At Age 76 And 73, Sony’s Top Music Execs To Re-up For $27M A Year
At the risk of sound like an ageist (and admitting that I'm no kid), I keep hoping for a changing of the guard at the top of the music business. Maybe then, real change will finally happen. With 67.6 the average age of the top execs heading the three major recorded music companies, you'd think that 'change is gonna come' soon. Then again, maybe not.
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Sony Music CEO and Chairmen Doug Morris is close to signing a two-year deal worth up to $20 million a year, according to a new report. A true veteran of the music industry, Morris is 76.
“Doug has a two-year deal . . . between $17 and $20 million a year,” an industry insider told the New York Post. “It’s a mix of base salary plus a share of the profits. But $17 million will be guaranteed.”
CEO of Sony/ATV music publishing Martin Bandier, now 73 is also reportedly signing a new contract worth up to $7 million a year.
“Doug’s in his late 70s, Marty’s in his mid-70s,” said the source. “Between them, they have inched out everybody underneath them who could run Sony after they leave.”
Age has nothing to do with it. (If there is any ageism that concerns me about the music world, it is the overemphasis on the teen demographic with little concern for the adult population).
It’s the greed and incompetence. The music world is a disaster; musicians and artists cannot be paid fairly due to piracy, “safe harbor”, and raw deals with streaming services, etc. Until this situation is rectified, the execs should willingly take a massive salary cut.
In fact, if they really wish to show good faith and that they have a conscience, they should go the Steve Jobs route while Apple was in trouble: $1/year salary.