The streaming-fueled comeback of recorded music is expanding the entire business, shaking up established hierarchies and creating new kingmakers. This year, 55 fresh faces join Billboard‘s annual ranking of industry influence. PLUS: Introducing the New Power Generation — 25 disrupters who will define the future of the business.
What’s Different About This Year’s List
Although executives rise, fall and drop off the Power 100 every year due to performance, a handful who have perennially appeared on previous lists were not included this year due strictly to an editorial decision to refocus the Power 100 on core music-industry companies. As a result, executives from brands and branding companies, such as Citi, American Express and MAC Presents, and music bookers from the morning and late-night talk and entertainment shows were not considered for inclusion. Dick Clark Productions executives also were not considered this year because they share a parent company with Billboard.
1. Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Group
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2. Michael Rapino, President/CEO, Live Nation Entertainment
4. Irving Azoff, Chairman/CEO, The Azoff Company; Jeffrey Azoff, Partner, Full Stop Management
5. Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment
6. Steve Cooper, CEO, Warner Music Group; Max Lousada, CEO of Recorded Music, WMG
8. Jon Platt, Incoming Chairman/CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
11. Monte Lipman, Co-Founder/CEO, Republic Records; Avery Lipman, Co-Founder/President, Republic Records
12. Coran Capshaw, Founder, Red Light Management
13. Steve Boom, Vice President, Amazon Music; Ryan Redington, Director, Amazon Music
14. Jody Gerson, Global Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group
16. Scooter Braun, Founder, SB Projects
17. Martin Bandier, Chairman/CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
19. Guy Oseary, 46, Co-Founder/Principal, Maverick Management
21. Louis Messina, CEO, Messina Touring Group
28. Scott Greenstein, President/Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM Holdings Inc.
29. Elizabeth Matthews, CEO, ASCAP; Michael O’Neill, President/CEO, BMI
33. Peter Edge, Chairman/CEO, RCA Records; John Fleckenstein, Joe Riccitelli, Co-Presidents, RCA Records
34. Ron Perry, Chairman/CEO, Columbia Records; Jenifer Mallory, GM, Columbia Records
35. Sylvia Rhone, President, Epic Records
37. Randy Goodman, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Nashville
43. Elizabeth Collins, Susan Genco, Co-Presidents, The Azoff Company
44. Mitch Glazier, Chairman/CEO, RIAA
45. Randy Grimmett, Partner/CEO, Global Music Rights; John Josephson, Chairman/CEO, SESAC
46. Future The Prince, Manager, Drake; Noah “40” Shebib, Producer; Co-Founder, OVO Sound
48. Stuart Camp, Manager, Ed Sheeran
49. Paul Tollett, President, Goldenvoice Productions
50. Pierre “P” Thomas, CEO, Quality Control Music; Kevin “Coach K” Lee, COO, Quality Control Music
51. Scott Borchetta, Founder/President/CEO, Big Machine Label Group
52. Joel Katz, Founding Chairman of the Global Entertainment and Media Practice, Greenberg Traurig
53. Dre London, Founder, London Ent.
54. Bryan “Birdman” Williams, Ronald “Slim” Williams, Co-Founders/Co-CEOs, Cash Money Records
56. Mike Caren, Founder/CEO, Artist Partner Group
57. John Branca, Partner/Head of the Music Department, Ziffren Brittenham
58. Allen Grubman, Kenny Meiselas, Senior Partners, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks
59. Doug Morris, Founder, 12 Tone Music
61. David Field, Chairman/President/CEO, Entercom?; Pat Paxton, President of Programming, Entercom
62. Martin Mills, Founder/Chairman, Beggars Group
63. Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Founder/CEO, Top Dawg Entertainment
64. Willard Ahdritz, Founder/CEO, Kobalt
65. Laurie Jacoby, Senior vp New York Concerts and Entertainment, Madison Square Garden
67. Darcus Beese, President, Island Records; Eric Wong, COO, Island Records
68. David Massey, President/CEO, Arista Records
69. John Esposito, Chairman/CEO, Warner Music Nashville
70. Afo Verde, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia
71. Mike Easterlin, Gregg Nadel, Co-Presidents, Elektra Music Group
73. Jesús López, Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula
74. Ralph Peer II, Chairman/CEO, peermusic?; Mary Megan Peer, Deputy CEO, peermusic
75. Cliff Burnstein, Peter Mensch, Co-Founders, Q Prime
76. Marc Cimino, COO, Universal Music Publishing Group
77. Henry Cárdenas, Founder/CEO, Cárdenas Marketing Network
80. Michael Huppe, President/CEO, SoundExchange
81. Charles Caldas, CEO, Merlin
82. Cara Lewis, Owner/Founder, Cara Lewis Group
83. Mary G. Berner, President/CEO, Cumulus Media
84. Daniel Glass, Founder/President, Glassnote
86. Don Passman, Partner, Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman
87. Jacqueline Charlesworth, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling?; Dina LaPolt, Founder/Owner, LaPolt Law
90. Jacqueline Saturn, President, Caroline/Harvest Records
91. Helen Murphy, CEO, ole Media Management
92. Jason Owen, President/CEO, Sandbox Entertainment; Co-President, Monument Records
93. Walter Kolm, Founder/President, WK Entertainment
94. Pasquale Rotella, Founder/CEO, Insomniac Events
95. Iñigo Zabala, President, Warner Music Latin America & Iberia
97. Randy Phillips, President/Director/CEO, LiveStyle
98. Raúl Alarcón Jr., President/Chairman/CEO, Spanish Broadcasting System
99. Rebeca León, CEO, Lionfish Entertainment
100. Neil Portnow, President/CEO, The Recording Academy
Methodology: A committee of Billboard editors and reporters weighed a variety of factors in determining the 2019 Power 100 ranking, including, but not limited to, Billboard’s Top Artists and Top Tours of 2018 rankings; nominations by peers, colleagues and superiors; impact on consumer behavior as measured by metrics such as chart, sales and streaming performance; social media impressions; radio and TV audiences reached; career trajectory; and overall impact in the industry, using data available as of Jan. 24. Agency rankings were based, in part, on an analysis of the top 125 grossing touring artists based on figures reported to Billboard Boxscore for the period of Jan. 1, 2018, to Jan. 24, 2019. When available, financial results are taken into consideration. U.S. record-label current market share was consulted using Nielsen Music’s market share for album plus track-equivalent and stream-equivalent album consumption units, and Billboard’s quarterly top 10 publisher rankings. Unless otherwise noted, Billboard Boxscore and Nielsen Music are the sources for tour grosses and sales/streaming data, respectively. Unless otherwise noted, album streaming figures cited represent collective U.S. on-demand audio totals for that album’s tracks. Song/artist streaming figures represent combined U.S. on-demand audio and video totals.
Contributors: Trevor Anderson, Jennifer Arnow Cathy Applefeld Olson, Megan Armstrong, Dave Brooks, Dean Budnick, Ed Christman, Leila Cobo, Camille Dodero, Thom Duffy, Chris Elsemore, Deborah Evans Price, Eric Frankenberg, Adrienne Gaffney, Bianca Gracie, Gary Graff, Jenn Haltman, Andrew Hampp, Cortney Harding, Steve Knopper, Katy Kroll, Robert Levine, Joe Levy, Melissa Malinowsky, Brooke Mazurek, Taylor Mims, Gail Mitchell, James Morgan, Melinda Newman, Paula Parisi, Dan Skelton, Eric Spitznagel, Christa Titus, Laura Tucker, Mike Vukobratovich, Christine Werthman, Deborah Wilker, Nick Williams, Chris Woods.