Mary Kathryn "Polly" Anthony (1953–2013) was an American music industry executive. One of the first women to head a major record label, she was the president 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 ...

from 1997 until 2003.

Early life

Anthony was born in Alexandria, Virginia to Patrice H. and Bernard J. Anthony, an aerospace executive. She and her family moved to Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California in 1963. In 1965, she saw

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

, a concert that "pointed the way to the road her life would take."

Career

Anthony began her career in the music industry at

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. She worked briefly at an artist management company and in 1978 was hired as an assistant to the head of promotion at Epic Associated Labels. She "assiduously worked her way up the ladder," and in 1988 moved to New York to become the senior vice president of promotion at Epic. In 1993 Anthony became the president of

550 Music 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building ...

, an Epic imprint, and in 1997 she was appointed president of Epic Records. Over the course of her career at Epic, she worked with artists including

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, and

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

. In 2003 Anthony returned to California as the president of

Dreamworks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

; after a corporate reorganization, she was named co-president of

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. In 2006, she became head of television and film for the

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. She left Universal in 2010 to executive produce film and television projects. Among others, Anthony produced the HBO series ''Off the Record'', ''Cane'' for CBS, and ''Betty & Coretta'' for Lifetime. Anthony died of pancreatic cancer in September 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Polly 1958 births 2013 deaths American music industry executives People from Alexandria, Virginia American women television producers Television producers from Virginia 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople