22
STEVE BARNETT, 65
Chairman/CEO, Capitol Music Group
MICHELLE JUBELIRER
COO, Capitol Music Group
ASHLEY NEWTON
President, Capitol Music Group
Last Year’s Rank: 20
HANDFUL OF HITS: Five No. 1 Billboard 200 albums defined Capitol’s 2017: Halsey‘s hopeless fountain kingdom, Katy Perry‘s Witness, Niall Horan‘s Flicker, Sam Smith‘s The Thrill of It All and Perception, by Capitol Christian Music Group’s rap sensation NF, which Jubelirer cites as “critically important in carrying on the legacy of Bill Hearn,” the Capitol CEO who died in December. NF (real name: Nate Feuerstein) hit No. 1 in October and scored the best sales numbers of his career.
RAP RENEWAL: Key to Capitol’s 6.25 percent total market share is “our long overdue and now profound engagement in urban music,” says Newton. Its partnership with Atlanta’s Quality Control bore fruit with Migos and Lil Yachty.
