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Dork Magazine via Twitter - 06.02

With hit LPs for Lily Allen & Louis Tomlinson, Jamie Nelson talks building BMG's contemporary roster

BMG is having a couple of big chart weeks – first with Louis Tomlinson and now Lily Allen.

With the physical release of Lily Allen’s West End Girl, the album is battling for No.1 following its No.2 peak last year. Grammy winner Olivia Dean may well be too strong as the chart week reaches its conclusion, but the vinyl and CD sales have this week taken West End Girl to gold certification for 100,000 units to date. Allen also has a busy touring schedule in 2026.

Louis Tomlinson did make No.1 last week with third album How Did I Get Here?, which opened with consumption of 28,416 units. 

The chart results mark the evolution of the label and its expanded A&R team with a more contemporary roster, including Lily Allen, Louis Tomlinson, Marina, Meek, Eloise and Lava La Rue. Meek has just released the single Fabulous after signing to BMG.

Here, Jamie Nelson, SVP, new recordings, who oversees the UK frontline label, speaks exclusively to Music Week about his plans for the roster, the label’s huge campaigns and the evolving BMG…

You had another great result with Louis Tomlinson, is he becoming a consistent career artist?

“First and foremost, Louis has an incredible global footprint, in terms of his fanbase, it's amazing. We had an incredible result on Faith In The Future, which is the previous album that was very much a global success. And this feels like it's heading into brilliant territory, in that he’s delivering success all over the world. We’ve got No.3 in Australia. We have a No.1 album in the UK. But also culturally, this has been quite a shift. It’s been really supported at Radio 1, for example. So it definitely feels like he's heading into exactly where he wants to be, which is a really relevant and contemporary place – we're really happy with how it's all going.

“Again, Louis is an artist who is very much about a global approach, he’s managed to continue to build on what he delivered last time. And as we know, longevity is not easy for many artists, the ability to be consistently successful isn't the easiest thing. So it's brilliant to see him delivering again at such a high level.”

Has he worked hard on this project and the campaign?

“He’s a music obsessive – in terms of the way that he delivered that record with [co-producer] Nico Rebscher, that has been really amazing. There's been total dedication and focus on the process. Louis is somebody that likes to be very front and centre in creating what he does. So that's been fantastic in terms of his appetite to go and work, it's second to none. He's somebody who wants to do everything he can to get his music out there, and we're happy to support it.”

In terms of fan engagement, Louis Tomlinson must be a great artist for a label to work with?

“He's great with that stuff. Obviously those fans have grown up with him over many years. He's somebody that thrives on that connection with his audience. He's always been like that, actually. There's such an amazing relationship you see between him and his fans. It's brilliant to see that they are continually there and that they support him.”

And it was pure coincidence, but it was quite a turn-up that Louis Tomlinson had the No.1 album the same week as Harry Styles scored the No.1 single…

“It’s an amazing coincidence. It probably tells us something about the endurance of One Direction historically, I guess. But also, as well, to see two artists in a totally different area, musically, going on and having their success is fantastic.”

What’s the A&R approach with Louis Tomlinson, who has leaned more towards indie music?

“His natural music tastes tend to be a little bit more alternative-led. I would say, again, Louis is somebody that we support and we have conversations with, but he's somebody that comes with a lot of history and experience, So it's a supportive role that we have, and between Matt Vines, who manages Louis, and Nico in this situation, with support outside as well, he's gone off and defined what he wants to do, and he's delivered it in a way that he's happy to do it.”

Is it going to be a busy year for him in terms of live?