'I Am Artist Advocate at My Core': Michelle Jubelirer Reflects on Her Historic Term on Capitol Hill

In December 2021, when Michelle Jubelirer became president/CEO of Capitol Music Group—and Capitol's first female CEO in its 80-plus year history—it didn't take long to tackle her historic achievement: She had a battered company to save.

“The CHALLENGES [I inherited] they were plentiful,” admits Jubelirer. CMG has faced declining market share, staff turnover, pandemic challenges and an unwieldy artist roster. “The truth is,” he says, “a lot of changes happened in a short period of time.”

Many believed Jubelirer, then CMG's COO, was destined for Capitol's top job the previous year. By that time, her resume already included a stint at a white-shoe law firm, years in legal affairs at Sony, and nearly a decade as an artist lawyer for acts like Nas, Pharrell Williams, and Frank Ocean — plus nearly a decade at top of the Capitol ranks. When her longtime mentor Steve Barnett stepped down as CMG's chairman/CEO in late 2020, Jubelirer seemed to some a natural choice to replace him. But Universal Music Group (UMG) president/CEO Lucian Grainge handed the role to Capitol Records president Jeff Vaughn. (In the shift, Jubelirer was promoted to president/COO of CMG.) When Vaughn assumed his new role, the company was already on shaky ground. under his leadership, it continued to falter.

After less than a year as CEO, Vaughn left the company and Jubelirer was elevated to the position. Under her guidance, the record group's fortunes quickly began to change. At a time when landing new superstars is harder than ever, the company won a bidding war (along with 10K Projects) in the fall of 2022 for Ice Spice, who would become the defining star of 2023. Also, he was topped the Billboard Hot 100 with queer anthem “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras, teamed up with Universal Music Enterprises to bring back the Beatles with AI-driven single “Now and Then,” went viral on TikTok with Doechii's “Block Boy (What It Is)” (in a new collaboration with Top Dawg Entertainment) and revived the art of the music video – which has declined in popularity in recent years – with Troye Sivan's creative clips for “Rush”, “One of Your Girls” and “Got Me Started”.

But those successes didn't insulate CMG from impact amid UMG's sweeping restructuring in 2024. On February 1 — shortly after Jubelirer was interviewed for this story — UMG unveiled a big part of its plan: its tag-first system line would be split under an East Coast executive (Republic's Monte Lipman) and a West Coast executive (Interscope's John Janick,” Grange explained in a letter to staff. The restructuring would have moved Jubelirer, who she reported directly to Grainge, under Janick.Six days later, Jubelirer wrote a heartfelt message to her staff announcing her departure, effective immediately.

“When I walked into Capitol Hill, I made a strict promise to myself,” Jubelirer said in a Feb. 2 speech at an Entertainment Law Initiative event in Los Angeles. “The day I stopped changing the record company more than it changed me would be the day I left.”

As she finalizes the details of her departure from UMG, Jubelirer declined to discuss her — or Capitol's — future plans. But whether she stays in the record business, goes into management, or does something else entirely, her impact on Capitol and its artists is clear. “She's the toughest when it comes to protecting artists,” says Jody Gerson, president/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and longtime friend of Jubelirer. “He's not afraid to fight for what he thinks is right.”

“I am so honored to have worked with such a great woman and boss like Michelle,” says Ice Spice. “He always believed in me and supported my vision from the beginning. I'm so grateful for her and everything she's done.”

What have been some of your biggest wins over the past couple of years?

First and foremost, I think the biggest win is the incredible team. And what we've been able to do in two short years, I think is the fastest turnaround of a record label. And honestly, we've been able to sign a diverse roster of artists and modernize the label, prioritizing artists and making sure each artist gets what they need uniquely.

How do you balance the historic history of the Capitol and what you want it to represent today?

Since it has been around for over 80 years, the fact that I was the first female president/CEO was not lost on me. And this is not a great fact, let's face it, for all women. But the reality is the greatness of the company and its [previous] Artist paths are not the focus. The focus is on the young, fresh artists we break out day by day.

How has your background at Capitol helped you as president/CEO?

It's kind of funny: I think I've been leading the company for the entire 11-plus years here. [When I became CEO], I knew all our team, I knew all the artists. This really helped. But first and foremost, the most educational part for me was before I got to Capitol Hill, when I was a lawyer. At heart — regardless of my title or where I work — I am an artist advocate at my core. That's who I am. This is the thought I bring to my work every day.

