Sony Music Publishing Hires Walter Jones as Head of A&R

Walter Jones has joined Sony Music Publishing as executive vp and head of A&R, the company announced on Thursday. Jones arrives at SMP after five years at rival Universal Music Publishing Group, where he was most recently co-head of A&R.

At his new gig, Jones will oversee SMP’s A&R efforts in the U.S. and work with the company’s creatives to best support and generate new opportunities for both emerging and established roster artists. When he starts on Feb. 22, Jones will be based in Los Angeles and report to SMP chairman and CEO Jon Platt.

“Walter is a gifted A&R executive with incredible creative insight,” said Platt. “I’ve witnessed his growth as a leader and his ongoing dedication as a mentor to new and accomplished songwriters and creatives. Walter’s collaborative approach will be instrumental to our success, and I look forward to working alongside him to deliver a superior level of service to SMP’s songwriters.”

Jones joined UMPG in early 2017 as vp, creative before rising to co-head of A&R. Before that he spent seven-plus years at SMP (then-Sony/ATV), where he rose to the position of vp, urban A&R. Throughout his career he has signed and developed a who’s who of songwriter-artists, including H.E.R., Lil Baby, Quay Global, Chi Chi, Lil Yachty, City Girls, Alessia Cara, G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky and Pusha T, among others.

Jones said, “I’m so excited to join Jon and the team in this new chapter at Sony Music Publishing, where I first became a publisher. This is the right time, and Sony is the right place. I look forward to working closely with our A&R team to continue serving our songwriter community.”

Sony Music Publishing has dedicated CEOs for Nashville (Rusty Gaston) and its Latin business (Jorge Mejia) that will continue to report directly to Platt.