Legendary Music Exec Lyor Cohen Reveals New Record Label. (Read More). Published by @Lanredavies

Lyor Cohen stepped down as CEO/Chairman of the Warner Music Group a year ago, now the legendary music executive has revealed his new label (with partners Kevin Liles and Todd Moscowitz), which will be called 300 and already has strong (and unexpected) backing.

Billboard magazine reports that the label has secured distribution from Atlantic Records. As previously reported, Google has also invested in Cohen’s new venture, with reports saying an initial investment to the tune of $5 million. Yes, the label’s name is courtesy of those warriors the 300 film was based on.

Says Billboard:

The name 300 comes from Greek history of the 300 Spartans that fought in a vicious battle against thousands of Persian soldiers in 480 BC. “It was a battle that changed the way wars are fought,” says Cohen. “These guys found that if you were well synchronized, strategic, loyal with great planning and preparedness you could do much more with less and be highly effective.” Cohen’s thinking is that having a smarter, nimbler, more efficiently run music company that uses fewer resources to do more for artists has become necessary in the 21st Century music business. The idea is to better align cost structure to the industry’s current needs, where many new artists are naturally entrepreneurial by marketing and building buzz themselves on platforms like YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

The new company is looking to recruit 25-30 music veterans in areas like radio promotion and marketing alongside younger staffers who breath digital particularly in areas like data mining and data management, explains Liles. “We want entrepreneurial people, industry veterans that are loving the opportunity of the change to the here and now,” says Liles. “We also want people from outside the industry, chief content officers, chief consumer officers.” The company is getting backing from a wide range of investors, led by Google, which has put in around $5 million, according to one person familiar with the terms. “With YouTube, we have a long history of supporting artists and content creators. So we’re excited to invest in 300, a new, innovative company designed to create opportunities for artists,” said a Google spokesman in a statement.