
Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone is regarded as the most influential female executive in the history of the music business. Named Chairwoman and CEO of Epic Records in 2019, a division of Sony Entertainment, Rhone has been instrumental in extending the reach of Epic’s diverse and award-winning roster around the globe. Rhone has helmed senior positions at all three major record companies, and was the first woman to be named CEO of a major record label owned by a Fortune 500 company and the first Black woman in history to attain such a title.
Named President of Epic Records in 2017, the label placed three artists simultaneously in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 Albums chart twice during her tenure, and most recently (in 2024) tied a record for an artist driven act held only by The Beatles by landing three Future albums at #1 in a six-month time period. Rhone continues to uphold her reputation as a culture-changing rainmaker, consistently guiding multiple artists to new pinnacles at Epic, including Tyla’s breakout debut album, Andre 3000’s acclaimed innovative instrumental album, Travis Scott’s Grammy nominated fourth #1 album, 21 Savage’s fourth #1 album, and a formidable array of established and rising stars, including Meghan Trainor, Zara Larson, Madison Beer, Real Boston Richey, and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame icon and multiple Grammy award winner, Ozzy Osbourne, among others.
Recipient of more than three dozen honors and awards in her five-decade career, Rhone’s achievements are recognized annually. Rhone accepted the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Global Impact Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, along with fellow honorees Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott (whom she launched at Elektra Records), and Lil Wayne. Rhone was also honored with the BMAC Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award for her immense impact within the music industry and beyond, presented by her daughter Quinn. In 2023, Rhone was recognized as Billboard’s Women In Music Executive Of The Year at Billboard’s Women In Music Awards, cited for her trailblazing path comprising decades of leadership, hailed as “a force, an alchemist, a savant of creative artistry and an inspiration to all women for the glass ceilings you have conquered.” Rhone was honored at the National Action Network’s (founded by Rev. Al Sharpton) 20 th Anniversary Keepers Of The Dreams Awards, with President Obama delivering a speech commemorating Rhone’s and her fellow honorees accomplishments. Rhone achieved the music industry’s ultimate business/philanthropic honor in 2019 with the City Of Hope’s prestigious Spirit Of Life Award, with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder presenting the award.
Rhone’s commitment to diversity spans her entire five-decade career. Known for advocating systemic change to ensure an inclusive and accountable workplace in every position she’s held, Rhone helped pioneer equitable promotion practices that increased minority and female representation and created a gender balanced, racially diverse environment that others would emulate. Long recognized for leading the charge in addressing inequities in executive corridors, former Time Warner Chairman and CEO Dick Parsons cited her diversity efforts in the mid-1990s as “one of the most actualized examples of diversity at a company that I’ve ever seen.”
Rhone continues to raise the diversity and inclusion bar throughout the entire industry by creating a staff at Epic that is more than 54% women and 57% people of color.Rhone was Chairman of Vested In Culture (VIC) prior to Epic, a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment dedicated to establishing cutting-edge brands spanning music, digital, film, TV, and fashion.
In 2004, Rhone was named President of Universal Motown Records, Executive Vice President of Universal Records, and Chairman of Universal Motown Record Group. Rhone revitalized Universal’s roster, developing a cutting-edge group of award-winning artists, labels and digital ventures, re-branding the label’s storied legacy and broadening hip-hop imprint Cash Money’s impact. The best-selling repertoire of contemporary hitmakers included Lil Wayne, Drake, Kid Cudi, Akon, Kelly Rowland, Nicki Minaj and others.
In 1994 Rhone was appointed Chairman/CEO of the Elektra Entertainment Group, the first Black woman to be named Chairman of a label owned by a Fortune 500 company. Her decade-long tenure saw her transform the boutique label into one of the most eclectic and successful rosters in music, with Rhone guiding legendary artists Missy Elliott, Gerald Levert, Metallica, Tracy Chapman, ACDC, Pantera, Third Eye Blind, Natalie Merchant, Jason Mraz, Busta Rhymes, and Fabulous, among others.
Rhone’s career reads like a virtual litany of firsts. In 1990 she became the first Black woman to head a major record company when she was named CEO/President of Atlantic's East West Records U.S. division. She soon became the driving force at Atlantic Records in the 1980s and ‘90s, reinvigorating the label’s black music mission, contributing to the imprint being named #1 Black Music division by Billboard in 1988, guiding the careers of stars MC Lyte, Levert, En Vogue, Troop, Michel’le, Miki Howard, The System, The D.O.C., Yo-Yo, Brandy, Kwame, and more. East West was also lauded for its diversity of artists, including Simply Red, newcomers Das EFX, and Dream Theater and others. Rhone was one of the earliest major label executives to recognize hip hops’ cultural influence and guided the label to ventures with N.W.A.’s Ruthless Records, signing one of their earliest breakthrough artists, J.J. Fad. Rhone also orchestrated a deal with Ice Cube’s first label, Street Knowledge, launching Yo-Yo’s empowering debut, among others.
Rhone has been credited for championing pivotal female hip hop trailblazers throughout her career, including the first female rapper to ever release a full-length album, MC Lyte, who released Lyte As A Rock in 1988. Rhone’s success in breaking through the artistic glass ceiling is reflected in the transformative female hip hop icons cultivated by her throughout her journey, including seminal groundbreaking artists Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Yo-Yo, and Nicki Minaj.
Rhone’s visionary approach pulls inspiration from her Harlem upbringing. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School, she bucked the Ivy League route and took a job as a secretary at Buddah Records, performing a variety of jobs, gaining valuable experience at multiple labels.
Acclaimed throughout her career as a pioneer with few peers, other awards bestowed on Rhone include the 2014 Music Business’ Association Presidential Award for Sustained Achievement, with Rhone celebrated as the first woman to receive the honor. Rhone was one of only four women recognized in Jet Magazine’s 50 Years Of Progress issue which chronicled the business achievements of prominent African Americans in the previous half century, and was credited early on by noted LA Times writer and legendary music business journalist Chuck Phillips for ‘breaking the male bastion’ of the music business. Proud to guide Epic, and Sony more broadly, through a
new era of profound change, Rhone’s appointment to the Chairmanship of Epic was profiled by Variety as a ‘watershed moment’ for black culture.