Sony Music has named longtime in-house lawyer Stephanie Yu as its new general counsel and executive vice president of business and legal affairs, filling the role vacated by Julie Swidler earlier this year. Yu, who has spent more than two decades at the company, will oversee Sony Music's business, legal and governmental affairs, reporting directly to chairman Rob Stringer and chief operating officer Kevin Kelleher. The appointment marks a significant leadership change at one of the music industry's top legal departments during a period of major shifts around AI and licensing.

Yu joined Sony in 2005 after working as a litigator at Covington & Burling, spending six years handling licensing, distribution and M&A deals before moving to Epic Records, where she rose to executive vice president of business and legal affairs. She had most recently served as executive vice president and US lead of business and legal affairs at Sony, overseeing legal strategy across the company's US labels. She succeeds Swidler, who held the top legal post for 18 years and was widely regarded as one of the record industry's most senior women, having announced her departure in May before stepping down in June.