58 BILLBOARD | AUGUST 10 , 2 019
1. Get queer people involved.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but
it’s essential. Pop artist Dorian Electra,
who performed at Troye Sivan and
Charli XCX’s inaugural Go West Fest in
June, says, “It’s queer artists who have
their ear to the ground in the queer music
community and are a genuine, active
part of those communities.” LoveLoud
Festival and its foundation, started
by Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds in
2017, also have an advisory board that
includes Wrabel, Daya and VINCINT.
Adds Electra: “Diversity in every capacity
is super important.”
2. Check your motivations.
“When your goal is to make money, it
shows,” says Los Angeles-based visual
artist Faye Orlove, who curated arts
programming at Go West. “There are
rainbow-colored cash grabs everywhere
trying to make money off the backs of
young queer people.” Pop star Allie X,
who has a sizable LGBTQ fan base and
often performs in queer spaces, says
she looks for a “message of acceptance”
when vetting bookings. If it’s a corporate
event, she researches their policies: “If
they’re doing anything I morally disagree
with, that would be a no from me.”
3. Include a philanthropic component.
“It’s important to use the platform, and
the income an event generates, for the
greater good,” says Allie X. A portion
of the proceeds from Go West went
to GLAAD, while LoveLoud benefits
groups like The Trevor Project. “All
of the organizations align with our
core mission,” says Clarissa Savage, a
talent booker for LoveLoud who also
secured speakers like Emma González
and Lena Waithe. “They are the ones
with the boots on the ground, making
a difference in the lives of our LGBTQ
friends and family.” —GAB GINSBERG
Fernandez
Gaden
Gerbitz
Goodman
Grant
Herman
Jacob Fain
SENIOR VP A&R/HEAD OF
RESEARCH AND ANALYTICS
Sony/ATV
Fain, 36, an 11-year veteran of Sony/
ATV, has signed Leon Bridges,
Of Monsters and Men and The
Chainsmokers to the market-leading
music publisher. Last year, he struck
a worldwide publishing deal with
Atlanta-based rapper, singer and
producer Russ, whose singles “What
They Want” and “Losin Control” both
went platinum in June.
THE MUSIC BUSINESS CAN PROMOTE
INCLUSIVITY BY “Honestly, not
caring what someone looks like or
who they may love, but just focusing
on the attributes of what really
matters in music.”
Samantha Fernandez
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIP
ACTIVATION, FESTIVALS
AEG Presents
Fernandez, 34, led the team that
activated over 40 partnership deals for
Coachella and Stagecoach, she says,
including the new Amazon Lockers
and the integration of Postmates food
delivery. “We ended up having some
really innovative new partnerships this
year,” she says. “We brought a lot of
creature comforts to the show.”
TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY “Put a rainbow
flag in your office. Put an ‘I am an ally’
sign in your office. Little stuff can make
LGBTQ people feel welcomed.”
Bill Gaden
PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICA
Concord Music Publishing
Gaden, 56, has led the reorganization
resulting from Concord Bicycle
Music’s 2017 acquisition of Imagem, a
$600 million deal that tripled Concord’s
publishing portfolio to 380,000
compositions and gave it control of
the Boosey & Hawkes and Rodgers &
Hammerstein catalogs. When Ariana
Grande’s “7 Rings,” an interpolation of
“My Favorite Things,” reached No. 1
on the Billboard Hot 100 in February,
Concord earned 90% of the song’s
songwriting royalties.
PROMOTE DIVERSITY BY “Being open in
recruitment. New perspectives can be
really valuable. It’s often the imperfect
résumé I’m intrigued by. It starts with
having something great to add, even if
it’s not on the piece of paper.”
David Gerbitz
COO
Pandora
Gerbitz, 48, grew Pandora’s ad revenue
to over $1 billion annually, thanks
in part to the platform’s acquisition
of AdsWizz in May 2018 and a
partnership with SoundCloud.
MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE “The
opportunity for artists to be discovered
and compensated for their craft, not
only in subscription tiers but also in
ad-supported [streaming]. Pandora
relies on the strength of our advertising
business to drive revenue that flows
directly to artists and labels.”
Wendy Goodman
SENIOR VP PROMOTION
RCA Records
For Goodman, 48, helping P!nk land
her 10th No. 1 on the Adult Top 40
chart with “Walk Me Home” in June
furthered the incredible run that
she and the superstar have shared:
P!nk holds the record for most chart-
toppers by a solo artist on the tally. “To
deliver a No. 1 for an artist I believe in
so much, it’s an honor,” says Goodman.
Another high point of 2019? Watching
Khalid cross over to Adult Top 40 with
both “Love Lies” and “Talk.”
A CAUSE SHE SUPPORTS “The LGBT
Center in Hollywood. The youth
programs there are critical. The
homeless epidemic [among] LGBTQ
youth is staggering: of the 6,000 youth
[ages 24 and younger] living on the
streets of Los Angeles, most are in
Hollywood, 40% are LGBTQ.”
David Grant
SENIOR VP POP MARKETING
Atlantic Records
Grant, 49, helped drive the success
of The Greatest Showman, one of
just seven soundtracks to spend
over 30 weeks in the top 10 of
the Billboard 200 during the past
half-century, and the top-selling
album of 2018 in the United States,
according to Nielsen Music. “Bringing
a soundtrack that spoke to those
who felt disenfranchised to an entire
generation, that was extremely
gratifying,” he says.
MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE
“Overcategorization, whether it’s
music genres, demos or people. We
need to stop trying to fit everything
into a superficially defined box that
ultimately divides us. Music and people
transcend labeling.”
Lakiesha Herman
DIGITAL CONTENT SPECIALIST
Columbia Records
Herman, 30, worked with John Legend
on his video series Can’t Just Preach
spotlighting activists like Parkland,
Fla., high school shooting survivor
and March for Our Lives co-founder
Jaclyn Corin and the mother of the
late Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton.
Tapping YouTube’s new donation
feature, Herman turned these mini-
docs and Legend’s “Preach” video
into fundraising tools that collectively
raised over $22,000.
PRIDE NOW IS “Not just making Pride
playlists. I’m not mad at corporate Pride
— rainbows at Starbucks in June —
[because] the alternative is silence. It’s
[about] not making people feel like they
need to hide to be successful.”
Lucas Keller
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
Milk & Honey Music
Under Keller, 35, Milk & Honey has a
roster of songwriters, producers, EDM
artists and DJs that together have
created tracks bought or consumed
by millions in the past 18 months,
according to the firm. Its clients have
scored No. 1 songs in five genres:
country, dance/electronic, pop, rock and
rap. “We’re lucky for the renaissance
that the record business is having,”
says Keller. “But we have to make sure
creators are properly respected and
paid so that songwriting as an art is
protected in the future.”
THROW A PRIDE CONCERT
ALLIES LIKE DAN REYNOLDS
AND CHARLI XCX ARE LIFTING
UP THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
WITH FESTIVALS
Reynolds
onstage at
the LoveLoud
Festival on
June 29.
1959
Esquerita releases
his debut album.
With a towering pompadour and far-
out shades, Esquerita (born Eskew
Reeder Jr.) resembled a rock’n’roll
Liberace with his wild take on New
Orleans boogie. Though he didn’t
start recording until late in his career,
he likely influenced stars such as
Little Richard, who saw him perform
early on, and Dr. John, who worked
with him as a session musician. —T.S.
QUEER MUSIC MILESTONES
Fain
Keller
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