The way we see it, 2026 is going to be a monumental battle with AI for the music industry’s soul.
As it seemingly seeps into every nook and cranny of the business, its use is controversial, to put it mildly. Some see it as a force for good, others see it as pure evil. And understandably, as you’ve no doubt heard about The Velvet Sundown, a fictitious, completely AI-generated band that racked up over a million streams on Spotify last year, raising concerns about lack of AI regulation, and the livelihoods of human musicians. To say nothing of some people’s tastes.
AI will loom large in the industry, like Vecna himself in the last season of Stranger Things. However, for our second annual “Most Influential People in Music” list, you’ll notice that AI’s presence is modest. That’s because we wanted to focus on the actual humans behind the music you love — people such as a prominent lawyer helping deliver justice for, and exposure to, artists in Africa’s booming music scene. Or the multi-Grammy-nominated producer who helped define hip hop for the last 30 years. Or the history-making chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest music publishers.
For our three AI-related entries, we feature one founder who is responsible for one of the fastest-selling AI consumer products of all time, and two executives who are helping humans and the technology peacefully coexist, and (gasp!) even thrive together in perfect harmony.
26. Sara Landry
DJ and CEO, Hekate Records
California-born, Netherlands-based DJ and producer Sara Landry cemented her place in the hard techno scene in 2025. She made her Ibiza debut, appeared at Electric Daisy Carnival, played a marathon 8-hour set at Club Space in Miami, had her biggest headlining shows to date with her Eternalism tour, and was voted the world’s No. 1 Hard DJ in the annual DJ Mag poll in October. Throughout the year, her label Hekate Records cranked out new music from Victor Krum, Sopik, Cassie Raptor, and Sikoti, in addition to her own “Girlboss” single and Alt8 collaboration “Havana Bounce.” Even when her sold-out show to reopen the Brooklyn Mirage was abruptly canceled in May when the venue failed city inspection, Landry made lemonade out of the situation, putting together four last-minute free shows in New York to make it up to her fans.
25. Akinyemi Ayinoluwa
Founder and Managing Partner, Hightower Solicitors & Advocates
Over the last 15 years, the African music industry has been particularly booming, and it’s being noticed globally for its blend of traditional sounds and modern genres such as Afrobeats and Amapiano. For more than a decade, prominent music lawyer and former musician Akinyemi Ayinoluwa has represented some of the leading Afrobeat musicians in the world, including Magicsticks, Ragee, Blaq Jerzee, Kukbeatz, Masterkraft, and others, as the founder and managing partner of Lagos, Nigeria-based Hightower Solicitors & Advocates. His background as a musician gives him a unique perspective to help his clients in ways other lawyers can’t.
24. Mikey Shulman
Co-founder and CEO, Suno
Earlier this year, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman found himself in a flurry of controversy when he claimed “It’s not really enjoyable to make music now” on the 20VC podcast. He claimed it takes too long to learn an instrument. That’s why he created Suno. With only a few text prompts, the AI platform can generate full songs with vocals and instrumentation, making it one of the fastest-selling AI consumer products of all time. While many in the industry praise it as a production tool, others condemn it, fearing it will render human musicians obsolete. Suno has also been sued multiple times by UMG, Sony, and other major labels for using copyrighted music without permission. Despite all of this, it gained immense popularity, with almost 100 million users since its release in 2023.
23. Elizabeth Matthews
President and CEO, ASCAP
As streaming has upended not just how music is consumed but how royalties are generated for songwriters, the existence of a century-old organization like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is more important than ever. And Elizabeth Matthews, CEO since 2015, has remained an indefatigable advocate for copyright protections and royalty monetization, championing legislation like the Music Modernization Act of 2017 and advocating for fair use guardrails as generative AI begins to impact the music industry. As a board member with the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board, and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, she works to preserve songwriters’ livelihoods at the highest levels of business and government.
22. Ashley Capps
Founder, Executive and Artistic Director, Big Ears Festival
As the founder of Knoxville-based festival and live event production company AC Entertainment, Ashley Capps is known mainly for co-founding the Bonnaroo, Forecastle, and Sloss festivals. Since he left AC Entertainment in 2021, he’s been solely focused on growing Big Ears, the music festival he started in 2009. Before COVID, the four-day event saw annual attendance growth of 15 to 25%. After taking a two-year hiatus and returning in 2022, however, the festival experienced record attendance, and in 2023, it surged by 48%. For 2026, Big Ears has partnered with Bandcamp and will host Robert Plant, Thurston Moore, The Avett Brothers and Mike Patton, among many others, making it one of the premier live events in the U.S.
