Sylvia Rhone
recording executive
Personal Information
Born Sylvia M. Rhone, March 11, 1952, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of James and Marie (Christmas) Rhone; married.
Education: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business and Commerce, M.A., 1974.
Career
Worked for Bankers Trust, New York City, 1974; Buddah Records, New York City, started as administrative assistant, became promotions coordinator; directed promotional work for several record labels; Atlantic Records, New York City, 1985--, began as director of national black music promotion, became vice-president and general manager of Black Music Operations, senior vice-president of the company, 1988, chair and CEO of EastWest Records America, 1991, chair and CEO of Atco-EastWest label, 1991--.
Life's Work
Sylvia Rhone has chartered a groundbreaking career in the American recording industry. In 1988, she became the first black woman to serve as vice-president of a major record company--Atlantic Records--and three years later was named co-president and chief executive officer of her own Atlantic label, EastWest Records America. Though she began her career in banking and finance, Rhone has displayed a knack for discovering and developing new music talent, as well as salvaging financially struggling record divisions. The chart-topping acts brought by Rhone to Atlantic--a company that made a major turnaround in the late 1980s--include LeVert, Miki Howard, Gerald Albright, and En Vogue. Rhone's promotion to senior vice-president prompted the following words of praise from Atlantic chairman Ahmet Ertegun, as quoted by Laura B. Randolph in Ebony: "Under her expert guidance ... {Atlantic's} commitment to Black music has seen a revitalization marked by innovation, imagination and freshness."
Born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City's Harlem, Rhone received a degree in economics from the prestigious Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating in 1974, she went to work for a major bank in New York City, but after a year decided the atmosphere was too constraining. "I wore pants to work and all eyebrows turned up," she told Randolph. "No one actually said anything but they made it clear that what I'd done was unacceptable." Rhone scrapped her plans for a financial career, took a major pay cut, and started work as a secretary for Buddah Records--at nearly the bottom rung of the music industry ladder. For Rhone, however, the position represented a great opportunity. "I knew I was taking a risk," she told Black Enterprise, "but from the moment I sat in my new chair, I knew I was cut out for this business."
Rhone displayed a deftness for work in the recording industry and quickly ran up an impressive resume of promotional work. Shortly after coming on board at Buddah, she was promoted to the position of promotions coordinator, and soon thereafter accepted the challenge of heading up national promotions for an independent start-up label. "Suddenly I was responsible for getting my music exposed nationwide," she told Randolph. "I had to jump in the deep water and sink or swim." Her success in the venture, as well as the promotional work she did for several other independent labels, gained her a reputation as a discoverer and shaper of black music talent. In the mid 1980s, she was hired as director of national black music promotion at struggling Atlantic Records, which in its heyday represented such acts as Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. Under Rhone's guidance, the black music roster at Atlantic expanded to include such number one acts as LeVert, Miki Howard, and Gerald Albright. Her success resulted in another promotion in 1988--this time to senior vice-president of the entire Atlantic Records company--making her the only black woman to hold as a high a position within a major American record company.
Rhone's success with Atlantic has continued. In 1991, she was named co-president and chief executive officer of her own label within the company, EastWest Records America. Overseeing a staff of more than forty people, Rhone assumed responsibility for overseeing all facets of the label's recruitment, marketing, and promotion of recording artists. In an article in Black Enterprise, Rhone elaborated on her efforts to make a mark in the music industry, stating: "I'm really excited about this venture because my team will create a distinct personality for the label."
In late 1991, Atlantic formed a new label, Atco-EastWest, to encompass a broader range of musical artists. Rhone was named chair and chief executive officer of the label, which will feature several dozen acts--both black and white--varying in style from rock and pop to rhythm and blues to rap. Commenting in general on the impact African-Americans are exerting on the U.S. recording industry, Rhone, as quoted by Christopher Vaughn in Black Enterprise, proclaimed: "African-Americans can not only create music, but control it as well. The world is watching us."
Awards
Honoree at 15th annual "Jack the Rapper" convention, Atlanta, 1991.
Further Reading
Sources
- Black Enterprise, August 1991; December 1991.
- Ebony, November 1988.
— Michael E. Mueller
