Rankings were determined by a combination of key factors including market share, exclusive Billboard chart data/boxscore information, and revenue. A team of 15 top Billboard editors then analyzed the value of these metrics to produce the final results. The list is U.S. based. As well, the Power 100 puts a premium on the top decision makers at each company. So, for example, the strong position of Interscope’s Jimmy Iovine’s is an argument against a high position for the number-two at that company, Steve Berman, who still makes the list.
1. Irving Azoff
2. Coran Capshaw
3. Lucian Grainge
4. Martin Bandier
5. Doug Morris
6. Michael Rapino
7. Rob Light
8. Len Blavatnik
9. Tim Leiweke
10. Jimmy Iovine
11. Eddie Cue and Robert Kondrk
12. John Hogan
13. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter & Beyonce Knowles
Want to talk power? Less than a week after her birth, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, made history as the youngest person to appear on a Billboard chart when Jay-Z’s “Glory,” which features their newborn’s cooing (Blue is credited as B.I.C.), hit Hot R&B-Hip Hop Songs. The song marked Jay’s 107th entry on Billboard’s charts, adding just one more record to the power couple’s already record-breaking career. Separately the stats are staggering: Jay-Z holds the record for most No. 1 albums by a solo artist in Billboard history-12-and has sold more than 28 million albums in his 15-year solo career, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (A number that climbs to 33 million if you count his collaborations with Kanye West, R. Kelly and Linkin Park.)
Beyonce, who started out in Destiny’s Child before going solo in 2003, has cumulative sales of more than 29 million, according to SoundScan (17 million with Destiny’s Child; 12 million solo). She has sent all four of her solo albums to the top of the Billboard 200, and scored nine No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyonce is also a successful actress, with roles in “Austin Powers: Goldmember,” “Pink Panther” and Academy Award winner “Dreamgirls,” and an in-demand face for branding. Recent multimillion-dollar deals include L’Oreal, Coty and Target. And clothing line House of Dereon has an international presence.
Jay-Z, meanwhile, is one of the most celebrated and successful businessmen to emerge from entertainment. As a record exec he’s helped launch the careers of Kanye West, Rihanna and J. Cole. He’s served as CEO of Def Jam Records (a job he took largely because it allowed him to assume control of the masters of his earlier recordings with the label) and, in 2008, brokered a deal with Live Nation said to be worth $150 million to create Roc Nation, a management, music and entertainment company with a roster that includes Rihanna, Cole, Willow Smith and Ester Dean. His interests outside of music (Rocawear, Translation Advertising and stakes in 40/40 Club and the New Jersey Nets) have grabbed headlines and fed the bottom line. His recent collaboration with West, Watch the Throne, shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August and sold out U.S. arenas through the second half of 2011 to earn more than $20 million, according to Billboard Boxscore.
But it’s not just about what Jay-Z and Beyonce have done, but who they are: American icons and cultural inst*tutions, globally recognizable superstars who count billionaire Warren Buffett and Will Smith as family friends. And with the birth of Blue Ivy, they’ve added a new superstar on the team.
14. Lyor Cohen
15. Randy Phillips
16. Emmanuel Seuge
17. Frank Cooper
18. Barry Weiss
19. Rob Stringer and Steve Barnett
20. Arthur Fogel
21. Marc Geiger
22. Dan Mason
23. Bob Pittman
24. Roger Faxon
25. Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Baby” Williams
26. Rio Caraeff
27. U2 and Paul McGuinness
28. Julie Greenwald and Craig Kallman
29. Daniel Ek
30. Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald
A convincing case for Gottwald’s power could be made just by listing his smash hits: Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite,” Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK,” Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream” and “I Kissed a Girl.” He was named Billboard’s No. 2 Hot 100 Songwriter of the last decade, despite not having a charting song until 2004, and the seeming effortlessness of his songs belies their complexity and fanatical focus. “He’s very anal about every sound on every record,” Universal Music Group head Barry Weiss (see No. 18) told Billboard in September 2010, and Gottwald is reputedly equally obsessive and encyclopedic about chart positions. Now Gottwald plans to spread his domination even further. Late last year, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris (No. 5), who has called Gottwald the next Jimmy Iovine (No. 10), announced that Gottwald’s Kemosabe imprint will become Sony’s fourth label division in a deal that also gives Sony exclusive rights to his production work for five years. Along with his thriving publishing interests, the move puts Gottwald in a position comparable to that of Iovine 20 years ago. “A hit song is the right song, with the right artist, at the right time,” Gottwald told New York magazine in 2010. His moves in 2011 put him in a position to control all three.
