If I Ran a Major Record Label...

I'd do these 10 things

A reader asks the following:

Hi Ted, talking about big 3 (Universal, Sony or Warner), if you were appointed CEO of one of them and shareholders gave you a strong mandate for a broad corporate transformation, with execution times well beyond what the stock market is used to, what would you do?

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The first thing I’d do if I ran a major record label is . . .

I’d resign. I’m not fooling—I’d rather clean out the Augean stables with a toothbrush. That would be a neater and simpler mess to fix.

And this isn’t a pose. Of course, I’m not without ambition. But I’ve always worked to avoid positions of power—I want influence instead. (Despite what you’ve heard, those aren’t the same thing, not even close. I need to write an article about that some day.)

But let’s imagine—for the sake of argument—that I had no choice in the matter. A court has decreed that my punishment, for some unspeakable crime, is to devote the next five years to fixing the music business. Or die trying.

What would I do?

Here’s my agenda as the new CEO of Universal Music or Sony or Warner (take your pick).