Former head of CBS Records Walter Yetnikoff dies aged 87

11 August 2021, 04:44

Walter Yetnikoff, former president of CBS Records, has died
Walter Yetnikoff, former president of CBS Records, has died. Picture: PA

His reign peaked with such mega sellers including Jackson’s Thriller, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell and Joel’s 52nd Street

Walter Yetnikoff, the head of CBS Records who presided over blockbuster releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and many others has died aged 87.

Yetnikoff’s death was confirmed on Tuesday by David Ritz, who collaborated with Yetnikoff on his memoir Howling at the Moon.

The stocky, bearded Yetnikoff was a former lawyer and helped embody a moment when rock music became big business, embraced and absorbed by corporate America, when contracts and acquisitions seemed as eventful as the music itself.

He joined CBS as a staff lawyer in the early 1960s, was named president of CBS Records International in 1971 and CEO of CBS Records in 1975.

Yetnikoff oversaw the release of Thriller by Michael Jackson
Yetnikoff oversaw the release of Thriller by Michael Jackson (Yui Mok/PA)

His reign peaked with such mega sellers including Jackson’s Thriller, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell and Joel’s 52nd Street.

CBS’ revenues more than quadrupled under his watch, from 485 million US dollars (£350 million) to over 2 billion dollars (£1.45 billion), but he also blew a fortune by arranging costly deals for Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and others past their commercial prime.

He told Rolling Stone in 1988: “If you are successful – as it should be – you simply have to pay an artist, give them a cheque for all this money.

“It’s my pleasure to give Michael Jackson a big, big cheque. Number one, it shows that we’re successful. Two, whatever he earned, we earned more.”

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’