43
ROBERT KYNCL, 47
Chief business officer, YouTube
LYOR COHEN, 58
Global head of music, YouTube
Last Year’s Rank: 30
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE YEAR: Harnessed Latin music’s explosion with over 4.7 billion views of Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee‘s “Despacito,” the site’s most-watched video of all time. Closed licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MUSIC: There’s no better example of the video-streaming behemoth’s global muscle than “Despacito,” which became an international smash when its music video went viral on YouTube and the track became the year’s most-streamed song (1.3 billion). “You witnessed the power of our platform,” says Cohen. That power has been a touchy subject — critics argue YouTube’s ad-supported model doesn’t properly compensate rights holders. But as the Google-owned company prepared to launch its own paid-subscription service for 2018, it negotiated new deals with all three major-label groups.
NONMUSICAL ICON: (Cohen) “[Israel’s fourth prime minister] Golda Meir. She was a badass.”
