Carole King & Jon Platt: Notes on Inclusive Leadership | SXSW 2021

Hey everyone, I'm Jon Platt, the chairman and CEO of Sony Music Publishing, and I feel very lucky today to have a conversation with a friend of mine. We want to talk about our journeys and inclusive leadership. This friend happens to be one of the greatest songwriters and musical artists of our time, the one and only Carol King. I'm so excited to do this with Carol. Last month, her album Tapestry celebrated its 50th anniversary, which is an incredible accomplishment. Throughout her career, she has broken down barriers and fought for women's rights, giving a voice to many who weren't represented. As a person of color, I know there's more work to do, but we're happy to share our experiences. Carol, I think it would be great to set the table with a brief story of how we got here. I'll hand it over to you.

Yeah, it's a similar story. Music touched me early. I grew up in a single-parent home in Denver. My mother worked swing shift, so I spent evenings listening to the radio. She never told me I couldn't do anything. I DJed parties at 15. My older brother listened to rock, and I realized a great song is universal regardless of genre. That gave me a broad knowledge of music that people who looked like me weren't expected to have. I signed Rod Temperton, a white Englishman who wrote R&B hits for Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. At dinner, I went into fan mode, and he ended up coming to work with me before he passed away. Those experiences shaped who I am. How did you embrace people telling you that you were opening doors for others?

I never viewed myself as a victim. I wanted to succeed so badly that when I faced obstacles, I took them as signs to work harder and smarter. Maybe some were due to the color of my skin, but that made me tougher and gave me resilience. I wouldn't trade my journey for anything because it made me who I am. It put me in a position to run the largest music publishing company and work with songwriters like you who wrote America's songbook. You have to have a goal, do the hard work, be confident, and treat people with respect. That's what got me here.

You know, true leadership is putting others before yourself. Roger Faxon unlocked that code for me. He gave me a raise and said I was bringing people along on the journey. As an A&R person, you can stay in your own silo, but to lead a team you have to be inclusive and trust people. Roger was a white man who believed in me. Jody Gerson hired me in 1995, and Steve Cooper was the first to want me to run a publishing company. They saw something in me. You can be given an opportunity, but it's up to you to make something of it. When you get a chance, show up. I also wanted to go back to your environmental story—you've been working on that for 30 years. A friend told me that everyone with a dream gets an opportunity; there are no losers, only those who quit before their turn. I carried that with me. I almost gave up at 30, but then the door opened. You have to keep working. If you don't get there one way, go around it. The journey itself is amazing.

Love you too. I can't wait to come to Idaho, go to the cafe, and have some lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. Traveling will be nice. Well, thank you again, Carol, for doing this. I really appreciate it.