launching the music-documentary podcast
Final Sessions, striking deals with Round Hill
Music and the Gene Autry Music Group,
and signing writers like Lizzo, the most-
nominated artist at this year’s Grammy
Awards. “Our songwriters inspire us to
match their creativity with the same level of
imagination and ingenuity,” says Marshall.
Adds Moot: “Carianne and I are really proud
of the momentum we’ve built this year.”
Helen Murphy
CEO, Anthem Entertainment
In her first year as CEO at the company
formerly known as ole Media Management,
Murphy has overseen a name change and
branding strategy, signed José Feliciano for
a new album, made a move into podcasting
and acquired stakes in songs from Lizzo and
The Weeknd through catalog deals with,
respectively, songwriters Ricky Reed and
Doc McKinney. It’s all part of Murphy’s aim
to reposition Anthem in the broader enter-
tainment business. She’s also on a mission
to bring more women into the company’s
leadership unit, such as Ree Guyer’s Wren-
song team and former Hollywood Records
vp A&R Allison Hamamura, who was tapped
to run Anthem Records.
Ralph Peer II
Chairman/CEO, peermusic
Mary Megan Peer
Deputy CEO, peermusic
Family-owned peermusic may be 92 years
old, but it’s still thriving. As one of the
world’s largest independent music publish-
ers, it has enjoyed a 25% year-over-year
increase in global receipts, according to
Mary Megan Peer, buoyed by hits like Ella
Mai’s “Boo’d Up,” the 2019 Grammy winner
for best R&B song co-penned by peermu-
sic writer Larrance Dopson. In 2019, the
company also claimed 12 tracks on Jason Al-
dean’s chart-topping album 9 , which senior
vp Michael Knox produced. In an ongoing
commitment to African music, peermusic
created a joint venture with the production
duo Sons of Sonix, which has worked with
Tre Songz, Ty Dolla $ign, Stormzy, Jennifer
Lopez and Ariana Grande. “Our company
was founded on the belief of putting the
needs of recording artists, songwriters and
music producers first,” says Ralph Peer. “To-
day, that is more important than ever.”
Jon Platt
Chairman/CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Brian Monaco
President/global chief marketing officer,
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Elicia Felix-Hughey
Senior vp global human resources,
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Since Platt succeeded Martin Bandier as
chairman/CEO in April, Sony/ATV scored its
eighth straight quarter as the No. 1 publisher
for the top 100 radio songs on Billboard’s
Publishers Quarterly chart; in 2019’s third
quarter, it overtook Universal Music Publish-
ing Group for the highest publishing share
of top Hot 100 hits. Platt’s first priority
as incoming chairman/CEO was to help
address pay disparities at the company —
expanding the bonus pool related to Sony/
ATV’s takeover of EMI Music Publishing to
include all employees. He tapped Felix-
Hughey to recruit more diverse staff. Platt’s
arrival also prompted Rihanna to sign with
Sony/ATV. In July, the publisher announced
its new royalty distribution system, which
will let songwriters collect their royalties
faster. Says Monaco, 47: “We continue to put
songwriters first in everything that we do.”
BUSINESS & BRANDING
Jennifer Breithaupt
Global consumer chief marketing officer, Citi
Breithaupt’s global team oversees 12,000-
plus events through the Citi Entertainment
program, but its intimate Citi Sound Vault
concert series keeps creating some of pop
music’s most coveted tickets. Highlights
from 2019 include two underplays from
Madonna at Brooklyn’s BAM Howard
Gilman Opera House in September and
Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House
in December as part of the cardmember
showcase. Breithaupt also launched
Citi’s #SeeHerHearHer, a social impact/
mentorship program created in partnership
with the Association of National Advertisers
to advance gender equality within the
music business. The goal, she says, is “equal
representation of female talent” within ad
campaigns by Citi and other brands.
Deborah Curtis
Vp global brand partnerships and experiences,
American Express
Amplifying AmEx’s brand platform,
“Powerful Backing: Don’t Do Business/
Live Life Without It,” while working with
international partners AEG and Live Nation,
Curtis has expanded her company’s global
reach to include “rights and assets to tours,
venues, festivals and ticketing platforms”
across 40 venues in seven countries, along
with nine U.S. and U.K. music festivals and
presale access in 17 countries, she says.
Citing recent tour partnerships with Lizzo,
Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez, Curtis
says her team’s persistent goal is to provide
cardholders with “unparalleled entertain-
ment access and service.”
MONACO
FELIX-HUGHEY
CURTIS
“I can’t play the guitar. I can’t write a song.
But I can advocate very well for artists.”
—Hipgnosis Songs Fund founder MERCK MERCURIADIS discussing his yearlong spree acquiring
songwriter catalogs. The former manager of Elton John and Beyoncé, who deals directly with songwrit-
ers, has raised over $800 million to purchase the catalogs of Jack Antonoff, Eurythmics co-founder
Dave Stewart, The-Dream, Timbaland and Snow Patrol keyboardist Johnny McDaid, who co-wrote
“Shape of You” with Ed Sheeran, among other hits. Behind the scenes, executives in music publishing
and the recorded-music industry express concern over how Hipgnosis, which went public in 2018, has
driven up valuation multiples for songwriter catalogs, but Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers, who joined
Hipgnosis’ advisory board (and is managed by Mercuriadis), offered a different perspective in an inter-
view with NPR. Hipgnosis, he said, “has demonstrated to the financial community that hit songs are as
investable as financial instruments as gold or oil.”
PLATT
MURPHY
R. PEER
M. PEER
POWER MOVE
Hipgnosis Snaps Up The Hit Songs
Rodgers
(left) and
Mercuriadis
BREITHAUPT
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