John Legend has a new management team. The singer has parted ways with longtime manager Ty Stiklorius and her firm Friends at Work, with Roc Nation now handling his music career, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The timing of the switch is unclear. Legend was still listed on Friends at Work’s roster as recently as last month, and Stiklorius had discussed her work with him as recently as February during a panel at a Global Citizen event in Beverly Hills. Roc Nation did not respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter, though the company shared an image of Legend on Instagram shortly after the outlet reached out.
The split does not appear to sever the broader relationship between the two. Stiklorius said in a statement that she would continue as Legend’s partner in the various business ventures, both for-profit and nonprofit, that the two built together over the years. She described passing the music management responsibilities to Jay Brown at Roc Nation while remaining one of Legend’s supporters going forward.
Nearly two decades of work together
Legend and Stiklorius’s professional relationship dates to at least 2006, when Billboard reported her involvement in the founding of John Legend Ventures. When Stiklorius left Troy Carter’s management firm Atom Factory in 2014 to found Friends at Work, Legend followed. Their collaboration spanned the full arc of his commercial peak, from the multi-platinum run of Get Lifted in 2004 through his 14-time-platinum single “All of Me” and his duet with Meghan Trainor, “Like I’m Going to Lose You.”
During that period, Legend became one of 28 people in history to achieve EGOT status, holding an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. He was the first Black man to reach that distinction. His 13 Grammy wins, an Oscar for “Glory” from the Selma soundtrack, an Emmy for producing “Jesus Christ Superstar Live’ and a Tony for producing Jitney accumulated across the span of his partnership with Stiklorius.
Stiklorius built a reputation over that time not only as a skilled manager but also as a vocal presence on industry issues. In 2024, she wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times about toxicity in the music business amid the abuse allegations against Sean Combs.
What Roc Nation brings
Roc Nation, the management and entertainment company founded by Jay-Z, represents a roster that includes Rihanna, Megan Thee Stallion, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert and Clipse, among others. The firm’s reach across music, sports and entertainment makes it one of the more expansive management operations in the industry.
For Legend, the move comes as he prepares for his Songs and Stories Tour this spring and summer. His most recent album, My Favorite Dream, released in 2024, was a children’s record. Fans have been watching for signals about what direction his next adult-oriented project might take, and the management change is being read by some as part of that repositioning.
Friends at Work continues to represent Charlie Puth, who released his fourth album, Whatever’s Clever!, last week, along with rock band The National and jazz artist Arooj Aftab.
