Sylvia Rhone closed out her legendary six-year stretch as chair and CEO of Epic Records on Sunday, stepping down from the highest job at Sony music’s label after a profession that repeatedly reshaped the music enterprise and shattered business ceilings.

“It’s been an extraordinary journey: eleven years since my promotion to President of Epic Records and six years since my appointment as Chairwoman and CEO,” Rhone wrote in a farewell memo obtained by music/music-industry-news/sylvia-rhone-stepping-down-epic-records-1236377299/#:~:text=Sylvia%20Rhone%2C%20the%20veteran%20chair,Epic’s%20president%20starting%20in%202014.”>The Hollywood Reporter. “And today, I am moving on from this historic role at Epic and I’m very excited about the future.”

Her departure leaves Epic with out its longtime chief and the main label system with out a single girl CEO.

Rhone, 72, exits with a résumé that features firsts nobody else has matched: the primary girl and first Black government to run a number of main report firms below Fortune 500 possession.

During her time at Epic, Rhone helped form the sound of contemporary Hip-Hop and pop, guiding the careers of Travis Scott, 21 Savage, DJ Khaled, Future, Meghan Trainor, Madison Beer, and Camila Cabello. Her affect helped Epic keep relevance in a quickly altering panorama.

Sony music Group chairman Rob Stringer, who tapped Rhone for the CEO function in 2019, praised her management.

“It’s been our honor to work with a true icon,” he mentioned. “In an industry defined by its constant evolution, Sylvia has adapted and embraced change, time and time again.”

Before her Epic chapter, Rhone led a collection of main labels, starting in 1990 when she turned CEO of Atlantic’s EastWest Records. Four years later, she was appointed chair and CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group, the place she constructed a genre-spanning roster that included artists such as Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, AC/DC, Metallica, and Björk.

She known as the Elektra period “a cultural renaissance” and her affect continued at Motown, the place she labored with Stevie Wonder on his last studio album and helped push Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Drake into world superstardom by Cash Money’s distribution deal.

Rhone’s path started at Buddha Records as a secretary after graduating from The Wharton School. She rose by the ranks, finally changing into senior vp of Black music at Atlantic Records.

Her a long time within the enterprise earned her quite a few honors, together with an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of music.

“I have worked in our industry since vinyl ruled, and women were rarely, if ever, in line for C-level or even vice-presidential roles,” she wrote in her memo. “I am proud of my achievements, and of my commitment to those who take inspiration from them.”

No successor has been named.

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