Motown has gone through many different iterations that have been combined with other companies over time. What can you do now as CEO you couldn’t before? You’ve headed the label as president for several years already. “It was always about getting to this place where we could really run our race.” I’m hoping this opens up the door for a lot more that happens for people that look like me, and have done the work, and deserve to to grow to this level in their careers. I think this makes people hopeful that it won’t just be me now getting to this level. I want to get out of the idea that this could end. There used to be so many incredible black female A&Rs and publishers, and it’s coming back - and I’m proud of that, but I want to stop the idea of that being a cycle. I would read the trades every week, and I’d read about executives, and I wanted to be just like them. If you’re in it because of your love for the music and you’re always innovating and remembering that it’s about supporting the artists in the music, when you go through tough times in your career, it allows you to keep going, and you understand how much resilience is a part of it.
That kind of feels right for me in many ways. It’s interesting that you said it like that. It must have felt like justice, in a way - after seeing people you looked up to get passed over for jobs like these. In her first interview since the announcement of the new role, Habtemariam, who is only the second woman to currently helm a major label - the other is Sylvia Rhone, CEO of Sony Music’s Epic Records - spoke with Rolling Stone about how she plans to evolve the iconic label and champion fresh voices in an old-school business.
The music exec will report directly to CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. With Habtemariam’s promotion, Motown is separating from parent label Capitol Music Group and becoming its own flagship label for Universal Music Group (UMG). Motown’s place in the industry shifted from housing legendary R&B acts like the Jackson Five and the Supremes to pushing new chart-toppers such as Lil Baby, City Girls, and Migos.
She forwent a college education and worked up the ranks in music publishing at Universal before becoming Motown’s president in 2014, where she ushered in a renaissance for the historic record label - securing major partnerships with Quality Control and Blacksmith and bringing in a roster of prolific hip-hop artists. Habtemariam, 41, has worked in music since she was a teenager, interning for LaFace and Elektra. There’s perhaps no one in the music industry more well-positioned for leadership than Ethiopia Habtemariam, who became chairman and CEO of Motown Records last week.
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