24
TOM CORSON, 57
Co-chairman/COO, Warner Bros. Records
Last Year’s Rank: 22
FROM RCA TO WBR: Before jumping to Warner Bros. Records as part of the new duo that replaces departing label CEO Cameron Strang — he will be joined by Interscope’s Aaron Bay-Schuck later in 2018 — Corson logged a strong year with his previous partner, RCA Records chairman/CEO Peter Edge. Highlights included breakthroughs and Grammy nominations for Khalid and SZA, as well as Kesha’s well-received comeback. The label also saw Zayn Malik‘s collaboration with Taylor Swift, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from the film Fifty Shades Darker, hit No. 2 on the Hot 100.
HIS WARNER DRUTHERS: “Judge us in a few years,” says Corson of his new gig, where his talent for marketing hip-hop and pop is expected to help Warner Bros. Records in its move toward those genres.
NONMUSICAL ICON: “Arthur Ashe. Not only was he a great tennis player but he went to my alma mater, UCLA, and he really walked the walk — he was an advocate for civil rights and AIDS.”
