to balance Reprise’s singular history with bringing the label into the future. “I’d like to believe that we can create something that not only makes the artist feel good and lives up to the promises that I hope that I make to them when I sign them, but will attract other artists, and we’ll grow from there,” Sosnow says. “All I’ve ever had as currency in signing [an artist] is honesty, and then ultimately hopefully you have a track record, and the artists speak well of their experiences. And if that happens, then Reprise will thrive, and we’re doing what we’re supposed to.”
Courtesy of Warner Records Jesse FaatzHow did the opportunity to take on this role first come up for you?
They gave me an elevated role and a Reprise title some time ago in a previous regime, but the president thing was something that just came over time. I’ve somehow managed to persevere as an A&R man over three decades, which has become sort of an anomaly, and I think that Tom and Aaron, being the righteous leaders and gentlemen that they are, acknowledged that with this title, which I don’t take for granted. I think also it doesn’t hurt that I was fortunate enough to work for Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker at DreamWorks Records and I got to discuss Reprise and those nascent days with Mo, and I still am close with Lenny. So I take it really seriously, and I think Tom and Aaron want someone who understands the history and can protect that legacy and build on it.
What is it about Reprise that interested you?
I grew up collecting records and tapes and CDs and had a voracious, insatiable appetite for music. And you look at all these labels and the iconography and the imagery; it meant something, and it resonated. And among the great historic labels, some of which have been revived and are doing well, Reprise certainly found its place in my collection with a lot of those records. I mean, Jimi Hendrix was one where the vinyl I have still has the Reprise logo and stickers on it. As a kid you’re just staring at [the logos], you’re 15, you’re like, “Something’s going on here.” And then you pick up the next record, and you’re like, “Oh, these guys have Neil Young too, huh? That’s interesting.” You know what I mean? I grew up in Kansas City. I didn’t know who Mo and Lenny were, you know?
How do you feel like you can leverage that history for what you want to do with the label now?
As I got older and really understood and got in the recorded music business proper in Los Angeles, and understood the history of Reprise and understood Sinatra and where it came from and him and Mickey Rudin cutting a deal and why they did it and all these things, it definitely is an extension, to me, of the ethos that I have been fortunate enough to have been around.
I worked for Mo and Lenny, and then I worked for Michael Goldstone at DreamWorks Records, who had signed Rage Against Machine and Pearl Jam, and [David] Geffen was running DreamWorks from afar, and then I went to Interscope and worked for Jimmy Iovine, and then I came full circle to Warner’s. And what I learned from Lenny and what Tom and Aaron continue to espouse — there is a thread. And I think of Reprise as a cocoon within the Warner fabric. It’s not something that I would say is so touchy-feely. It’s just that there are those artists, like Billy Strings, who said, “I want to be on the same label that Jimi Hendrix was on.” So it resonates for certain artists, and that’s cool.
Credit: Carlos de la Garza Reprise RecordsYou mentioned Frank Sinatra. How important is it to you, but also to the artists on the label, to honor that legacy as the founder of Reprise?
It depends who you’re speaking to and their familiarity and whether they contextualize it. I mean, if I’m speaking to an artist that it’s going to matter more that Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman and Neil Young and Ry Cooder were on the label, or Green Day, you have to know who the audience is. And then, if they take an interest, you can expound and explain why and where it derives from, and who Mo was, and why he was Frank’s quote-unquote ambassador, and where the label emanates from. And I think in this day and age of misinformation and information, and everyone wants their masters, and everyone wants seven figures — if they’re really searching for what it means and where the ethos began for a label like this, it might actually mean something to them historically. And while it’s not 1960, and all the deals are different, I do believe we try to do the right thing by the artist.
How are you trying to bring Reprise now into this new era and breathe new energy into it?
