Kevin Liles, chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group’s 300 Elektra Entertainment, will leave the company at the end of the year according to MusicWeek.
For the remainder of the year, Liles will pivot to being a consultant for the company. The news of Liles’ departure arrives on the tenth anniversary of 300 Elektra Entertainment, an imprint label cofounded by Liles and Lyor Cohen. The label was sold to Warner Music Group in late 2021 for a reported $400M.
300 Entertainment helped to launch the careers of artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Fetty Wap and Gunna.
In a note shared on social media, Liles warmly highlighted the company’s accomplishments.
“The cultural impact we created in 10 years when starting from scratch is simply unmatched in the modern era. We transformed our value proposition – “mindset of independent, muscle of a major” – into a model for the rest of the industry to chase in this new era of music.” He continued, “But if there’s one consistent in music and culture, it’s that change inevitable.”
Liles noted that he is now passing the torch to Rayna Bass, 300’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Selim Bouab, head of A&R for 300.
“As committed servants of the culture, we know growing and empowering the next generation of leaders is a responsibility, and when the time is right, we pass the torch. As I mentioned above, at 300 we have two of the most talented, home-grown young leaders in the entire music industry, Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab. On this tenth anniversary of 300, it’s their turn to lead our 300 team into the next decade of excellence. At the end of this month, I’ll be stepping aside and departing WMG, although to ensure a successful transition, I’ll continue to consult with the team through the end of the year.”
Without being too specific, Lilles concluded his note with his interest in getting involved in politics. Some of those aspirations include getting Vice President Kamala Harris elected as the leader of the country and winning back the House to get Hakeem Jeffries as the first African-American Speaker. In the long term, he plans to continue “the fight to end the criminalization of hip-hop lyrics.”