Warner Music Group announced in an SEC filing Friday that Cameron Strang, Chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music, and Brian Roberts, Chief Financial Officer, have signed new employment agreements with the company.
Strang, who now oversees Warner Bros. Records and Warner’s West Coast operations as well as Warner/Chappell, will receive a base salary of $2.25 million effective January 1, up from $1.5 million. He will be able to participate in Warner’s senior management cash flow plan that will pay him a fixed allocation of 0.925% of the company’s free cash flow. The plan will also allow Strang to acquire up to 0.4625% of deferred equity units (the right to receive a stock at a future date) and will grant him 0.4625% matching equity units.
Warner’s senior management cash flow plan is a compensation plan adopted on December 10 that allocates 7.5% of free cash flow for an annual bonus plan for senior management. According to the company’s latest 10-K filing, the plan is meant to help participating employees defer compensation to future years for tax and financial planning purposes.
Roberts’ will also be able to participate in the senior management cash flow plan and receive a fixed allocation of 0.19% of the company’s free cash flow and up to 0.095% of both deferred equity units and matching equity units.
Strang earned $2.3 million in Warner’s fiscal year ended September 30. On top of his $1.5 million salary Strang was given a discretionary bonus of $807,500, according to the 10-K filing.
Roberts’ salary in fiscal 2012 was $537,000 and he earned a bonus of $533,000.
Former Chairman/CEO of Recorded Music Lyor Cohen, who left the company on September 30, was the highest paid employee at Warner Music in fiscal 2012. He earned $14 million on a base salary of $3 million, a $2.5 million bonus and a $8.5 million severance payment. [Billboard.biz]