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Craig Kallman (born 1966) is Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records. He joined the company in 1991, when Atlantic acquired Kallman's independent Big Beat Records label. He advanced from Vice President to Executive Vice President in charge of Atlantic's entire A&R operation. In January 2002, he was named Atlantic Co-President. With the merger of Atlantic and Elektra Records in March 2004, Kallman was promoted to Co-Chairman/COO of the newly formed Atlantic Records Group. In August 2005, he was appointed Chairman and CEO.

Under Kallman's leadership, Atlantic's marketshare has risen steadily, and 2008 proved to be a landmark year. Not only did the iconic label celebrate its 60th Anniversary, but it marked the occasion as the #1 label of the year—earning the biggest overall marketshare in the industry by a wide margin. Atlantic made further history in 2008, becoming the first label to earn more than half of its total music sales in the U.S. from digital releases. Commenting on the label's success, Kallman noted that "It represents the validation of the strategy we adopted back in 2004: to reduce and diversify our roster, while shifting our mission from being a traditional record label to a progressive, A&R-driven, artist-centric content company." As of early September 2009, Atlantic ranked as the #1 label year-to-date in current marketshare, continuing its industry-leading streak.

A passionate music fan from an early age, Kallman began his music industry career while still a teenager, DJ-ing at the Cat Club in New York, while working in Columbia Records' dance department. At Brown University, he was the CBS Records college representative, promoting such artists as the Beastie Boys, Sinéad O'Connor, the Bangles, LL Cool J, and Billy Idol. He was also program director of the urban and rock specialty shows on WBRU-FM. After graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in English, Kallman promoted New Order and Joy Division for Factory Records. He worked in the chart department at Billboard Magazine, while continuing to DJ at such classic nightspots as Danceteria, Area, The Palladium, The Tunnel, and Mars.

Happening upon a house music demo in a record shop, Kallman started up his independent Big Beat label and production career with the 1987 single, "Join Hands" by Taravhonty. His second release, "The Party" by Kraze, was an international club and pop smash, selling over 300,000 copies, and prompting calls for Kallman's remixes from such major artists as Soul II Soul. Through the 1990s, Big Beat remained a major imprint in the dance and rap underground, as well as in the crossover pop and R&B fields, with a multi-genre string of international hits by Robin S., Jomanda, Tara Kemp, Bucketheads, The Artifacts, Double XX Posse, Dawn Penn, Inner Circle, Changing Faces, and Quad City DJ's.

When Big Beat was acquired by Atlantic in 1991, Kallman joined the company as Vice President/Assistant to then Co-Chairman Doug Morris. Later, as Executive Vice President, Kallman began to oversee Atlantic's entire A&R operation. His roster of trailblazing artists grew to include Aaliyah, whose One in a Million album introduced producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott to the pop top 10; singer and actress Brandy, whose duet with Monica, "The Boy Is Mine," was the biggest U.S. single of 1998; and Notorious B.I.G.'s rap clan Junior M.A.F.I.A., featuring the iconic Lil' Kim; and multi-platinum hard rock band P.O.D.

Kallman was named Co-President of Atlantic Records in January 2002. In the fall of that year, he forged a worldwide alliance with the pioneering dancehall reggae label, VP Records. The first album released via VP/Atlantic, Sean Paul's groundbreaking Dutty Rock, sold six million copies worldwide, and garnered Sean three Grammy nominations – including Best New Artist, and a win in the Best Reggae Album category. The album yielded a string of hit singles, including the #1 pop smash, "Get Busy," the most successful U.S. crossover record in Jamaican recording history. In 2002, Kallman also inked Florida-based hard rockers Shinedown, who have gone on to RIAA platinum success.

In 2003, Kallman personally signed T.I. to Atlantic, launching the Atlanta-based rapper on an explosive career path that seen him emerge as a Grammy-winning hip-hop icon with an unbroken string of RIAA platinum albums. Early 2004 saw another landmark in Kallman's career, when the first Atlantic album in nearly seven years from Chicago-based rap legend Twista, Kamikaze, debuted at #1 on the [[Billboard 200 album chart]].

