New CEO Set for Sony Music Entertainment
October 18 2016 - 5:00PM
Dow Jones News
Sony Music Entertainment, the world's second-largest record
company, is getting a new boss in six months, the company said
Tuesday.
Rob Stringer, 54 years old, is a veteran Sony Music executive
and will become chief executive in April. He is the younger brother
of Sony Corp.'s former chairman and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer.
Mr. Stringer currently heads Sony's Columbia Records label, home
to stars including Beyoncé , Bob Dylan and Daft Punk. He is to
replace 77-year-old Doug Morris, who will stay on as Sony Music's
chairman, and will report to Sony Entertainment CEO Michael
Lynton.
The changing of the guard had been planned for some time due
primarily to Mr. Morris's age, people familiar with the matter
said.
Leading Sony Music at the corporate level represents a big shift
for Mr. Stringer, who is beloved by many artists and known for his
intuitive decision-making style, industry executives said. He is
taking the reins as the music industry shows its first signs of
significant growth in 17 years, as revenue from fast-expanding
streaming services such as Spotify AB and Apple Inc.'s Apple Music
more than offsets declining sales of CDs and downloads. Revenue
from recorded music in the U.S. grew more than 8% in the first half
of this year over the prior-year period, according to the Recording
Industry Association of America. But there is still uncertainty
about how many subscribers streaming services charging $10 a month
can ultimately amass, especially given mounting competition from
free music sources such as Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube, which pay
record companies far less per user.
Mr. Stringer cut his teeth as a marketing intern at CBS
Records—now part of Sony—in 1985, and rose through the ranks to
take leadership positions at Epic Records and Sony Music's U.K.
division. He was named chairman of Sony's U.S. label group in 2006
and appointed chairman of Columbia Records in 2008. Mr. Stringer
helped Columbia become one of the industry's most successful record
labels, overseeing the U.S. launch of Adele's 2015 album "25,"
which has sold more than 9 million copies domestically, according
to Nielsen Music He also oversaw the release of Beyonce's visual
album "Lemonade," David Bowie's final studio album, "Blackstar,"
and Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories," which racked up five
Grammy awards in 2014.
His brother, Howard Stringer, served as Sony's CEO from 2005
until 2012, when he was replaced by current leader Kazuo Hirai.
Write to Hannah Karp at hannah.karp@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 18, 2016 16:45 ET (20:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024