Robert Adrian Stringer (born 13 August 1962) is a British music industry executive. He has served as the chairman of

Sony Music Group Sony Music Group (SMG) is the American holding company that controls the recording and music publishing business of Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by Sony Entertainment. Sony Music Group is one of the "Record label, Big ...

and CEO of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

since 2017. He is also a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of Luton Town F.C. Stringer was listed Second on the 2022 ''Billboard'' "Power 100" ranking of persons influential in the music industry.

Early life

Stringer was born and raised in the town of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and attended Aylesbury Grammar School. He got his first record player at age seven and attended his first concert at age 12 at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

where the line up included

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

. Growing up in Aylesbury, Stringer had the opportunity to see a number of touring bands. In 1976, at the age of 14, he saw

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

at one of their earliest shows. He went on to spend his teenage years watching punk bands at the Aylesbury rock venue, Friars, where he began working during school holidays. He later said that while he "saw the cultural side" of the club, "the business side rubbed off on me too.” After leaving school, Stringer studied sociology at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

in South London. Whilst at university, he spent a year working as a student entertainment manager, booking acts such as

Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...

Career (1985–2017)

During school holidays, Stringer visited his brother

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

in New York, then the president of the CBS network. He assisted with CBS television coverage at the Republican and Democrat conventions in the 1980 and 1984 elections. In 1985, Stringer joined CBS Records as a graduate trainee. He was named managing director of

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

UK in 1992. He stepped down from the role to become chairman of Sony Music UK in 2001. Whilst at Sony, Stringer had a role in signing Welsh rockers the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

, the first signing of his career. Stringer remained close to the band. He said: "I speak to all of them at least once a week and have done for 15 years. We've had lots of ups and downs." He also worked with artists including

, Sade,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

, and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in the U.S. in 2008. His tenure included the release of '' 25'' by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

, ''

Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink. There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...

'' by Beyonce and '' Blackstar'' by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. Blackstar was Bowie's final album, which Stringer worked with him on personally.

Sony Music Entertainment (2017–present)

After a decade at Columbia Records, Stringer became the CEO of Sony Music succeeding

Doug Morris Doug Morris (born November 23, 1938) is an American record executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011, as well as Sony Music Entertainment from 2011 to 2017. He is the founder and CEO ...

in April 2017. In his first year as CEO, Stringer oversaw a 12.2% increase in recorded music (up to $4.03 billion). This included an improvement of streaming revenues, which went up 37.3% to $1.8 billion, and improvements in physical sales, which increased by just under $10 million. In August 2019, Stringer was named as the Chairman of Sony Music Group, in addition to his role of CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He was reported to have "an artist-friendly reputation, working closely with modern icons including Adele, Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Harry Styles, and many others". In 2021, Stringer implemented the company's Artists Forward and Songwriters Forward programs to create more earnings opportunities for artists and songwriters. In his role as chairman he is credited as driving the creation of a $100 million fund to "fight racism around the world".

Honours

Stringer was named Music Visionary of the Year in 2013 by the UJA-Federation of New York's Music and was presented the award by

. In 2014, he received the “Strat” Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement from

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

. Stringer received the 2016 Clive Davis Visionary Award from ''Billboard'' magazine. In 2017, he received the Music Industry Trusts Award, which was presented by close friend

Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire studied politics ...

of the Manic Street Preachers. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to UK creative industries, social justice and charity. He was awarded the 2022 GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons award. Stringer appeared at #2 on the ''Billboard'' Power 100 in 2022 and again in 2023.

Personal life

Stringer is married, has two children and lives in New York. Whilst he spends about three-quarters of the year in New York, he also makes regular trips to London and Los Angeles. He is a

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

supporter and is currently a director at the club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Rob 20th-century English businesspeople 21st-century English businesspeople 1962 births British chairpersons of corporations Businesspeople from Buckinghamshire Chief executives in the mass media industry Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Directors of football clubs in England English chief executives English sports executives and administrators Living people Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff Mass media people from Buckinghamshire People from Aylesbury Sony people