Birth name Jason Iley Origin London Role Music executive | Name Jason Iley Years active 1994 – present | |
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Genres Dance, Pop, Rap, RnB, Rock Occupation(s) Music Industry Executive Labels Sony Music Entertainment, Mercury Records, Roc Nation Associated acts Paloma Faith, Mark Ronson, Pharrell Williams, Paul McCartney, Rihanna | ||
Jason Iley is the current Chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK. Formerly President of Roc Nation Records and the UK chief of Mercury Records, Iley currently heads up all of Sony Music's activities in the UK and Ireland, overseeing Sony Music’s frontline and imprint labels across the region, including the operations of Columbia Records, Epic, RCA, Commercial Group, RED, Relentless and Black Butter. Iley was instrumental in launching Insanity Records and also oversaw Sony Music UK's acquisition of Ministry Of Sound Recordings.
Contents
- Career Overview
- Career
- Mercury Records 2005 2013
- President of Roc Nation
- Chairman CEO Sony Music UK
- Ministry of Sound Acquisition
- BRITs
- References
Iley was recently named as one of Billboard's 53 International Power Players in the music industry.
Career Overview
Posts held at record companies since 2005:
Career
Iley began his career as a product manager at Sony Music in 1994, and subsequently worked at Universal Music UK across labels including Polydor Records and Island Records.
Mercury Records 2005 - 2013
In May 2005, Iley was appointed Managing Director of Mercury Records, and left his role at Island. The following year, Iley was promoted to President, and worked with established artists such as Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, U2, and Rihanna, as well as emerging acts like Chase & Status and Jake Bugg.
U2, who previously had a long-standing association with Island Records, followed Iley to Mercury Records in October 2006. The Independent described their move to the new label, stating "Their closest ally ... Jason Iley, was appointed managing director of Mercury Records last year, and the band have now followed him there." A similar report posted on Virgin.net cited, "U2 are keen to continue working with Jason Iley, who switched from Island to Mercury to become their President earlier this year."
President of Roc Nation
In June 2013, Roc Nation Records, founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and home to artists such as J. Cole, Rita Ora and Jay Electronica, announced Jason Iley would become its President, based out of New York.
Chairman & CEO Sony Music UK
Sony Music CEO Doug Morris announced in April 2014 that Iley would become Chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK & Ireland in April 2014.
In this role, Iley bought independent label Black Butter Records into operating as a standalone imprint under the Sony Music UK banner. Black Butter, which launched the careers of Rudimental, Clean Bandit, Gorgon City, and Jess Glynne, would continue to be run by the original founders Henry Village and Joe Gossa who, as co-presidents, would report directly to Iley. In January 2015, Iley appointed British A&R, DJ, music-maker and BBC broadcaster DJ Semtex as Director of Artist Development, who returned to the company after 14 years.
2014 saw Sony’s best singles success for 33 years, with 11 Number 1 singles. Sony Music artists won a total of five individual awards at The BRITs 2015 including Best Female Solo Artist for Paloma Faith and Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’, which picked up Best British Single. Several other of the label's artists - Foo Fighters, One Direction and Pharrell Williams - also collected awards. Sony's performance at the BRITs 2015 was the label's personal best in nearly 20 years, with the company picking up more awards than any other record label. The last time Sony Music won five BRIT awards was in 1997, while the 20 nominations Sony received hadn’t been matched since 2005.
In October 2015, Iley negotiated a deal between Sony Music UK and Insanity Management, bringing about a long-term partnership with the launch of Insanity Records. Craig David announced in January 2016 that he had signed a new recording contract with Insanity Records. He became the first artist to sign an album deal with Insanity Records, following his switch from Universal Music Group in the USA.
December 2015 saw Jason Iley and RCA Records’ President Colin Barlow establishing a joint venture with Nothing Else Matters. The dance music project, founded by Nigel Harding and DJ Danny Howard, is aimed at seeking "the best new dance music talent" in the UK. In May 2016, Robbie Williams departed from Universal and signed with Sony Music to record his 11th album. Jason Iley commented that the agreement was "a once in a lifetime signing with the biggest male solo artist of our generation."
Ministry of Sound Acquisition
Under Iley’s tenure, in August 2016 Sony Music acquired Ministry of Sound Recordings, home to London Grammar, DJ Fresh and Sigala, bringing the label - including its artists, back catalogue and compilations - under the Sony Music umbrella.
“Ministry of Sound is one of the greatest brands in music. I’m delighted to welcome one of the most innovative, smart and pioneering labels to the Sony Music family. David and Dipesh’s track record, alongside one of the best curation teams in the business, speaks for itself and the label will be another hugely exciting addition to Sony Music UK’s vision for the future.”
BRITs
In 2016, it was announced that Jason Iley would become Chairman of the BRITs Committee, responsible for the look, feel and creative element of the 2017 BRIT Awards. Iley - alongside BPI Chairman Ged Doherty - was responsible for a shake up of the BRITs Voting Academy, stating the BRITs had “a responsibility to be truly reflective of what is happening in music, so we can support new and emerging talent as well as recognise and celebrate mainstream commercial success”. The 2017 BRIT Awards will see Robbie Williams, who Iley signed to Sony in 2016, perform at the awards, and Sony Music securing 23 nominations for the awards, equalling the company’s most successful year on record.