21. Tina Davis
President, Empire
Empire, founded in 2010, is an independent distributor that allows musicians to control their own careers and still compete with major labels for chart placements and awards. Tina Davis is an industry veteran who’s worked for Def Jam and managed Chris Brown. She joined Empire and was named president in 2023. Since then, the company has become a force in genres like Afrobeats and K-pop. Hit-Boy, Jay Worthy, and 2 Chainz released acclaimed projects through Empire this year, while Shaboozey’s chart-topper “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was up for several Grammys and was certified Diamond.
20. Don Pitts
Founder, Sound Music Cities
Known as “The Sound Whisperer,” Don Pitts spent 30 years in the music and entertainment industry, managing bands and venues, working for Gibson Guitar, and co-founding the North American Music Cities Summit. He was also the head of Austin’s Economic Department’s Music and Entertainment Division, where he reduced sound complaints by more than 70%. Then he launched Sound Music Cities in 2017 to help emerging and established music and entertainment cities find solutions to sound issues and grow their music economies. Sound Music Cities works with cities such as Charlotte, Baton Rouge, and Chattanooga to balance the needs of venues, residents and city staff, to strengthen local music ecosystems.
19. Golnar Khosrowshahi
Founder and CEO, Reservoir Media
Golnar Khosrowshahi is the rare music industry executive who brings a true musician’s ear to her work. A classically trained pianist who studied at prestigious academies in London and Toronto, Khosrowshahi founded Reservoir Media as a publishing company in 2007, eventually acquiring the catalogs of once-powerful labels like TVT Records and Tommy Boy. Film scores and the works of jazz legends like Billy Strayhorn and Hoagy Carmichael have long been Reservoir Media’s bread and butter, but the New York-based company, twice named Music Week’s Independent Publisher of the Year, grabbed headlines in September when it acquired the publishing catalog of Miles Davis.
18. Mag Rodriguez
Founder, Even
With so much of the business moving from a retail model to digital streaming in recent years, it’s become harder for artists to put a price on their work. With a decade of experience in engineering, artist development, and incubator programs, Milwaukee native Enrique “Mag” Rodriguez developed Even as a platform where artists can sell music and merchandise, giving them control over pricing, and restoring the endangered concept that music has a value that’s worth paying for. But Even is also a platform for musicians and fans to build a community together and make themselves more accessible to each other outside of social media, creating a first-class experience for all.
17. Kevin and Ryan Sellors
Founders, Soapbox
Georgia siblings Kevin and Ryan Sellors are reinventing the concept of virtual concerts with Soapbox, using dozens of 4K cameras in their Atlanta studio to capture immersive performances from stars like T-Pain, Buddy Guy, and Yelawolf. The Sellors have developed a completely new way to watch live music online, featuring life-sized visuals and high-fidelity recordings that can be purchased as individual song performances or as full concerts. Users can explore the performance space and change camera angles throughout. In 2025, Soapbox launched the Soapbox app for iOS and Android, expanding its potential audience from Meta Quest headset owners to anyone with a smartphone.
16. Butch Walker
Producer
After flirting with MTV-level fame in the ’90s, with his metal band SouthGang getting a video on Headbanger’s Ball and his power pop trio Marvelous 3 on 120 Minutes, Butch Walker found his niche in the 21st century as a cult solo artist and a producer and songwriter for major stars like Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, Weezer, and Pink. These days, Walker is producing Billboard-ready records in a barn outside Nashville, touring with Train as the band’s new lead guitarist, and playing occasional reunion gigs with Marvelous 3. His forthcoming productions include new albums from Courtney Love, Nikki Lane, and The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon.
15. Jonathan Daniel
Co-founder and talent manager, Crush Management
Ex-Electric Angels bassist Jonathan Daniel co-founded Crush Management in 2002 with another former musician, Bob McLynn of the Step Kings, managing Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco at the height of emo’s platinum crossover era. After rebranding as Crush Music, the company has diversified, with an investment arm and a label imprint under Warner Bros., and manages pop superstars like Miley Cyrus and Sia, and veterans like the B-52’s and Rick Springfield. With offices in New York and Los Angeles and a roster of clients that includes several hitmaking producers, Crush Music offers A&R and marketing resources that help artists guide their own careers and rely less on labels.
