Maxime Girot: From Journalist to A&R at Warner Music France

Maxime Girot, now Director of Artistic Project Development and head of the Push unit at Warner Music France, started his career as a journalist for OKLM, the media outlet of rapper Booba. After two years there, he worked directly with Booba on his labels 92i and 7 Corp, then did a one-year apprenticeship at Capitol Music France. He later joined Booba's new label Piraterie Music (distributed by Because) before moving to Warner Music, initially on the Elektra label. Over three years, he rose from project manager to artistic director, signing emerging acts. He now oversees the Push cell for signing very early-stage artists, supervises marketing and publishing for priority projects, and manages artists including Niska, SCH, Ninho, Nono La Grinta, Saïf, Dallas, Dakeez, and Rsko. Girot emphasizes instinct and the ability to assess an artist's potential as key A&R qualities. He is particularly proud of signing Nono La Grinta, who had no platform profile and is now a platinum-certified project with diamond singles, and Saïf, who had only 6,000 monthly Spotify listeners when discovered and now has a gold EP. He also highlights his work on Ninho's latest project. Girot advises aspiring A&Rs to learn on the field, stay curious, network, and follow trends. His next goal is to become head of a label, a position he feels is within reach.