What was your first move as CEO to right the Capitol?

The three main pillars I worked on were signing a diverse group of artists, making sure the company was reorganized in a way that artists interacted with labels the way fans interact with artists, and making sure artists were prioritized in the right way for them in particular.

Capitol Records/10K Projects affiliate Ice Spice was one of the biggest stars of 2023. What makes her stand out?

There's no doubt about it: She's the breakout artist of 2023. I don't think anyone could argue otherwise. And to go into business with her [has been] incredibly exciting and motivating. Ice is a girl's girl, and she surrounded herself with strong women and signed with strong women. I'm just one of them. Sign me up [UMPG’s] Jody Gerson on the publishing side. She has made the right choices in her career at every step, from her look to her flow to her collaborations. She knows exactly who she is and is adamant about it.

What is the key to the label's success today? You've had new hits in the last year, while many labels have tried to break any artist.

In the end, it's all about the artist and the group of people. We have both spades. I mean, it was incredible to see the fact that we were the No. 1 TikTok label for 2023. Who would have thought that a year or two ago for Capitol Music Group?

Have you always dreamed of being a record label CEO?

My father died when I was 3 years old. I watched my mother struggle to figure out how to provide for our family. Music got me through all the hard times. Unlike our artists, however, I had no talent, and I knew it from a young age. (laughs.) I didn't get into music based on some talent I had.

My father was a lawyer and I knew I needed a way to support myself financially. So I went to law school, graduated with a lot of debt, and became an M&A lawyer at a big white-shoe law firm in Manhattan. If you know anything about me, you know I'm not the conservative type. I often wear a “F–k you” belt. I didn't really fit in at the white-shoe law firm, but I had a plan to go into the music business.

Once I paid off my loans, I got a job as a lawyer at Sony Music. I was there for two years and I didn't like being a cog. I had been in New York for 10 years at the time and was ready to try LA. I also dated a guy in LA, and that was part of the reason I moved — like I'm telling you, I see feminism leaking out of my body, but it's true.

When I got to Los Angeles, I called all the lawyers I had negotiated with who were artist lawyers and I met Peter Paterno. I got a job working for him [at the firm now known as King Holmes Paterno & Soriano] and I told him that for a year I would serve his clients and then I would have all my own clients after that.

While this may seem like a bravura, it did happen. I became a partner there after three years and practiced law there for nine years, representing artists. Then I met Steve Barnett, who was co-head of Columbia Records at the time. We traded against each other in a deal for Odd Future and Tyler, The Creator. He said, “You screwed me in this deal, you screwed Columbia in this deal. If I go anywhere else, you'll be my first hire.” And it happened. I was his first hire [when he became CMG CEO].

How did he convince you to move to the label side?

I've always dreamed of running a record label since I was 12 years old. I didn't know if it would ever happen because, honestly, I love representing artists and the artists I've had. When Steve approached me, believe me, I put him through the wringer. I asked him every tough question I could as I decided if I could still be myself and be an advocate for the artist within the system.

Ultimately, I chose to make the transition for two reasons. No. 1: I felt that now, more than ever, artists and labels need to work together. And you need an artist advocate within the label for an artist to really feel comfortable and at home. No. 2: I felt like I could make a bigger difference at a record label than I could as an artist attorney.

In your career, have you faced adversity or discrimination that your male colleagues haven't?

Since entering the music industry as a lawyer, I have been afforded a shield that many women in the music industry do not have. Because of that, I've been protected from a lot – because, frankly, people are afraid of lawyers.

But the reality is that when I started as a lawyer, I didn't have that shield. In one of my first annual reviews on [my first law firm], I was wearing a white shirt. I'm someone who always wears black and the fellow who gave me the review took my water bottle [and] he sprayed it on me. You can imagine what he could see. Then he said, “Okay, we're ready for your review now.” At that point, I crossed my arms and just stormed off and let him give me his review. I didn't do anything about it. I beat myself up to this day for not doing anything about it because I'm sure he did this to many women after me. Now I won't be at peace when things like this happen around me.

This story will appear in the March 2, 2024 issue Advertising sign.