After serving 18 years as Sony Music’s executive vp of business affairs and general counsel, Julie Swidler is stepping down at the end of June.
“Julie has been a vital component of the Sony Music senior management team for many years, and her wisdom, experience and knowledge has been a bedrock of our company’s strategy and growth,” said Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer in a statement. “She leaves us with our deepest respect and gratitude. As a friend and colleague, on a personal note, as Julie and I have planned together her departure for a while now, she will be missed at Sony Music, but I know that her next working chapter will be equally stimulating and rewarding.”
Swidler, who has regularly appeared on Billboard’s Power 100, Top Music Lawyers and Women in Music lists, is launching an advisory services company for creative-focused ventures.
“Every great adventure eventually makes room for a new one, and this feels like the right moment for mine,” Swidler said. “There are few companies in the world like Sony Music that carry this much history and remain this relevant. Being part of that legacy has been a privilege. That journey would not have been the same without Rob Stringer’s leadership, friendship and trust, and I’m grateful for all of it. I’m just as proud of our global business and legal affairs practice and the extraordinary people in it who are truly second to none. We have always been guided by what is fair and right for artists, and that compass never failed us.”
During her nearly 20-year tenure at the company, Swidler, one of the highest-ranking women in the record industry, has overseen Sony Music’s business, legal and governmental affairs globally, including advising the company’s record labels and operating units on negotiations, talent agreements, litigation, transactions and joint venture operations. More specifically, in 2015, she oversaw Sony Music Nashville during a transition period and in 2018 served on the Recording Academy’s task force to examine diversity and inclusion issues in the recorded music industry.
Swidler, who began her industry career at Polygram Records and Mercury Records, also held senior legal and business affairs positions at Arista Records, J Records (helping launch the label with Clive Davis), RCA Records and BMG. She also served as lead counsel for the 1994 Woodstock Festival.
Swidler will be honored on June 8 by the UJA-Federation of New York at the 26th annual music visionary of the year award celebration alongside Universal Music Group’s Jeff Harleston and Warner Music Group’s Paul Robinson. She has previously received the Grammy Foundation’s Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award, the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Lifetime Music Industry Award and the Music Business Association’s Presidential Honor.
Swidler, a graduate of Union College, has served as the chair of the board of trustees at her alma mater since 2023.
