Veteran record executive Lyor Cohen has announced his departure from the Chairman/CEO position at Warner Music Group that he assumed in 2004.

According to Billboard.biz, Cohen will leave the company on September 30th to “move on to his next big challenge.” At WMG, Cohen oversaw Atlantic and Warner Bros. Records, as well as several other branches of the corporation.

“To all the artists and employees who live and die for the music every day, and who personally sacrifice for the good of the creative process: ‘keep on keepin’ on’ in the tradition of a company that respects and honors the artistic community,” said Cohen in a statement.

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WMG CEO Stephen Cooper said, “Lyor Cohen has built something very special here.  While we understand his desire to move on to his next challenge, the enduring success of our recorded music division will serve as a great testament to the progress we’ve made during Lyor’s time at WMG.  We are grateful for Lyor’s contributions, and we wish him the best.  I’m confident that given the strength of our talented management team in Recorded Music, we’ll be able to drive further success.”

Cohen got his start in artist management in the mid-1980s at Rush Communications, and became President of Def Jam in 1988.

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