IT’S OFFICIAL: PERRY ANOINTED COLUMBIA CHAIRMAN/CEO

The worst-kept secret in the music biz (for at least the last several months) is now official news, as Ron Perry steps into the Chairman/CEO post at Columbia; Sony Music boss Rob Stringer, to whom Perry will report in the NYC-based position, made the announcement.

Perry has had a pretty festive holiday season already, as SONGS Music Publishing, the company where he served as President and spearheaded A&R (working alongside founder/CEO Matt Pincus) sold to Kobalt. The price of that deal, rumored to be in the neighborhood of $160m, brought such Perry signings as The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo and Desiigner into the buyer’s stable.

He’s also been celebrating the Album of the Year Grammy nod for Lorde’s Melodrama, on which he oversaw A&R.

Perry’s ascent to this lofty perch is part of a larger reshuffling of the biz board as 2018 kicks off; Tom Corson’s move to Warner Bros. (with Aaron Bay-Schuck due to join him later this year) and Paul Rosenberg’s assumption of control at Def Jam are also underway, among other changes.

Stringer declared Perry “an immensely dynamic and forward-thinking executive who excels at bringing the best out of artistic vision,” adding, “We are thrilled to have Ron join Sony Music and lead the great team and unparalleled roster at the legendary Columbia Records label. And I think I've sufficiently impressed on him that one mustn't address Kazuo Hirai as 'dude.'”

Perry for his part, thanked Stringer “for the extraordinary opportunity to run the premier label in the history of music. To embark as the curator of this storied company is both the highest and most humbling career achievement I could imagine. Columbia Records has stood the test of time as the industry's marquee home for the world’s greatest stars. Rob has handed off an extremely talented team at Columbia. I look forward to building on his successes, while developing culturally innovative new artists and extending Columbia’s unprecedented run at the top into the future.”

The construction of the sushi bar in Ron’s office is expected to be completed very soon.