14. Alexandra Baker
Publicist and founder, High Rise PR
British publicist Alexandra Baker began her career in New York City in 2001. The smartest decision Baker has made since then was to take on a 14-year-old client named Billie Eilish, helping her navigate worldwide fame in a way that’s very different from any teen pop star before her. Founding High Rise PR and working with the likes of Clairo, M.I.A., and Tove Lo, Alexandra has demonstrated a gift for guiding fiercely original and opinionated women through show business.
13. Aric Steinberg
Executive Director, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
Since its founding by Victoria Williams, who was the beneficiary of a 1993 benefit album following her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Sweet Relief has become a powerful grassroots organization for addressing the music industry’s failure to provide healthcare for musicians. In the nonprofit’s busy 30th anniversary year last year, Aric Steinberg oversaw a host of projects, including a benefit honoring Joan Baez, raising funds for late New York Dolls frontman David Johansen’s cancer treatment, an auction of Steve Perry’s personal music archives for Altadena fire victims, and selling signed items from R.E.M. and Teddy Swims for a mental health fund.
12. Glen J. Walker
Chief Data Officer, Luminate
Ever wonder how Billboard gets its data on the songs and albums that make it to its charts? Luminate is the answer. They track data for film, TV, and music, and are the go-to source for the entertainment industry. Under Glen J. Walker’s leadership, Luminate has developed next-generation analytics platforms and is harnessing the power of AI to generate fast, efficient insights.
11. The Intern
TikTok/ByteDance
TikTok is the undisputed champion when it comes to how young people discover music now. The app has made stars out of Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and countless others who go viral. While ultimately who becomes TikTok famous is up to the users, it can be said that the platform’s interns weild a lot of power. Since most are Gen Z, the primary demographic of the app, they provide management with insights into what’s hot.
Internships are primarily divided into three paths: Undergrad/Masters, MBA, and PhD. So, no slouches then. No matter which department they work for — software engineering, product management, research, or operations & marketing — the workload is intense, but often leads to a job within ByteDance, the parent company.
10. Ilan Elkayam
Co-founder, ROVR
In a business climate where everyone seems to be trying to create the perfect algorithm, ROVR — Radio Reinvented — is heading in the opposite direction under the leadership of co-founder Ilan Elkayam. With an around-the-clock schedule of music curated by a roster of expert selectors from around the world, the ROVR app offers an “anti-algorithm” approach to music discovery, emphasizing storytelling and individual taste. While countless internet radio stations offer cold, faceless feeds of sequenced music, Elkayam — whose career in nightlife and event promotions goes back three decades — has imbued ROVR with a modern update of the personal feel of old-school terrestrial radio.
9. Mark Ethier
Executive Director, Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL), Berklee College of Music
Believe it or not, AI can be used for good. That’s the mission of Mark Ethier, the executive director of the Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL). Appointed in late 2025, Ethier is leading the new innovation lab focused on the convergence of music creation and technology (AI, machine learning, interactive experience design) with an “artist-first” approach. After graduating from MIT in 2001 with degrees in music and computer science, Mark Ethier co-founded iZotope, a leading audio technology company that creates AI-powered software plugins and tools for music production and audio repair. Now, as head of BEATL, he’ll provide students with tools that advocate for human creativity rather than replace it, and that’s a very good thing.
8. Rich Best
Global Tour Promoter, Live Nation
Rich Best wanted to be a rock star. But, according to him, he failed miserably at it. He discovered he was much better at the business side and joined Live Nation in 2001. He focuses on large-scale international tours, festivals such as Ohana, and charity efforts like Crew Nation (COVID-19 relief). He’s been nominated multiple times as Talent Buyer of the Year and Independent Concert Promoter of the Year by Pollstar. Whether you love or hate Live Nation, one thing we can all agree on is that Rich brings us the musicians we want to see live. He’s a rock star at that.
