Wolfgang Boss

Wolfgang Boss

Wolfgang Boss is a German music executive, producer and president of A&R for Sony Music Entertainment company.[1] Wolfgang holds the position of Sony Music's Executive President A&R globally since 2013. With more than 100 gold and platinum certifications Wolfgang Boss is one of the most successful A&R executives of the last two decades.

Biography and musical career

Boss entered the music world during his university studies. After working as a DJ, he became a club manager and established his own house music club, MACH 1. This brought him into regular contact with international DJs and artists in the house scene. In 2003 his Berlin-based company Mach 1 Records GmbH became a partner in the newly founded house label, Ministry of Sound Germany. Just one year later Boss's new label MACH 1 scored two number-one hits with Dragostea Din Tei (Haiducii) and Obsessión (Aventura). The latter held the top spot on the German charts for seven weeks.

In 2005 Boss teamed up with German producer Reinhardt "Voodoo" Reith to create the music for their Crazy Frog project.[2] The single "Axel F" by Crazy Frog became the most sold single worldwide in 2005 topping the charts in more than 30 countries.

In 2007 Boss accepted an offer from Universal Music and founded B1 Recordings as a joint venture with Universal Music Germany.

Releasing hits by artists such as Stromae (Alors on Danse), Edward Maya (Stereo Love), Pitbull (I know you want me), Lucenzo & Don Omar (Danza Kuduro) and Klingande (Jubel), B1 Recordings frequently topped the charts.

B1 Recordings' release of the single "Ai Se Eu Te Pego!" by Brazilian artist Michel Teló, which came out at the end of 2011, was a worldwide hit, reaching no 1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and it was the most downloaded song in Germany at the time. Two more releases of B1 are in the Top 10 of the most downloaded songs in Germany ever: Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know", and Israel Kamakawiwo`ole (IZ) "Over The Rainbow".

In 2014 Boss entered a long-term partnership with Sony Music Entertainment. His label B1 Recordings and Sony have since been working exclusively together on new releases. He also holds the global position of Executive Vice President A&R.

In 2019 B1 Recordings expanded its presence into new markets with France and the UK which hold their own local representative B1 label within the Sony Music structure.

With Sony Wolfgang Boss was instrumental in the signing of electronic music super star artists like Kygo, Martin Garrix and Paul Kalkbrenner and he is part of the A&R team of these artists helping them creating global hits like Garrix' 'Scared to be Lonely' and Kygo's 'Remind me to Forget'.

In 2018, B1 Recordings released the track "In My Mind" by Lithuanian Producer Dynoro which went to #1 in 13 countries – ranking Shazam's global No.1 for eight weeks – was #1 in the German charts for almost three months and 2018's most successful song. The track amassed more than 1.5 billion streams.

A year later, Boss saw another success with Grammy for Best Remixed Recording awarded hit single 'Roses (Imanbek Remix)' by US- Rapper SAINt JHN.[3] The Remix production of Kazakhstan-based Producer Imanbek topped several Charts reaching #1 in numerous countries including UK, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands, NZ, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The track held the Global Shazam #1 for 13 consecutive weeks and reached Top 5 of the US BillboardHot 100. In late 2020, ‘Roses (Imanbek Remix) went on to amass 1 billion streams on Spotify and 2 billion streams across all platforms within a year of its release.[4] By November 2024, the song surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify, becoming one of only eight dance songs globally to achieve this milestone. In 2020, Boss released a remix cover of 'Goosebumps' by Spanish Producer HVME which claimed top global positions. The track was eventually re-released as a Joint Venture between B1 & Epic Records in early 2021 with Travis Scott as the leading artist.[5] Both versions together have reached more than a billion streams on Spotify.

In 2022, Wolfgang Boss started working with Brazilian superstar DJ Alok and was instrumental in Alok producing several global dance hits. These include 'Deep Down' with Ella Eyre, Kenny Dope, and Never Dull, which has amassed 420 million Spotify streams by November 2024, 'Car Keys' with Ava Max (140 million Spotify streams), 'All By Myself' with Ellie Goulding and Sigala (170 million Spotify streams), 'Jungle' with The Chainsmokers and Mae Stephens, and 'Let's Get FKD UP' with Ceres, Mondello, and Tribbs (200 million Spotify streams).

