56
DENNIS KOOKER, 50
President of global digital business and U.S. sales, Sony Music Entertainment
JULIE SWIDLER, 59
Executive vp business affairs/general counsel, SME
Last Year’s Rank: 60
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Kooker and Swidler’s deal-making helped Sony Music Entertainment, along with Sony Music Japan and Sony/ATV — Sony Corp. does not break out SME’s performance — generate $3.4 billion in revenue for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2017, according to the company’s most recent financial results. That’s a 28.4 percent jump from the $2.8 billion taken in for the corresponding period in 2016.
DONE DEALS: In 2017, SME’s corporate team re-signed reported licensing deals with Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Amazon. On the content side, the biggest deal was extending SME’s agreement with the Michael Jackson estate. “He is our biggest catalog artist,” says Swidler.
SHE’S OVER… (Swidler) “The disrespectful nature of how people speak to each other in the Trump era.”
