B
ritish musicians have never
had it so tough, according to
Rob Stringer. It’s a bold state-
ment, but Stringer, a revered
industry veteran who master-
minded the careers of David
Bowie and Adele and signed Manic
Street Preachers, identifies seismic
shifts that are shaking our music
industry. The age when a seemingly
never-ending procession of British
artists — from the Beatles to the Roll-
ing Stones, Oasis to Ed Sheeran —
provided the world’s soundtrack
appears to be coming to a close.
“The last great British alternative
rock band was probably Arctic
Monkeys and that was 16 years ago,”
he says with a shrug.
“Music has moved on. I’m not sure
Gen Z look at the formulation of
bass/guitar/vocals/drums the same way
we did growing up.”
Add to that the domination of
streaming and it is a struggle to break
through. “UK acts have lost their
advantage,” the chairman of Sony
Music Group and the chief executive of
Sony Music Entertainment says.
“It’s tougher because music is com-
ing from everywhere now. The US and
UK no longer dominate charts around
the world.”
Take Italy. Last year’s Top 20
singles and albums didn’t include a
single non-Italian artist, something
unheard of until recently.
To illustrate the point, he says
that he has a meeting with Korean
A&R (the discovery and develop-
ment of musical talent) coming up.
“I don’t think anybody in my posi-
tion would’ve been doing A&R
meetings with Korea until
recently.” Still, he adds, “pop
culture is in the bloodstream of
Britain and I’m super-proud
of that. Do I think the UK can be
competitive? Absolutely. But
it’s tougher.”
This morning Stringer has
been swapping texts with Harry
Styles about his forthcoming
third solo album. As Styles has
gone from X Factor boy band star
to credible solo artist, Stringer, 59,
has been there to guide him.
“There’s not an element of what
we’re doing with Harry now that’s
manufactured,” he stresses. “He
has all the attributes of a true artist,
and what’s coming next is even
more exciting.”
More than 35 years working in
the music industry has not dented
Stringer’s enthusiasm. “It’s dream
stuff,” he says, grinning. Tonight atMUSIC
Nothing will beat
working withDavid Bowie
the man who made
adele
Hello, it’s me
Rob Stringer
celebrating
a sales
milestone
with Adele
in 2016Rob Stringer masterminded the
rise of countless stars — but the
Sony boss thinks the old days of
Brits ruling the pop world are
over, says Mark Sutherland
XXXXXXMYRNA M SUAREZ/GETTY IMAGESthe Grammys in Las Vegas he will tem-
porarily forgo his behind-the-scenes
role to take the stage and pick up the
“Salute to Industry Icons” award. “I
certainly don’t consider myself an
icon,” he insists. “I’m someone who
works for icons.”
Stringer grew up in Aylesbury in
Buckinghamshire, joined Sony, which
at the time was CBS, in 1985 as a gradu-
ate trainee straight out of Goldsmiths
College, and got the top job in 2017.
Sony Music’s profits have soared in
recent years, despite the fine art of
A&R — Stringer’s speciality — undergo-
ing a sea change. When Stringer
started, “I was a massive pop culture
fan and had decent ears — and
that was just about8 3 April 2022