President of Spinnin' Records Roger de Graaf is retiring, a company spokesperson confirmed Bulletin board.
De Graaf co-founded the Dutch company in 1999 together Eelko van Kooten, maneuvering through different eras of electronic music and rapidly evolving consumption models, from CD to DSP.
“In the beginning we wanted to be the No. 1 dance group in the Netherlands,” said de Graaf Bulletin board in 2019. “Then we wanted to be the No. 1 dance group in Europe and then the No. 1 dance group in the world.”
Spinnin' has become a mainstay of the EDM era, with a roster that includes Afrojack and Martin Garrix, Tiësto, Martin Solveig, Nicky Romero, Sander van Doorn and more. The company's business structure also includes a number of artist imprints, including Tiësto's Musical Freedom and David Guetta's Future Rave. In 2019, the label focused on international expansion, breaking into the Brazilian market by signing Brazilian producer Alok and launching Spinnin' Records Asia.
“Every time we had a success, we didn't spend a lot of time celebrating it,” de Graaf said. Billboardd in 2019. “We always wanted more and always focused on what our next hit could be.”
The success of Spinnin' eventually led Warner Music to acquire the label in 2017 in a deal worth more than $100 million. That transition led to van Kooten leaving the company, with the executive launching Ledo, a global digital distribution platform that partners artists with social media influencers.
In September 2023, de Graaf and Ewout Swart were named co-presidents of Spinnin' Records. De Graaf's successor has yet to be announced.
