Exploring new avenues of appeal and stretching football’s influence into other cultures, Wolverhampton Wanderers have teamed up with Warner Music UK’s Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA), to launch Wolves Records, making them the first UK football club to launch a record label.
Wolves have been progressive in their exploration of the influence of football culture, recruiting the help of Black Arrow in particular to increase their appeal on U.S. shores. And now the club take on a ground-breaking new venture as the first UK football club to launch a record label, following in the footsteps of European teams such as Olympique Marseille. Wolves Records will see performing artists benefit from the reach of a Premier League football club’s global audience while also gaining access to ADA’s marketing and distribution expertise, giving unprecedented exposure and opportunities to emerging artists.
While the label’s initial focus will be on nurturing and developing talented artists of all styles and genres local to the Midlands, Wolves Records’ ambition is to expand into international territories.
Wolves’ general manager of marketing and commercial growth, Russell Jones, said: “Wolves Records is an ambitious and progressive project that we have been working on for some time, and we are delighted to finally be able to announce it publicly. Working hand-in-hand with Warner Music’s ADA and lots of very talented and experienced industry professionals, Wolves Records will provide talent with life-changing opportunities.
“As many of our supporters will be aware, one of our goals at Wolves is to grow the club in innovative and entrepreneurial ways, developing new business ideas that will eventually complement and help support the continued success of the football club.
“Of course, this is just the beginning of the journey for Wolves Records, and the hard work now intensifies as we begin the search for our first acts to sign to Wolves Records; I am confident that we have a great team in place to make the label a huge success.”
To aid the label in their search for a first signing, Wolves Records is also partnering with various A&R and production consultants, the first of which is singer, songwriter, and highly sought-after producer, S-X.
Wolves Records’ head of label, Ricky Hill, said: “I went to University in Wolverhampton so I’ve a lot of affection for the city and the Midlands. There’s so much talent in the local area, that Wolves Records is perfectly positioned and hungry to back.
“However, this is not just about supporting local artists, but a genuine and authentic move by a football club with a vast audience to penetrate the music industry and develop new and emerging talent across the world. By partnering with Warner Music and ADA, we are also able to plug into some of the best distribution available and have support from their team of experts when it comes to releasing music.”
Wolves Records is currently inviting emerging artists, bands and producers to send in music for their consideration. For more information on how to submit your tracks and to follow the Wolves Records story visit wolvesrecords.com.
