Peter Edge and Tom Corson
CEO; President/COO
RCA Records
POWER MOVE: A rebranding year packed with superstar releases (P!nk, Alicia Keys) and breakthroughs (Miguel). Up next: Timberlake!
THE RUNDOWN: This time last year, Peter Edge and Tom Corson were opening the doors on a rebranded RCA Records and a combined roster of artists from the Jive, J and Arista imprints. During the course of 2012, the two executives guided a slate stacked with superstar releases (Chris Brown, P!nk, Alicia Keys, Pitbull, Kelly Clarkson, Usher), Grammy Award-nominated breakthroughs (Miguel) and buzzworthy newcomers (Walk the Moon).
Now they’re ringing in 2013 with a one-two punch. Hip-hop wunderkind A$AP Rocky debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while Justin Timberlake rocketed out of a seven-year hiatus with a No. 14 bow on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart with “Suit & Tie.” Up ahead: Timberlake’s new album (The 20/20 Experience, March 19), the reinvention of Miley Cyrus (“She will surprise people,” Edge says) and phenom Mikky Ekko.
Aiming to boost RCA’s 2012 6.4% market share beyond 2011’s 6.6%, Edge says that “merging labels and different cultures took a minute, but we’re building a whole new music company that’s breaking down the barriers. Breaking the rules to create something and then winning is just about the best feeling.” A powerful feeling? “Power is a funny word,” Corson says. “But it boils down to great artists, great relationships, a great team and keeping everything as open and transparent as possible. Do that, and chances are you’ll end up with power.”
