{"id":10974,"date":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/warner-music-group-promotes-tom-corson-to-coo-sony-music-names-general-counsel\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","slug":"warner-music-group-promotes-tom-corson-to-coo-sony-music-names-general-counsel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/warner-music-group-promotes-tom-corson-to-coo-sony-music-names-general-counsel\/","title":{"rendered":"Warner Music Group Promotes Tom Corson to COO, Sony Music Names General Counsel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warner Music Group<\/a> (WMG) has promoted Tom Corson<\/strong> to Chief Operating Officer, and Sony Music has named Stephanie Yu<\/strong> as its new General Counsel, leading a wave of high-level executive changes across the music industry.<\/p>\n

Warner Music Group<\/h2>\n

Corson succeeds Armin Zerza<\/strong>, who previously held the combined role of Chief Financial Officer and COO and has left the company for personal reasons. Corson, who joined Warner Records as Co-Chairman and COO in 2018, will now oversee global marketing, merchandise, direct-to-consumer, and supply chain operations across WMG. He will continue to serve at Warner Records alongside Co-Chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck<\/strong> during a transitional period. Lou Dickler<\/strong>, Senior Vice President and Global Controller, has been named Acting CFO while a permanent replacement is sought.<\/p>\n

Sony Music<\/h2>\n

Sony Music has promoted Stephanie Yu<\/strong> to General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs. She succeeds Julie Swidler<\/strong>, who departed at the end of June after 18 years with the company. Yu, a 21-year Sony veteran, most recently served as US Lead of Business and Legal Affairs and previously spent nine years in a senior legal and business affairs role at Epic Records. She reports to Chairman Rob Stringer<\/strong> and COO Kevin Kelleher<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In a separate departure, Caryl Atwood<\/strong> has left Sony Music after 26 years. She most recently held the position of Senior Vice President of Commercial Partnerships, where she managed relationships with Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Walmart, and Target, and worked with artists including Luke Combs, Kenny Chesney, Kane Brown, and Carrie Underwood.<\/p>\n

HYBE<\/h2>\n

HYBE<\/a> has elevated Jenni Pfaff<\/strong> to the newly created global role of Chief People and Transformation Officer. Pfaff, who has held the equivalent title at HYBE America since August 2025, will now report directly to HYBE CEO Jason Jaesang Lee<\/strong> and oversee people strategy across the company’s multi-label ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Additional Executive Moves<\/h2>\n

Pipeline has appointed Spencer LeBoff<\/strong> as Head of Revenue, coinciding with the company’s expansion into publishing advances. LeBoff joins from Avex Music Group, where he built the catalog acquisition business, and previously led publishing at beatBread. He will manage commercial relationships across labels, publishers, distributors, artists, and IP funds, and will serve on Pipeline’s Investment Committee.<\/p>\n

Price-capped ticket resale platform Tixel has made four US leadership hires as it expands into North America:<\/p>\n