Innholdsfortegnelse for February 16, 2013 i Billboard Magazine

in early 2009, when he was running the international business for Doug Morris, then-CEO of Universal Music Group. Grainge isn’t a small man, and I remember my heartbeat stepping up a notch as I tried to sit impassively in the chair that I wished had been positioned a few feet further back. I had asked Lucian about a particular decision Universal had made regarding a wireless music service. “You have no idea what it’s like,” he thundered. “Every decision we make sets a precedent. It’s not easy to know the difference between those who want to help us and those who want to kill us!” It was a moment, I felt, of raw honesty, and I respected Grainge all the more for his passion. This was a person—like so many…

Lyor Cohen is on the verge of returning to the business he loves so much, following his exit in September from Warner Music Group, where he oversaw all of recorded music. The business has been a far duller place without Cohen, and many—including Atlantic Records chairman/COO Julie Greenwald (No. 19), a longtime protégée and colleague—have missed his passion during the last six months. “Under Lyor’s leadership, we had incredible success and an ability to break acts on a global basis,” Greenwald says. She gives Cohen credit for global breakouts of fun. and Ed Sheeran. He also brought chart-toppers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to WMG’s Alternative Distribution Alliance. Given that he spent much of his childhood moving between different countries, Cohen—more so than many other U.S. executives—sees the industry’s future opportunities…

When Paul McGuinness, managing director of Principle Management, believes in something, he has the ears of the fan, artist and industry communities like few others. That certainly could be said for U2, the group he took on as four Dublin rookies who are now the biggest band in the world. And the same could be said for his ongoing defense of creative content in the digital age. While managing U2 creates the platform, McGuinness’ power as a thought leader comes through his innate ability to start a dialogue surrounding complex industry issues that even fans can understand— he has the power and the pulpit. He created a stir by publicly airing his thoughts on Internet service providers and piracy at MIDEM four years ago, and he made that case in…

How powerful is Irving Azof? So powerful that last year’s Power 100 list-topper arguably got more influential when he stepped down as chairman of Live Nation. After all, at Live Nation he had a specific agenda. Now the industry’s most legendary whirling dervish can apply his unmatchable contacts file and ambition wherever he sees ft, while maintaining his top-grossing management stable that includes the Eagles, Christina Aguilera, Van Halen and Steely Dan, as well as newcomers like Cassadee Pope and Chris Mann. “It’s strange,” he says. “I’m getting a whole different class of emails now. Before, people assumed I would only advise them based on what made sense for Live Nation. Now I’m getting asked for guidance on everything.” Azof resigned his chairmanship just as Billboard’s Power 100 was being…

POWER MOVE UMG’s $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Recorded Music gave Grainge a market-share boost, and another label group to drive content, innovation and profits. 1 If “power” means moving markets or greenlighting massive spends, Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge demonstrated a staggering penchant for it when UMG completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI’s recorded-music assets in September 2012. Grainge is a fierce and tireless advocate for the recorded-music business. “If you look at the profitability pool for all of music,” he says, taking time to speak with Billboard from his suite at the Four Seasons on a recent visit to New York, “I’d think recorded music would be responsible for 60%-70% of it.” Grainge has structured Capitol Records Group, which came as part of the deal, as…

Rich Bengloff heads up the American Assn. of Independent Music, and his presence gives the organization a seat at the table for most industry discussions, including one for the SoundExchange board of directors. In the past year, A2IM was effective in tapping into governmental grant funds to help facilitate indie-label exporting. BMI is one of the two leading performance rights organizations in the United States, with annual revenue around the $900 million mark. President/CEO Del Bryant, who joined the organization in 1972, has led BMI since 2004. Jim Donio has transformed the National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers from a brick-and-mortar trade association to a business trade group. Whether discussing CDs or digital formats, NARM helps buyers and sellers of music discuss and resolve issues that help create eficiencies in the…

‘Believe’ It: Justin Bieber’s No. 1 18-year-old collects fifth No. 1 on Billboard 200 Justin Bieber achieves his fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as Believe Acoustic debuts atop the list with 211,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. With the arrival, he becomes the only artist to have notched five No. 1 albums before turning 19 years old. (He turns 19 on March 1.) He was previously tied with Miley Cyrus, who had also claimed four leaders before she turned 19. Bieber’s new album also gives him a No. 1 album for four years straight—something only nine earlier acts have done in the nearly 57-year history of the Billboard 200. Believe Acoustic performed strongly with digital retailers, as 75% of its sales were generated by downloads. That robust…

It’s a joke—but only half a joke—among executives in the music industry that any conversation you have with an artist is invariably about that artist. That intense focus is necessary for their art—it helps give them the confidence to run the risks that great creativity requires. But it doesn’t easily make for the mutuality that true friendship requires. Still, Paul Simon and I had sons the same age and we became neighbors on Central Park West. My high regard for his songwriting didn’t hurt, of course—I personally felt that as a songwriter Paul Simon was in a class with Dylan and Lennon/McCartney, and that Simon & Garfunkel were qualitatively the equivalent of the Beatles—but we shared interests outside the music business and eventually grew close. None of that made working…

Los Angeles WHAT’S YOUR Dress code? Miami WHAT’S YOUR “Meeting” meal? Nashville WHAT’S YOUR After-work ritual New York HOW MANY COCKTAILS ARE APPROPRIATE AT A Work event? “I wear jeans, a sweater and sneakers.” —Marcus Grant, talent manager at the Collective BEACH-Y “Never a suit unless it’s a ceremony,” says Jesus Lopez, chairman of Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula. Afo Verde, chairman/CEO of the Latin region, Spain and Portugal for Sony Music Entertainment, says, “If you’re dressed, you’re meeting the code.” CASUAL CHIC Mary Ann McCready, president of management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, prefers jeans, but dresses up with Chanel or Gucci blazers when she has outside meetings. For men, the look is way more casual. “I wear golf shirts and jeans,” Sony Nashville head of…

LEGEND Bullets indicate titles with greatest weekly gains. Album Charts ● Recording industry assn. of america (riaa) certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 500,000 albums (gold). ▴ RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 1 million units (platinum). numeral noted with platinum symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. ◆ RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 10 million units (diamond). numeral noted with diamond symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. ○ Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 50,000 units (oro). △ Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 100,000 units (platino). numeral noted with platinum symbol indicates album’s multi-platinum level. Digital Songs Charts ● RIAA certification for 500,000 paid downloads (gold). ▴ RIAA certification for 1 million paid downloads…