On Aug. 1, shockwaves reverberated through the music industry when the Warner Music Group announced that Elliot Grainge would take the helm of Atlantic Music Group as CEO effective Oct. 1, succeeding longtime leader Julie Greenwald in the role and bringing his independent label 10K Projects under the Atlantic umbrella. The change marks both a generational transition at the storied label (Grainge is just 30 years old and more digital-focused than Greenwald and her longtime Atlantic co-head Craig Kallman) and a new level of influence for the 10K Projects founder, the son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.
While that family connection is impossible to discount, Grainge has managed to pave his own path in the industry since founding 10K, through which he launched artists like Trippie Redd, XXXTentacion, iann dior, 6ix9ine and Ice Spice, whom he managed to woo amid heated competition from major labels (he ultimately signed the rapper in partnership with Capitol Music Group). Of course, Grainge was afforded an unparalleled training ground courtesy of his father, who offered his son a rare window into the business early on; in interviews, the younger Grainge has told of accompanying his father to meetings, reading the music trades and soaking up all he could about the business from a young age.
Now, as Grainge prepares to assume the top role at one of the most prestigious gigs in the industry, here is a look back at his career so far — from his early entrepreneurial ventures in college to his time running his successful independent label.
