Phil Quartararo

President

Warner Bros. Records Inc.

After 11 years at Virgin Records America, Phil Quartararo was named president of Burbank-based Warner Bros. Records Inc. last November and given the task of turning the label around.

The company, which has been home to such rock stars as Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Prince, Talking Heads and Neil Young, had been stumbling, with its market share dropping from 21 percent in 1996 to 17.3 percent for the first eight months of 1998.

In his short time as head of Warner Bros., however, the 42-year-old Quartararo has started showing results. Madonna and Eric Clapton both have bona fide hits with their new albums, and the soundtrack from “City of Angels” is one of the year’s best-selling albums, with more than 4 million units sold. The company also has helped relatively new acts like Barenaked Ladies.

Quartararo is no stranger to nourishing new acts, having established Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Ben Harper, the Verve and Massive Attack during his time at Virgin. He also has the distinction of introducing the Spice Girls to the United States.

But he has no problem dropping artists who haven’t found their audience after a couple of albums.

“There’s always three kinds of artists successful artists, new artists, and not-successful artists,” he said. “You want to have more of the first two types of artists, but get rid of the last kind. Make sure they have their shot, but then get them out of the way if they’re not performing.”

Quartararo, a Brooklyn native, has spent his entire career in the music business. Immediately after graduating from Syracuse University in 1975, he went to work for A & M; Records, where he was in the company’s promotion department. In 1982, he became vice president of promotion for Island Records.

In 1986, he joined Virgin Records to run its promotion department, before becoming head of promotion and marketing three years later. Then in 1992, when EMI Group plc bought Virgin, Quartararo was promoted to president and chief executive of Virgin Records.

Of his assignment at Warner, Quartararo says: “My whole career I have worked at labels that have been perceived to be the cool label to be at. The way this company will remain hip is not by changing the mantle, but rather by having the edgy artists and growing the new careers, while maintaining the prestige of the Warner heritage.”

Daniel Taub