Universal Music Group’s Chairman & CEO Becomes the First Executive to Hold the Magazine’s Top Rank a Record Four Times

SANTA MONICA, February 7, 2019 — Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group’s Chairman and CEO, has been named No. 1 on Billboard’s 2019 Power 100 list of the most influential executives in the industry.

With this year’s top rank, Grainge leads the magazine’s annual list for a record fourth time. He also appeared at No. 1 on the Billboard Power 100 in 2013, 2015 and 2016, the only executive to appear at No. 1 more than once and in consecutive years.

In presenting the honor to Grainge, Billboard wrote that UMG had the most successful year in the history of the modern music industry.

“This honor is a testament to the hard work and passion of my colleagues and the amazing entrepreneurs who work within the Universal Music family, many of whom are individually recognized on this year’s list,” Grainge said. “Together, we have built a company with creativity and an unwavering commitment to artists at its core.”

Additional Universal Music executives selected by Billboard include Executive Vice President Michele Anthony, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and President of Operations Boyd Muir, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs Jeffrey Harleston, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy Michael Nash, Universal Music Publishing Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson, Executive Vice President of Creative Dave Rocco and Celine Joshua, General Manager of Commercial, Content & Artist Strategy.

Billboard recognized many of UMG’s label heads and partners including Republic Records Co-Founder and Chairman Monte Lipman, Republic Records Co-Founder and President Avery Lipman, Capitol Music Group Chairman and CEO Steve Barnett, Interscope Geffen A&M Records Chairman and CEO John Janick, Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman and CEO Mike Dungan, Def Jam Recordings Chairman and CEO Paul Rosenberg, Island Records President Darcus Beese, and Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula Chairman and CEO Jesús López. At Roc Nation, Billboard recognized founder Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, CEO Jay Brown and Chief Operating Officer Desiree Perez, as well as Quality Control CEO Pierre “P” Thomas and Chief Operating Officer Kevin “Coach K” Lee. The list includes Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Cash Money Records, Top Dawg Entertainment Founder and CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, as well as Big Machine Label Group Founder, President and CEO Scott Borchetta. At Concord Music Group, Billboard honored CEO Scott Pascucci, Chief Label Executive Tom Whalley and Chief Publishing Executive Jake Wisely.

At Capitol Records, Billboard additionally recognized President Ashley Newton, Chief Operating Officer Michelle Jubelirer, Ethiopia Habtemariam, President of Motown Records, and Jacqueline Saturn, President of Caroline and Harvest Records. Interscope’s Vice Chairman Steve Berman and Executive Vice President Joie Manda, as well as Island’s Chief Operating officer Eric Wong were recognized, along with Cindy Mabe, President of Universal Music Group Nashville, and Marc Cimino, Chief Operating Officer of Universal Music Publishing Group.

In 2018, Universal Music Group built on its track record of being the most successful company in the music industry. In the U.S., Taylor Swift’s reputation was the No. 1 album and Drake’s “God’s Plan” was the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Year-End Charts. In addition, Universal Music represented the top three albums, six of the Top 10 songs, six of the Top 10 albums and three of the top five artists, including Drake, Post Malone and Taylor Swift.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries. Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company. Find out more at: http://www.universalmusic.com.