31. Lewis W. d**key, Jr
32. Peter Grosslight
33. Charles Attal, Charlie Jones and Charlie Walker
34. Robert Greenblatt
35. Van Toffler
36. Monte Lipman
37. Antonio “L.A.” Reid
38. Joel Katz
39. Mark Campana and Bob Roux
40. Tim Westergren
41. Peter Edge and Tom Corson
42. Tom Poleman
43. Chip Hooper
44. Hartwig Masuch
45. Rob Cavallo and Todd Moscowitz
46. Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch
47. Nathan Hubbard
48. Jay Brown
49. Evan Lamberg
50. Jon Bon Jovi
51. Lia Vollack
52. Jan Jeffries
53. Steve Bartels
54. Scott Borchetta
55. Blaise D’Sylva
56. Neil Portnow
57. Dennis Arfa
58. Cameron Strang
59. Cortez Bryant/Gee Roberson
60. Sean Parker
61. Steve Moore
62. Paul Rosenberg
63. Tifanie Van Laar
64. Ryan Seacrest
65. Robert Kyncl
66. Lorne Michaels
67. John Butcher
68. Clint Higham
69. Randy Spendlove
70. Rich Lehrfeld
71. Peter Luukko
72. John Branca
73. Melissa Lonner
74. Raul Alarcon, Jr.
75. John Frankenheimer
76. Cary Sherman
77. Larry Marcus
78. Taylor Swift
The humble approach Taylor Swift takes to her career has led her to achieve album sales of more than 20 million worldwide, according to Big Machine Records, and to rank No. 5 on Billboard’s top-grossing tours of 2011, pulling in $97.3 million from 89 concerts, according to Billboard Boxscore. In addition, Swift owns her management company, 13 Management, with Robert Allen serving as manager. With a significant presence overseas and a huge following on her website, Facebook and Twitter, the 22-year-old singer has become a branding powerhouse. Deals include a retail partnership with Target, a multimillion-dollar ad campaign and tour sponsorship with CoverGirl, a fragrance with Elizabeth Arden and a relationship with Sony Electronics. She’s also designed her own clothing line for Walmart, appeared in ads for the National Hockey League and co-created her own doll. She was named Woman of the Year at Billboard’s 2011 Women in Music ceremony, becoming the youngest artist to receive the award. Needless to say, she’s got staying power.
79. Kevin Mayer
80. PJ Bloom
81. James L. Dolan
82. Jesus Lopez
83. Martin Karl “Max Martin” Sandberg
84. Lady Gaga
As her record 18.4 million Twitter followers can attest, Lady Gaga has turned the idea of social marketing on its head. The provocateur/innovator isn’t simply a pop artist or a brand–she is a way of life. Without Gaga’s Little Monsters, there would be no Beliebers for Justin Bieber or Barbs for Nicki Minaj. That sort of influence with fans has been entirely transformed through Gaga’s branding deals. When Virgin Mobile sponsored her tour, she worked the company into the show itself by way of a nightly phone call to a fan in the audience. As creative director for Polaroid Grey Label, her presentation at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show affirmed that she was an active participant in the creation of future products. All of which is merely a piece of the Gaga puzzle: She’s a singing, dancing, performing and producing visionary that’s reviving the pulse of dance music on the radio. She’s also a star who takes a stand and uses her notoriety for good. Her efforts on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have arguably made her pop’s fiercest advocate for LGBT concerns. And her next major project is the nonprofit Born This Way Foundation, which aims to reach youth and creating a culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment. Now that’s social standing.
85. Mike Dungan
86. Fred Wilson
87. Jon Platt
88. Willard Ahdritz
89. John Ivey and Alex Tear
90. Jody Gerson
91. Chris Tsakalakis
92. Nigel Lythgoe
93. Richard Busch
94. Debra Lee
95. David Israelite
96. Steve Berman
97. Rich Bengloff
98. Gary Overton
99. Daniel Glass
100. Simon Cowell
Wow @ Gaga being the only top40 pop artist to make it on her own. So glad my fave made the list and not just her producer(s). :)
You can read the full article + each artist description at the source!
