76
ADAM ALPERT, 37
CEO, Disruptor Records/Selector Songs
Last Year’s Rank: 93
SMOKING THE COMPETITION: Alpert’s management client The Chainsmokers crowned the Billboard 200 with its debut full-length LP, Memories…Do Not Open, which has since been certified platinum by the RIAA. Plus, the EDM-pop pair’s surprise collaboration with Coldplay’s Chris Martin on the hit “Something Just Like This” earned Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall their fourth Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance.
LOOKING AHEAD: The University of Pennsylvania alumnus, who cut his teeth in the industry after founding the DJ management company 4AM, cites the “Closer” hitmakers’ commitment to a theatrical, engaging live show with a full band as paramount to the success of their LP. “That was a big deal for them,” he says. “Performing the new body of work in a different way was really effective and meaningful for the fans.” For 2018, the label boss is readying new music from up-and-comers Lost Kings, new signee Gia and, yes, The Chainsmokers.
MUSIC TREND THAT SHOULD BE RETIRED: “Sixty-nine-cent downloads.”
