The world is better when Black women are in charge. It's just a fact. The iconic Motown Records just upped the ante by promoting Ethiopia Habtemariam to its highest position of CEO. No stranger to the game, Habtemariam, who served as the label's president for six years, is responsible for bringing major R&B and hip hop acts to the legendary roster as well as helping to preserve and advance the historic company.
Since the label's move from New York to Los Angeles, she has orchestrated imperative ventures for keeping the finger of Motown on the pulse of today's music by partnering with heavy hitters like Quality Control Music (Migos, City Girls, Lil Baby) and Blacksmith Records (Ted When, Vince Staples). To say her presence at the label has helped catapult the brand into the new millennium is putting it lightly.
Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge had this to say about her appointment: "Motown is such an important voice and, just as when it was founded by Berry Gordy, its impact continues to be felt around the world. Motown's resurgence and powerful partnerships under Ethiopia's leadership has advanced the label's legacy as home to some of today's biggest hitmakers and most meaningful voices in music."
Habtemariam joins the ranks of women like Sylvia Rhone, CEO of Epic Records, Desiree Perez, CEO of Roc Nation, and Jody Gerson, CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group—a small and yet powerful circle of some of the most important women in the industry.
"I'm so grateful for this huge opportunity," Habtemariam told Billboard, "because there's been a lot of incredible hard work put in to allow me to get to this space. Coming into this industry, there were so many incredible women that I looked up to within its various business sectors. They gave me confidence and never made me question what I would be able to achieve. And I'm thankful I got to see that. This opportunity is really me standing on their shoulders."
It's refreshing to know a record label that means so much to our community, and the WORLD is in the hands of such a remarkable and inspirational Black woman. Damn, it feels good to be us.