BACKSTAGE PASS / Digital Power Players 2017
APOLITO, BLOCK, RASO: DANIEL ROOT. SHEARER: KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES. BRODSKY: COURTESY OF SONY/ATV. CIMINO: COURTESY OF UMPG.CONYERS:JEREMY COOK. MILLER: WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC. HAYWOOD, DAVIS: COURTESY OF IHEARTMEDIA. PERRY: KEVIN MAZUR. CADY: COURTESY OF SIRIUSXM.* Declined to provide ageMelanie Martinez, A R I Z O N A, Kodak Black, A
Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Kiiara, Hayley Kiyoko,
Kehlani and Lil Uzi Vert, whose “Xo Tour Llif3” ranks
as the seventh-most-streamed track of the year,
according to Nielsen Music. “The most important
marketing meeting in our company is now our
weekly streaming meeting, run by [Atlantic
chairman/COO] Julie Greenwald,” says Sinclair,
who has been with Atlantic since 2005. “This
meeting allows us to adjust in near real time so that
we give each song the best shot that we can.”
PUBLISHINGLAUREN APOLITO*
Senior vp strategy and business development,
Harry Fox Agency/Rumblefish
STEPHEN H. BLOCK, 53
Senior vp business and legal affairs, Harry Fox
Agency/Rumblefish
JOHN RASO, 53
Senior vp client services, Harry Fox Agency/
RumblefishFor the rights-management companies Harry
Fox Agency and Rumblefish, this trio is finding
opportunities from new technologies and new
territories. “The number of licensing opportunities
provided to publishers grew 48 percent over the
previous year,” says Apolito, noting the need for
copyright deals in interactive streaming, background
music, gaming, lyrics and tablature, among other
uses. Block oversaw HFA’s expansion, in collaboration
with parent company SESAC, of its representation
of affiliated publishers for digital rights abroad. “We
now represent more than 4,800 independent music
publishers for online licensing outside the U.S.,”
says Block. Over the past 12 months, notes Raso,
HFA and Rumblefish have added more than 13,000
publishers and 8 million compositions to their
databases, making them all available for digital
use. “We are developing more efficient methods of
getting all this data to publishers,” says Raso.PETER BRODSKY, 53
Executive vp business and legal affairs, Sony/ATV
Music Publishing
“The biggest challenge of the past 12 to
18 months has been the continuing
saga of getting control of our
performing rights,” says Brodsky, who
has represented the world’s largest
music publisher since 2007. Amid a review by the U.S.
Department of Justice of the consent decree
governing performing-rights organizations ASCAP
and BMI, the DOJ unexpectedly mandated a change in
how songs are licensed and is fighting for the change
in court. “It was very clear that the DOJ didn’t
understand the issue,” says Brodsky. “They ignored
industry practices and the advice of the [U.S.]
Copyright Office.”MARC CIMINO, 45
COO, Universal Music Publishing Group
With Universal Music Publishing Group
chalking up its highest market-share
performance for the top 100 radio songs
in 10 years during the first quarter of
2017, the company’s A&R staff is clearly
doing its job. Meanwhile, Cimino and his legal team
are making sure that music streaming continues to
grow. “While everyone is focused on YouTube, Spotify,
Amazon and Apple, we also have had an extra focus
on some major companies that 12 months from now
will be licensing music,” says Cimino, who previously
held positions at Warner Bros. Records and Sony
Music. “We have been very aggressive in reaching out
to them.” While Cimino won’t reveal which
companies, Facebook and Twitter are among those
expected to soon expand their music offerings.JOE CONYERS III, 30
Vp technology, Downtown Music Publishing;
GM, Songtrust
Songtrust, a division of Downtown
Music Publishing, provides royalty
collection services for companies like
the Orchard and CD Baby, as well as
some 15,000 publishers and more
than 100,000 composers. And those writers need
not be signed to Downtown. “We help those
100,000 folks access the same kind of royalty
collection that a Downtown client gets,” says
Conyers, a resident of South Williamsburg,
Brooklyn (”the center of the universe,” he quips). A
relaunch of Songtrust earlier this year gave the
service even greater functionality for clients in more
than 50 major music markets worldwide.CLARK MILLER*
Executive vp North America/operations,
Warner/Chappell Music
In the first quarter of 2017, Warner/
Chappell had a publishing stake in 49
of the top 100 radio songs, including a
share in the top tune, Ed Sheeran’s
“Shape of You,” as tracked by the Harry
Fox Agency. That placed Warner/Chappell as the
No. 2 top pop publisher — for the eighth consecutive
quarter. (It ranked No. 1 among country publishers.)
But, as Miller explains, hits are not enough. “Looking
ahead, it’s about better identifying and compensating
owners for their work in the digital space,” says the
father of a 20-year-old drummer. “It’s about
reforming our regulatory process so that it better fits
the needs of our business and the songwriter.”RADIO
JIM CADY, 57
Executive vp products, operations and
connected vehicle, SirusXM
Howard Stern, meet Alexa. Shows by
the SiriusXM superstar can now be
accessed via Amazon’s voice-activated
assistant thanks to the work of Cady,
under whose guidance the satellite
broadcaster has connected with listeners via a
constantly expanding array of options. “We made a
conscious effort to begin to move our services” beyond
listening in cars, says Cady, a native of Portland, Ore.
Custom apps now allow SiriusXM subscribers —
more than 32 million at last count — to access all of its
content via Google Chromecast, smart TVs, Roku,
Sonos and Sony PlayStations.DARREN DAVIS, 44
President, iHeartRadio and iHeartMedia
Networks Group
Some 70 percent of consumers,
including streaming users, say radio
“is the place they initially discover
their new music,” says Davis, citing
iHeart’s research. Davis oversaw the
launch earlier this year of iHeartRadioPlus, which
allows fans to instantly replay a song heard live on
the air, and iHeartRadio All Access, which givesNO. STREAMING SONG OF THE YEAR
“Shape of
Yo u”
Ed Sheeran
785.7 million
streams in 2017
Source: Nielsen MusicSheeran performed at
the iHeartRadio Music
Awards at The Forum in
Los Angeles in March.Davis (second from right) with the members
of L a d y A n t e b e l l u m ( f r o m l e f t ) : D ave
Haywood, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley.SiriusXM’s Cady has expanded the service’s reach on
digit al d ev i c e s. I n t h e S ir iu sX M s t u d i o s , K a t y P e r r y
(second from left) greeted The Morning Mashup hosts
(from left) Nicole Ryan, Stanley T and Ryan Sampson.58 BILLBOARD | SEPTEMBER 2, 2017