Elektra Chief Labeled a Shining Star : Music: Time Warner blood bath survivor Sylvia Rhone has turned in a record performance for her business.

The rumors are not true.

Sylvia Rhone will not be among the names announced this morning in New York when her mentor, MCA Music Chairman Doug Morris, unveils his new management team.

That’s not to say that MCA and several other firms haven’t tried in recent months to lure Rhone away from her current post as chair of Time Warner’s Elektra Entertainment. Indeed, there is little doubt that had Time Warner not fired its global record chief Michael Fuchs two weeks ago, Rhone’s days at Elektra would certainly have been numbered.

Fuchs, who ousted Morris as head of Warner Music U.S. along with almost every senior player on the Morris executive team, never hit it off with the outspoken and fiercely independent Rhone. In fact, only days before he was fired, Fuchs told sources inside the media giant that he was preparing to replace Rhone.

As the dust settles on the 18-month corporate upheaval that cost Time Warner seven of its top record executives, Rhone is now being hailed as the shining star of the $5-billion global music group, which includes Warner Bros., Elektra and Atlantic.

The irony is not lost on Rhone, who, after delivering hits from such diverse artists as Natalie Merchant, Adina Howard, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Better Than Ezra, was the only label chief at Time Warner last quarter to make her numbers.

Since taking over Elektra in August of last year, Rhone has helped drive annual revenue up 25% from $200 million to $250 million--a record showing for a boutique label that opened its doors more than two decades ago.

“It was not easy trying to keep this company focused during all the corporate turmoil, but I think it led to a real maturation process for me,” Rhone, 43, said in a phone interview from her office in New York. “There I was, dislodged from the individuals who had been my mentors and thrown into the fire with a boss who was confrontational. After what we went through here, I think I could deal with just about anything corporate America has to dish out.”

Rhone’s 20-year ascent to her current status as the highest-ranking African American woman in the music industry has been a hard-won victory over racist and sexist attitudes. Last year, her promotion at Elektra prompted grumbling in the industry’s good ol’ boy network. Many predicted she could not live up to the achievements of the label’s illustrious white male alumni, including David Geffen and industry veterans Jack Holzman, Robert Krasnow and Joe Smith.

Rhone’s critics also challenged her rock credentials and questioned how an African American record promotion expert who made her mark with black music could possibly navigate a prestigious pop company such as Elektra.

But on her watch, Rhone has expanded the audience for a number of Elektra’s rock acts, including Phish, Better Than Ezra and the Rembrandts, while beefing up the label’s presence in the lucrative R&B; and hip-hop markets.

Former 10,000 Maniacs singer Merchant, whose “Tigerlily” album ranks No. 29 on the current pop charts, credits Rhone with helping to launch her solo career.

“I’m grateful to Sylvia because she lets me do what I want creatively,” said Merchant, who persuaded the label chief to release a less commercial song than what Rhone had envisioned as the first single and video. “She’s stylish, astute and beautiful. But most of all, she’s not arrogant. I’ve certainly never encountered a male record company executive with such a relaxed vibe.”

Rhone’s fate at Time Warner has been in question since May, when former global music chief Robert J. Morgado was fired and Fuchs was installed as his successor. By September, Fuchs had ousted Morris and almost all his confidants except Rhone. Because Rhone refused to bow to Fuchs in public or private, many speculated that she too would soon be shown the door.

According to sources, Rhone was being wooed with lucrative job offers from Sony, PolyGram and MCA right up to Nov. 16--the day Fuchs was fired. “Sylvia is the sole survivor of the Warner Music wars--and it’s lucky for them,” said Jimmy Iovine, co-owner of Interscope Records, the controversial label that Time Warner cut ties with in September. “

Rhone’s new boss Bob Daly, who along with his partner Terry Semel was named co-chairman of the Warner Music Group on Nov. 16, said he is thrilled that Rhone did not jump ship. “It’s no secret that Sylvia and Michael didn’t get along and that she was extremely unhappy,” Daly said. “But everything is terrific now. We like her a lot.”

Rhone, a Wharton School graduate and single mother, entered the music business in 1974 as a secretary at Buddah Records. She worked in a variety of recording promotion departments before being named the head of national promotion for Warner-owned Atlantic Records in 1985.

Rhone’s next stops on the corporate ladder were as head of Atlantic’s black-music department, then vice president of EastWest Records in 1988. Three years after she took over as chief executive of that company, its annual revenue shot from $50 million to past the $80-million mark. She was elevated to head of Elektra last year.