It was the year that a Disney soundtrack and a country-superstar-turned-pop-star battled for sales dominance. It was a year in which the transition from purchased product to streaming moved to the forefront.
It was a year in which Monte Lipman’s Republic sold the most product, while Columbia, under the tutelage of Rob Stringer, carried forward the banner of label greatness, and former Columbia exec Steve Barnett revitalized and supercharged the formerly dormant Capitol Music Group.
Yet to this longtime observer of how music breaks, this year was dominated by a changed attitude from the broadcasting sector, as Bob Pittman’s name change from Clear Channel to iHeartMedia was accompanied by a strategy change from promotion adversary to promotion partner—with the finely calculated finesse of Tom Poleman leading the relationship switch.
This was followed by a change from Cumulus, which for the past decade—under the programming of Jan Jeffries—was the tightest, most difficult and usually last company to support proven hit records.
Credit this savvy transition to Cumulus owner John Dickey, who removed both Jeffries and the adversarial posture, helping this year to create a Cumulus that supports new music and is a partner to the efforts of promotion people.
Finally, with iHeart and Cumulus now forcefully moving into the business of breaking records, CBS Radio, which is not centralized, has, under the leadership of Michael Martin and Kevin Weatherly, made a concerted effort to join the party.
Hence, the relationship between the top levels of the major broadcasting companies and the top levels of record company marketing and promotion executives has heralded a new era of cooperation—one where breaking records at radio far outweighs the ability of any other sector of the marketing mix.
As we move forward in 2015, the promotion man is again king, and the labels seem to be stabilized in this important area. The two labels most in need of promotion infusions, Warner Bros. and Epic, received them as team Peter Gray and team Todd Glassman became major factors in breaking the new artists necessary to revitalize their labels.
We will also be closely watching the following stories:
1. THE GRAMMYS: With wonderful surprises from Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Beck, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Pentatonix and more, the awards could still easily become an Amy Winehouse-esque sweep year for Smith.
2. DAVID MASSEY: Entering his first full year heading the standalone Island label, will he continue the music-first momentum generated this year? How big can his little engine get?
3. JOEL KLAIMAN: His move from top-of-the-line promotion head at Republic to head of all marketing efforts at Columbia has been seamless. Following his career growth continues to be fascinating; now his entire skill set will be tested with the New Year’s biggest artist release.
4. JODY GERSON: Her lifetime of publishing excellence has resulted in her becoming head of UMPG’s worldwide efforts. She officially assumes her post in January, and we expect a major cultural change for the giant pubco under her leadership.
5. JOHN JANICK: January begins his first full calendar year without Jimmy Iovine present. Will Interscope’s chief continue to hit home runs? We’re betting he will.
