Legendary Music Executive Mo Ostin Has Died

Influential Warner Records executive Mo Ostin has died peacefully in his sleep. A man renowned as one of the most visionary and powerful forces of the music industry, Ostin’s influence on the evolution of Warner/Reprise records was immense. 

Hired by Frank Sinatra to lead his new label, Rise Records in 1960, Ostin lived by the same philosophy as Sinatra, “to create a company in which the artist was the highest priority,” and he lived that out by helping to shape the careers of The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, all of whom he signed to the label. 

Ostin once said “We’re not a record company, we’re a music company.” and his run of success at Reprise saw him named President of Warner Bros. Records, a position in which he had a profound influence on shaping both industry and culture. 

During his time in charge, the label signed Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Captain Beefheart, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Black Sabbath, the B-52s, George Benson, Devo, Dire Straits, George Harrison, Chaka Khan, Tom Petty, Curtis Mayfield, the Sex Pistols, Paul Simon, T. Rex, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day, ensuring the label was at the forefront of culture. 

Ostin was also responsible for the label's acquisition of Sire Records, bringing The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Madonna, and more to the Warner Bros. Records stable.  He also spearheaded the company’s union with Elektra Records and the creation of the distribution powerhouse WEA. He was promoted to the position of Chairman at the group in 1972. 

In a statement posted on the Rhino website, Warner/Reprise artist Randy Newman stated “They trusted us enough to allow us the freedom to make the records we wanted to make.” While legendary producer Quincy Jones noted that “What makes Mo Ostin a great music executive is his ability to always remember rule number one: Let the artist be an artist.”

Ostin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003, receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Ostin was a keen philanthropist, contributing enormously to his college, UCLA, helping to fund The Evelyn & Mo Ostin Music Centre, as well as Mo Ostin Basketball Center and the Mo Ostin Academic Center for Student-Athletes.