The editor of classical music magazine Gramophone says that a move by Warner Music last week essentially means the major has ceased to be an active player in the classical sector. That conclusion follows the announcement that the US major's classical division, Warner Classics, is to be merged into Rhino, a division of the group that specialises primarily in reissues and compilations.
Warner Classics had already been downsized from its 90s peak, though Gramophone editor James Jolly says that under recent leader Matthew Cosgrove the classical label achieved critical acclaim for a number of signings and releases despite tight resources. Cosgrove has now left the label, however, and the magazine says it fears that this latest downsize means that Warner's classical output will be more or less exclusively concerned with re-releasing back catalogue rather than investing in new recordings.
If that is the case it remains to be seen what impact the changes on the wider classical genre. At a recent MusicTank debate on the classical world many felt that the role the major labels play in the sector was increasingly irrelevant anyway, although some at that event stressed that while the majors' investment in classical music was much lower now than in the past, it was still an investment on which the genre relied.