For me, I want to emulate Mo Ostin. It’s not about me; it’s about the artists. And to that end, we’re trying to sign the best in class, and then that becomes a reflection [of the label]. Rufus du Sol, who I signed about nine years ago, they’re like the biggest in that genre, they’re doing five shows at the Forum in a week; they probably could do 20, as far as I know. Billy Strings is pretty big; he’s probably the biggest bluegrass artist in the history of bluegrass, he’s playing the Forum again and doing an underplay at the Orpheum. Weezer’s pretty big. The Linda Lindas, I look at them as a rising young punk rock band. Brandy Clark, I think she’s been nominated for 14 Grammys, won one last year, and then she composed the Shucked soundtrack, which was nominated for nine Tonys. She’s really revered; we haven’t necessarily had a commercial breakthrough with her yet, but it took four or five albums for Randy Newman to [break through] also. To me, there’s a real thread of Joni, Ry, Randy. Joni was just named by the New York Times as one of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, and I think they got that right.
Are you looking for a balance between veteran acts and new artists? What would you like the roster to look like?
Yeah, I think that’s fair to say. I’ve been at the label now since 2012. I have about 15 to 18 artists on my roster. My roster is wildly eclectic and diverse; dare I say moreso than any A&R person in the business. I have bluegrass, electronic dance, I have The Neighbourhood, I still look after Mac Miller’s estate, the Deftones, Brandy Clark, Orville Peck, Benson Boone, Nessa Barrett, Michael Marcagi — lots of genres. It’s an extension of my tastes; I really do not sign by genre, it’s really on a case by case basis. Some of these artists are on Reprise, some of them are on Warner. As I navigate building Reprise, we’ll figure out which ones make sense for which, and that will also take into account: Are they more legacy artists? Are they younger artists? Where can we best serve them? That sort of thing. So it really is case by case, and the artist feels comfortable.
You said you’ve been head down, really working on this the last several months. What has that entailed?
I really take this seriously. Not just for me; there’s a very serious responsibility to me having this be something that Mo Ostin built, with Lenny Waronker by his side, and I am not going to tarnish that or mess that up or drop the ball. So all of these things that we’re launching are going to be thoughtful and hopefully tasteful, and a reflection of them, and make Tom and Aaron and the Warner Music Group proud to have this imprint blossom and thrive in 2026 and beyond. So whether it’s the socials or some merch, August is a really big month. The five Rufus du Sol shows, the Billy Strings album, a Weezer album, and the Linda Lindas and Neil Young’s got an album. I think it’s going to be a nice moment to launch and to coalesce, and I’ve just got to go sign more artists and help them make great records. That’s what I have to do.
Jeff Sosnow with Brandi Carlile, Lenny Waronker, Brandy Clark and Tom Corson (Courtesy of Warner Records) Reprise RecordsWhat do you hope to accomplish in the next year?
The Grateful Dead had a maxim: “Do no harm.” I want the artists to feel good about Reprise, and I want them to feel good about the work we do together, and I want to go sign more great artists to help expand this roster. That’s it. There’s nothing else I can do other than that. It seems so simple, but it’s really not. Whether it’s Neil Young or Josh Groban or Michael Bublé, the Deftones, it’s just as important to maintain their growth and legacy and continue growing them equally, if not more, than what we’re doing with the new crop. I remember Mo talking about how they would have ZZ Top and Van Halen, but they would also have Randy Newman and Ry Cooder, and they all balance out. And in the end, everybody has flourishes, but it takes time. And I just want to work with artists that we can be patient with and give them the chance to grow, and we’re doing that. I’m fortunate over the years, I’m probably one of the few A&R people who’s made second, third, fourth, fifth records with bands. That does not happen anymore.
Is there anything you feel like you’ve learned over the course of your career that you feel like you can apply to this Reprise reinvention?
I had some of the greatest mentors of all time: Mo Ostin, Lenny Waronker, Jimmy Iovine, Michael Goldstone. They taught me about the importance of putting the artist first, being honest, having difficult conversations — those are the ways you gain trust with your artists. You’ve got to be able to have hard conversations, you’ve got to be able to be honest, and if you do that, it can be wildly rewarding in a really significant way. I don’t think there’s enough people having those hard conversations with artists. I think a lot of it is just putting records out and praying for rain. But telling someone maybe we don’t have the songs yet, maybe we need to try someone else, maybe keep writing — getting an artist to continue to write when they think they’re done, and then watching them come up with their best song that ends up being the first single, I’ve seen that magic trick a number of times. I think Iovine was the one that really instilled that in me. He would say, “Don’t let them stop writing ’til it’s in the shrink wrap.”
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