Shawn Holiday's Giant Music, the Azoff label, expands into the UK

Giant Music, an independent label inside the Azoff Company, has opened a London office and signed its first UK artists: Alfie Jukes, Hohnen Ford and Blair Davie. Co-founder Shawn "Tubby" Holiday and president Nate Albert told Music Business Worldwide the label is betting on Britain as a market that still discovers and breaks global stars.

Holiday, a veteran of Sony Music Publishing, Columbia and Interscope who has worked with Cardi B, Travis Scott and Solange, co-founded Giant in 2022 with Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, reviving the Giant name from Azoff Sr.'s 1990s venture with Warner Music. Albert joined as president in 2024 after A&R roles at Warner Records, Capitol and Republic, where he worked with The Weeknd, Omar Apollo and Teddy Swims; he was also a founding guitarist in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Giant sits inside the wider Azoff Company alongside Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights, Iconic Artists Group and Oak View Group.

Its breakout act so far is Bronx drill rapper Cash Cobain, one of hip-hop's fastest-rising names, whose 2024 debut Play Cash Cobain carried cover art by Drake. The roster also includes Ruel and Empress Of, and the new London office is led by A&R director Josh Stent, who signed Jukes, Ford and Davie.

In January, Giant took investment from Concord and struck a global distribution deal with Stem rather than signing to a major, a structure Holiday said lets the label stay independent and precise. Concord, which owns Stem, is itself now merging into BMG, a combination some in the industry are calling a fourth major label. "We're not focused on market share, stock price, or managing a roster of 400+ artists," Albert said.

Holiday said the traditional record business is fading and that Giant sees itself as "the start of the next phase." Albert said the label plans to keep building campaigns market by market, including its new UK signings, rather than leaning on a major's global infrastructure.