The Warner Music Group has launched a new digital advertising sales and creative content division, the company announced Tuesday (April 27). As part of the announcement, Benjamin Blank has been named president of media at WEA overseeing the department, reporting to recently-installed WEA president Maria Weaver.
The new division will wrap up Warner’s various owned creative content subsidies, including sites UPROXX, HipHopDX and the live music app Songtrust under Blank’s purview, where he will be in charge of creative and ad sales for all the company’s media properties. Blank was most recently CEO & chief creative officer of UPROXX, a site that describes itself as shaping and influencing youth culture, which Warner acquired in 2018.
All told, WMG says its YouTube channels, streaming and social platforms collectively pull in 30 billion views each month, representing a formidable bloc of interest that can now be sold together to advertisers under the new structure.
“Warner Music is a powerhouse, home to not only some of the world’s most influential artists, but also to culture-shaping brands and online destinations for music fans,” Blank said in a statement. “Putting this collective firepower under one roof makes sense, allowing our partners to tap into our broad reach of fans across the globe at an even bigger scale. I look forward to working alongside Maria and am excited to continue to collaborate with my UPROXX family and everyone at HipHopDX and Songkick.”
The move is the latest executive appointment at WEA since the appointment last November of Weaver, who arrived from Comcast, where she had been chief marketing officer. In March, Weaver promoted longtime Warner Music Group veteran Elsa Vivero to the newly-created position of general manager/executive vp of WEA, giving her a wide purview within the company. Blank’s position is also new, representing an expanded portfolio under Weaver’s WEA.
“Since meeting Ben I’ve been impressed with his drive, his leadership and his fearless ability to think outside the box to create meaningful and engaging content,” Weaver said in a statement. “He’s always in tune with the cultural conversation and he and the UPROXX team have built something really special. There’s no doubt he’s the right person to take the reins as we take a new approach to our owned media.”