To date, Boss has overseen and released a substantial body of hit singles that have collated more than 1 billion streams on Spotify alone, including: Saint Jhn - Roses (Imanbek Remix) ; Dynoro - In My Mind ; Travis Scott X HVME - Goosebumps; Regard - Ride It; Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me; Martin Garrix - Scared to be Lonely; Martin Garrix - In The Name Of Love; J Balvin & Willy William - Mi Gente; Gotye - Somebody that I Used To Know; Don Omar & Lucenzo - Danza Kuduro; Kygo - Firestone.

Awards

At the German ECHO 2011 music awards on 25 March 2011, Boss and Jon de Mello received the Hit of the Year ECHO for Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.[6] The Hawaiian singer, often known simply as IZ, recorded the song three years before his death in 1997. Boss bought the rights to release the single in Europe in 2010. Over the Rainbow topped the German charts for four months in late 2010 and early 2011, selling over 800,000 copies, which made it the top-selling single of 2010 and the most downloaded song of all time in Germany at that time. The song and the corresponding album Facing Future have also enjoyed success outside Germany. In France, for example, the single reached number one and the album went platinum.

At the 2018 German Music Awards (ECHO), Wolfgang Boss once again claimed the ECHO for Hit of the Year with the single 'In My Mind' by Dynoro. Boss signed the track after its initial release as a bootleg in 2017, which had been taken down by the rights holders of the sampled recordings. He spent six months negotiating with the various rights holders, and when the track was officially re-released in June 2018, it soared to No. 1 in 13 countries, became the best-selling single in Germany that year, and, by November 2024, had amassed over 1.5 billion streams on Spotify alone.

KYGO

In 2013, Wolfgang Boss, Patrick Moxey, and Adam Granite signed Norwegian producer Kygo to Sony Music after discovering his music on SoundCloud. At the time, many of Kygo's uploads on SoundCloud were unauthorized remixes—bootlegs—of popular songs by artists like Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. Recognizing his potential, Wolfgang, Patrick, and the Sony Music A&R team collaborated with Kygo to help him create original tracks featuring unreleased songs by both Sony-signed and independent artists. This partnership led to the release of Firestone in December 2014 and Stole the Show in early 2015, both of which became massive hits. Kygo quickly rose to global fame, becoming the fastest artist in history to reach one billion streams on Spotify within just over a year. With subsequent collaborations featuring artists like Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding, and Imagine Dragons, Kygo achieved multiple global hits and cemented his status as a global superstar.

Wolfgang Boss presented a multi-platinum/gold award to Kygo.

In November 2024, Wolfgang Boss presented Kygo with a multi-platinum/gold award for sales in Germany, including three platinum certifications (Firestone, Stole the Show, and It Ain't Me) and five gold certifications (Stargazing, First Time, Remind Me to Forget, Born to Be Yours, and Higher Love).☢

Productions/releases

References

  1. ^ "Chicago SunTimes Jul 16, 2005".
  2. ^ "Jamba's Amphibious Assault - Businessweek". archive.ph. January 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Imanbek Zeikenov". GRAMMY.com. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  4. ^ "MusikWoche | News | "Roses" knackt Spotify-Milliarde". www.mediabiz.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  5. ^ Amter, Charlie (2021-02-18). "Hitmaker of the Month: Sony Music's Wolfgang Boss on HVME's 'Goosebumps' Flip, and Getting Travis Scott's Co-Sign". Variety. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  6. ^ "fotos-starauflauf-bei-der-echo-verleihung-in-berlin". badische-zeitung.de. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  7. ^ Discography. April 18, 2011
  8. ^ "Sony Music zeichnet Alle Farben mit Gold aus".
  9. ^ "Sony Music vergibt Platin an Bakermat".
  10. ^ a b "Sony verleiht Platin an Kygo".
  11. ^ "Platin für Anna Naklab, Alle Farben und Younotus".
  12. ^ "Sony Music zeichnet Julian Perretta mit Gold aus".
  13. ^ "Sony Music veredelt Alle Farben".
  14. ^ "Still 'Goosebumps' Every Time: Why Travis Scott's 2016 Single Is Big as Ever in 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-02-05.