Phil Quartararo Obituary; Legendary Record Executive Has Passed Away.

Publish date: 2024-05-09

The renowned record executive Phil Quartararo, who had a five-decade career, passed suddenly in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 22. Pancreatic cancer was the reason of his death, according to Billboard. He was sixty-seven.

The man affectionately known as “Phil Q” attended Syracuse University after graduating from Brooklyn, New York. In 1977, he started working for A&M Records in the radio promotion department. He progressed through the following ten years, working at Artist, Island, and RCA Records until joining Virgin’s US division in the mid-1980s.

He stayed on until 1997, when he finally became the CEO and President. He was brought on by Virgin Records’ founder Richard Branson in 1986, and The New York Times claims that “Phil Q” was instrumental in “turning Virgin into EMI’s crown jewel.”

Variety claims that after departing Virgin, Quartararo was appointed President of Warner Bros. Records, a role he retained until 2002, when he took a job at EMI as President of the label’s distribution division. Prior to joining The Hello Group as President and Chairman, where he was at the time of his death, he served as President of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation Records from 2016 until 2019.

In addition, Quartararo served on the boards of the RIAA, Gibson, Fender, Grammy Foundation, Cedar Sinai, and others.

In addition, Quartararo received recognition for his charitable work in the form of honors such as the Spirit of Life Award from City of Hope, the Russell Simmons Award for Equality and Diversity, the Vincent Testaverde Award for Spinal Injury, and the 40 at 40 Award from Syracuse University. In addition, he received the NARAS Governors Award and the Music Executive of the Year (2021) award from Billboard magazine.

According to Taylor Jones, co-owner of The Hello Group, “Phil approached everything with a kind heart, a light spirit, and a sense of humor,” as she told Billboard. He had a very high stress tolerance. His principles have been ingrained in our business’s fundamental principles and philosophy.

Quartararo has collaborated with Coldplay, The Smashing Pumpkins, Faith Hill, Madonna, Green Day, Paula Abdul, and Linkin Park over the years. He is credited with breaking the Irish band U2 on US radio.

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