7. Jonathan Kanter
Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division
When Live Nation and the top ticketing company Ticketmaster reached an agreement to merge in 2010, the United States Department of Justice conditionally approved the merger, requiring a consent decree from the corporate behemoth to refrain from anti-competitive behavior. In May 2024, Jonathan Kanter of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, along with 40 states and the District of Columbia, filed a bombshell lawsuit alleging that Live Nation Entertainment has a monopoly on the concert business, with the massive controversies over ticketing issues for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour helping instigate the legal fight. Depending on how the suit proceeds in the coming months, Kanter could prove to be the most consequential figure in the music industry in 2026, despite not actually working in it.
6. Kevin Lyman
Founder, Vans Warped Tour
The Vans Warped Tour celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025 after a six-year hiatus, selling more than 180,000 tickets across its three U.S. city tour. And that’s thanks to Kevin Lyman, the founder and operator of the Kevin Lyman Group, who started the festival in 1995. As the longest-running touring music festival in North America, the Vans Warped Tour has helped launch the careers of Blink-182, Sum 41, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and the Black Eyed Peas. Lyman has also produced other major festivals, including Rockstar Mayhem, Taste of Chaos, and Country Throwdown. Lyman founded Unite the United Foundation, which has raised more than $1 million to support grassroots, community-focused non-profits, and the 320 Festival with Talinda Bennington, an online event that raises mental health awareness.
5. Kevin Lewandowski
Founder and CEO, Discogs
Vinyl enthusiast Kevin Lewandowski began Discogs as a small hobby project while working as a programmer at Intel in 2000. Originally meant to be a database for electronic music, Lewandowski expanded his goal to catalog “every single piece of physical music ever created” and, in 2005, introduced the marketplace, where anyone can buy tapes, CDs, and records. Discogs now boasts more than 18 million user-submitted album listings in all genres, including commercial releases, promos, and bootlegs. In 2025, Discogs announced the launch of Dis/Connect, a global day to unplug from all things digital and online and reconnect with the joy of listening to music on physical media.
4. James Dolan
Owner, Sphere
When you think of Las Vegas, casinos like the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace probably come to mind. But thanks to James Dolan, you very likely picture Sphere, the massive, spherically-shaped building that’s helped light up Vegas’ skyline since 2023. If you’ve never experienced Sphere, you’re missing out. It’s touted as the next generation of entertainment venues, featuring a huge, wraparound 16,000 square foot LED screen, advanced audio, and 4D effects, with a seating capacity of almost 20,000 people. Seeing a show at Sphere is like a VR game come to life, a multisensory experience with the highest quality audio and visuals. Dolan is opening more Spheres in the near future.
3. Seth England
Partner and CEO, Big Loud
Nashville-based Big Loud has been making a lot of noise in the country music space for years. The record label, music publishing, and talent management company was founded in 2013 by Craig Wiseman, Joey Moi, and Seth England. It touts 28 No. 1 U.S. country airplay hits, 47 No. 1 country hits across international territories, more than 100 Recording Industry Association of America-certified titles, and 47 billion global streams, and has helped make stars out of Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, and Hardy. England has expanded Big Loud to include independent ventures under its label and publishing subsidiaries such as Songs & Daughters, Big Loud Rock, Big Loud Texas, Severance Records, Back Blocks Music, Hardy’s Hixtape, and Ern’s Cadillac Music.
2. Mike Dean
Grammy-winning producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist
Over his more than 30-year career, Mike Dean, known for his synth-heavy production sound, has worked with 2Pac, Beyoncé, Madonna, Selena Gomez, and Lana Del Rey, among so many others. He’s been nominated for 19 Grammy Awards, winning seven. He’s the go-to producer in the hip-hop music community. Mike has teased more new projects in 2026, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store.
1. Jody Gerson
Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group
When Jody Gerson joined Universal Music Publishing Group in 2015, she became the company’s first female chair and CEO. She’s one of, if not the most powerful executives in the music industry, overseeing global operations and new signings. Under her leadership, she acquired the music catalogs of Sting, Neil Diamond, and Bob Dylan, and positioned the company as a global powerhouse, signing, developing, and extending deals to Adele, Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish, and Bad Bunny. Jody co-founded the global nonprofit She Is The Music, which seeks to increase the number of women working in the music industry. If that’s not enough, she jointly oversees PolyGram Entertainment, the film and TV development division of Universal Music Group, where she produces films and music documentaries and HBO’s Music Box series. Busy lady.
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