Billboard - USA (2020-01-25)

Tamara Hrivnak

Vp music business development and

partnerships, Facebook

Malika Quemerais

Head of music partnerships, Facebook

Focused on connecting artists with fans

across all of its platforms, Facebook has

boosted its importance to both groups. In

the past year, the company’s music team

launched music stickers with lyrics on

Facebook and Instagram, “giving people

more ways to come together around music,”

says Hrivnak. “At a divisive time, these

bonds matter.” Quemerais, 34, worked with

Kelsea Ballerini and Little Big Town’s Karen

Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman on the

first Women of Music in Nashville event at

the CMA Festival in June. “Today, music lis-

teners have access to more music than ever

before, but they do not always get to know

the story or the person behind the song,”

says Quemerais, adding that Facebook

platforms “are uniquely positioned to turn

listeners into fans.”

Jesus Lara

President of radio, Univision Communications

Lara, 47, has guided what he describes as

an “audio evolution” at Univision as the

Latin broadcaster transitions to Uforia,

a multiplatform strategy that includes a

relaunched mobile app, a partnership with

Napster, live events and a roster of influen-

tial on-air talent. Univision has extended

the Uforia brand to its TV programming

with a special exploring the rise of Latin

urban music. Says Lara: “We are laser-

focused on our mission of empowering,

informing and entertaining the Hispanic

community in the U.S.”

Bob Pittman

Chairman/CEO, iHeartMedia

John Sykes

President of entertainment enterprises,

iHeartMedia

Tom Poleman

Chief programming officer/president of the

national programming group, iHeartMedia

IHeartMedia emerged from Chapter 11

bankruptcy in May and went public

in July. Over the past decade, the

company changed from a single-platform

radio broadcast operator to multiple

platforms, including digital streaming,

podcasting and live events. It is now the

top commercial podcaster in the United

States (second overall only to NPR) as

measured by monthly downloads and

unique listeners, according to podcast

analytics company Podtrac. “At the same

time,” says Pittman, 67, “we continued to

grow our digital platform and are now the

No. 1 streaming radio service, with over

six times the audience of the next largest

commercial broadcaster.”

RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS

Randy Grimmett

CEO, Global Music Rights

The number of creators serviced by the

6-year-old performing rights organization

Global Music Rights rose to 82 in 2019, with

Childish Gambino and Nicki Minaj joining

GMR’s selective roster that includes Drake,

Travis Scott and Bruno Mars. In GMR’s anti-

trust suit against the 10,000-member Radio

Music License Committee, the Department

of Justice in December weighed in to reject

RMLC’s argument that GMR’s complaint

should be dismissed. (The RMLC has chal-

lenged the validity of the DOJ’s position.)

Says Grimmett: “We have one mission: to

fight for songwriters and publishers.”

Michael Huppe

President/CEO, SoundExchange

Under Huppe, 51, SoundExchange has

projected over $900 million in 2019 royalty

payouts to performers and record labels

for U.S. digital performances. The rights

organization has also been “leading the

fight” on behalf of music creators, says

Huppe, in supporting the Ask Musicians

for Music Act (AM-FM Act). Introduced in

Congress in November, the bill would give

recording rights holders the ability to de-

cide whether to allow AM/FM radio to use

their music for free or to negotiate com-

pensation for their work. It’s seen as a step

toward artists and rights holders receiving

terrestrial royalties for radio airplay.

John Josephson

Chairman/CEO, SESAC

SESAC, the third-largest performing rights

organization in the United States, con-

tinues to expand both domestically and

internationally. In 2019 it began represent-

ing songwriters including David Crosby,

Incubus’ Mike Einziger, YG and the late

GRIMMETT

HUPPE

JOSEPHSON

Labels/

Distributors

30% Management

14%

Live/

Agencies

20%

Multisector

8%

Publishing

6%

Media

5%

Legal

4%

Associations

3%

Rights

Groups

2%

Business/

Branding

2%

Digital

6%

SYKES

POLEMAN

LARA

PITTMAN

THE BILLBOARD

POWER LIST

BY SECTOR

Artist managers represent the largest

percentage increase — from 7% to

14% — among the sectors represented

on this year’s tally, including those

working with the top 10 acts on

Billboard’s year-end Top Artists chart.

While executives who work at record

labels or distributors, and those

who work in the live sector account

for half of the list (at 30% and 20%,

respectively), the next largest group

after management are the executives

classified as multisector, who work in

more than one area of an increasingly

complex business.

QUEMERAIS

HRIVNAK

126 BILLBOARD • JANUARY 25, 2020

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