Sony Music’s chairman and CEO of its international operations, Edgar Berger, is leaving the company. The news was broken to staff in an internal note from current boss Doug Morris.
“Edgar Berger has decided to leave the company to pursue new entrepreneurial interests after 12 years with the Sony Music family, including the last six years as Chairman and CEO of Sony Music International,” wrote Morris.
No replacement has been announced, although that’s no surprise given the upcoming transfer of power to incoming Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, who will surely be responsible for any new appointment at this level of seniority.
Berger was a combative advocate for Sony Music, and the recorded business more generally – for example in his appearances at the IFPI’s events to launch its annual industry reports. In 2016, that included having his say on the ‘value gap’ debate.
“The single biggest source of online music is generating only 4% of our revenue. This is a gigantic mismatch between volume and rewards,” said Berger at the IFPI’s launch in April.
“It is a fact that we should be growing much faster as the streaming business is exploding… Our market should be way bigger. The music industry is performing below its potential: music consumption is soaring, the revenues returning to artists and rightsholders are not.”
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