Solina Ong, Spotify’s editor-in-chief and global music curator, will leave the company to join U2’s management team, the band confirmed on Tuesday. She joins as managing partner alongside Irving and Jeffrey Azoff.
“What struck us about Solina is the flair, ingenuity and clarity she brings to both the art and the audience,” Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 said in a statement. “She understands what we’ve built and where we want to take it. We’re thrilled to have her as managing partner alongside Irving and Jeffrey.”
Ong comes to U2 after seven years at Spotify, where she has served as global editor-in-chief since 2021. In a statement, Ong described her time at the streaming service as “a huge part of my career and I leave the team there with great respect for what we have built.”
“U2 is one of the most important bands in the world, both artistically and culturally, and has used their platform for purpose in every chapter of their career,” Ong said. “The opportunity to work with them, alongside Irving and Jeffrey, who helped shape modern artist management, was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. We have ambitious plans for what’s next, and I’m ready to get to work.”
U2 is one of the most successful bands in the history of music both in terms of record sales and total live music. The group has won 22 Grammy Awards, and recently was the first band to play at Sphere in Las Vegas, playing 40 shows in the high-tech venue in celebration of the band’s 1991 album. Achtung baby.
“The band made the right decision,” Irving Azoff said in a statement about Ong’s hiring. “Solina is one of the finest executives in the music business, with a career built on judgment, flair and an instinct for where the culture is now and where it’s going. Jeffrey and I are proud to have her on our side.”
