Allison Kaye, 38
PRESIDENT, SB PROJECTS;
PARTNER, ITHACA HOLDINGS
In what has been a milestone year for SB
Projects — with parent company Ithaca
Holdings acquiring Big Machine Label Group
in June for over $300 million — Kaye has led
the day-to-day management of SB’s roster and
the development of its TV, film and lifestyle
properties. SB client Ariana Grande “has given
pop artists the ability to finally do things their
way,” says Kaye of the star who released two
albums in six months (Sweetener in August
2018 and Thank U, Next in February 2019). Also
in February, Grande became the first solo artist
to occupy the top three spots on the Billboard
Hot 100 (with “7 Rings,” “Break Up With Your
Girlfriend, I’m Bored” and “Thank U, Next”), and
she’s posting the biggest numbers of her career
with her ongoing Sweetener world tour — by
the close of its North American leg in July, she
had earned $78.8 million. Kaye is used to a
demanding schedule; in 2017 she guided the
creation of the One Love Manchester and Hand
in Hand benefit concerts in 14 days apiece.
That amount of time is also “what I consider
crunchtime with starting a tour or releasing a
new project,” she says. “My work life seems to
exist in chaotic two-week stretches.”
MOST PRESSING ISSUE “Fan engagement and
retention. Everyone is releasing so much
content. The challenge is getting people to
invest in the artist and not just one song.”
Kaye photographed July 10, 2018, at
A SB Projects in Santa Monica, Calif.
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.PHOTOGRAPHED BY PETER BOHLER