Don Ienner

Don Ienner (/ˈaɪnər/ EYE-nər) is a former American record-business executive. Ienner joined Columbia Records in 1989 as president; in April 2003 he became president of Columbia's umbrella company, Sony Music U.S. In 2004, Ienner was named chief executive officer of Sony Music Label Group, U.S.[1] He resigned from that position on June 1, 2006.[2]

From 1972 to 1977, Ienner and his brother Jimmy Ienner ran a music production, management, and publishing company called C.A.M. U.S.A., which worked with such artists as Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Eric Carmen. In 1977, he co-founded Millennium Records, serving as executive president, until joining Arista Records in 1983 as vice president of promotion, helping to establish the careers of Whitney Houston and Kenny G.[3]

According to former executive of Columbia and current businessman Steve Stoute, Ienner made a series of racially based business decisions that resulted in Columbia Records dropping Alicia Keys due to how her manager dressed, dropping 50 Cent after he had gotten shot, and backing out of a deal that Stoute had set up with Birdman, formerly known as Baby, in which Birdman had presented the label with six complete albums and full music videos shot independently. According to Stoute, Ienner asked, referring to Birdman's partner and brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams, "Shouldn't that guy be playing basketball?"—implying that Williams shouldn't be responsible for setting up and being party to major contracts with Columbia.[4] In a 2017 interview with Howard Stern, the singer-songwriter John Mellencamp strongly implied that he left Columbia Records because of racist remarks Ienner made about the background vocalist on Mellencamp's 2001 single "Peaceful World."[5] The British singer George Michael claimed to have overheard Ienner referring to him as a "faggot," triggering the singer's 1994 legal effort to dissolve his contract with Columbia. (Michael lost the case and Ienner denied using the term.)[6]