Sylvia Rhone - Keynote Speech (Berklee's Career Jam)

Career Jam keynote speaker Sylvia Rhone delivers her remarks after receiving an honorary doctorate from Berklee.

More information: http://www.berklee.edu/career-jam

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1MjVyEN
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berkleecollege
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/berkleecollege
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkleecollege
Site: https://www.berklee.edu

“Godmother of the music industry” Sylvia Rhone has launched the careers and
worked with dozens of genre-spanning, world-renowned artists throughout her
career. From her work with MC Lyte, En Vogue, and Brandy, to Missy Elliott, Das
EFX, Dream Theater, Tracy Chapman, Metallica, Jason Mraz, and many, many more,
Rhone’s impact on the music industry has been wide-reaching and profound.

Raised in Harlem, steeped in the music of that city’s cultural renaissance of the 1950s and 1960s,
Rhone’s educational career led her out of New York to graduate from the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania. Though on a clear executive trajectory in international finance management, she soon realized she wanted something entirely different, and turned her demonstrably capable eye to the music industry.

Rhone began working as a secretary for Buddha Records in 1974, and over the next decade went
on to apply her talents at ABC Records, Ariola Records, and Elektra, eventually earning a role as vice
president of Atlantic Records in 1986. During her time at Atlantic, she was responsible for such artists as En Vogue, Pantera, and AC/DC. By 1994, she was the chair and CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group and launched the careers of Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Tracy Chapman, Jason Mraz, and others. After being named president of Universal Motown Records and executive vice president at Universal Records in 2004, Rhone moved to Epic Records in 2012 and was named president in 2014, working alongside chairman and CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid. She has headed the label’s operations since Reid stepped down in 2017, overseeing such stars as DJ Khaled, 21 Savage, Future, and Camila Cabello.