2022 Power List

Sir Lucian Grainge is at the top of 2022 Billboard Power List, two years after he was named Billboard’s executive of the last decade. But this year, there’s a very different reason for his No. 1 ranking: his leadership of Universal Music Group’s historic debut as a public company. It wasn’t just the largest direct listing in the history of the music industry, but one that has helped lift the boats of many music companies — including those of Grainge’s fiercest rivals. The UMG chairman/CEO is one of nine honorees from the company this year, with the other eight also listed below. Sir Lucian GraingeChairman/CEO, Universal Music GroupBoyd MuirExecutive vp/CFO/president of operations, Universal Music GroupMichele AnthonyExecutive vp, Universal Music GroupJeff HarlestonGeneral counsel/executive...

Money changes everything. Over the past year new types of investors poured record sums into music, reshaping the power dynamics of the business. So Billboard decided to take a closer look at how the industry’s most powerful executives stack up now. On the list that follows, we rank the top 25 and present the rest in alphabetical order by sector. The sands have certainly shifted since we made our last power list. Sure, Sir Lucian Grainge is still at the top of the heap, two years after we named him our executive of the last decade. But this year, there’s a very different reason for his No. 1 ranking: his leadership of Universal Music Group’s historic debut as a public company. It wasn’t just the largest direct listing in the history of the music industry, but one that has helped l...