Over the past five years, Kallman has spearheaded the single biggest transformation in Atlantic's six-decade history. With the new independence of its parent company, Warner Music Group - in the wake of its sale by Time Warner - Atlantic was faced with the challenge of recreating the company for a new era, including the merger of two of the music industry's most legendary labels - Atlantic and Elektra. Kallman's entrepreneurial roots have made him ideally suited to lead Atlantic at a time of enormous change in the music industry. He has returned the company to its legendary roots in A&R and artist development, while simultaneously pursuing an industry-leading digital strategy and the reinvention of the label as first and foremost a content-driven company.

Since 2004, Kallman has overseen the signings of a rich diversity of high-profile artists, including acclaimed indie rockers Death Cab for Cutie, Grammy winner Lupe Fiasco, punk-pop quartet Paramore, hard rockers Buckcherry, hit R&B quartet Pretty Ricky, #1-charting rappers Flo Rida and Plies, Christian rockers Skillet, R&B vocalist Trey Songz, and hit duo 3OH!3 -- who scored one of 2009's biggest smashes with the platinum-certified "Don't Trust Me. In 2006, Kallman spearheaded the breakthrough of British singer/songwriter James Blunt in the U.S., where his debut album, Back To Bedlam, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and earned five Grammy nominations. At the same time, Atlantic remains home to such established stars as Phil Collins, Kid Rock, Matchbox Twenty and its lead singer Rob Thomas, Missy Elliott, Rush, Staind, Musiq Soulchild, and Jason Mraz -- whose single, "I'm Yours," in August 2009 broke the record for the longest-running song ever in the 51-year history of the Billboard "Hot 100" chart.

Kallman's independent-bred sensibility has also made Atlantic a highly desirable destination and partner for indie labels looking to take their artists to the next level of their careers - including Downtown Records (Gnarls Barkley) and Fueled By Ramen (Panic! At The Disco, Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship). John Legend chose Atlantic as the home for Grammy-winning British soul sensation Estelle, the first signing to Legend's Homeschool label; and Jay-Z recently picked Atlantic to release his new Roc Nation solo album, "The Blueprint 3." And since 2005, Atlantic has been partners with Sean "Diddy" Combs and his pioneering Bad Boy label (Notorious B.I.G., Yung Joc, Danity Kane, Day26).

In 2008, Kallman returned Atlantic Records to the country music world for the first time in nearly a decade. His decision was inspired by a new generation of artists, including the Zac Brown Band -- who have earned RIAA platinum for their Atlantic debut album, "The Foundation," and have scored a string of country hits, including the RIAA platinum single, "Chicken Fried." Other signings to the reborn Atlantic Nashville include singer/songwriter Jesse Lee and new band The Invite.

As the number of senior music executives with authentic record-making experience continues to dwindle, Kallman remains a hands-on creative collaborator with his artists. A prime example is the 2008 Grammy Award-winning "Daydreamin'" by Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott, a song produced and co-written by Kallman.

Kallman's life-long obsession with music has led him to become one of the top record collectors in the world, with a vinyl collection now numbering some 300,000 albums encompassing virtually every genre of contemporary music. He is a noted sonic devotee as well, a serious audiophile who was recently profiled in Stereophile Magazine.

Over the years, Kallman has also spearheaded Atlantic's release of a number of film soundtracks and original cast albums, including Space Jam (featuring R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"), "Dr. Dolittle," "High School High," "Anastasia," "Great Expectations," "Jekyll & Hyde," "Step Up 2: The Streets," and "Twilight."

Quote: "It is a challenging time for the entire entertainment industry. Even so, our compass is still set by Atlantic's deep heritage in American roots music of every kind. It is a privilege and an honor for our artist, producers, songwriters, and staff to live up to that tradition, and to make our generation's contribution to it."