Celebrity Life
Spotify’s Sub-Saharan Africa Head of Music Phiona Okumu — Future 25
“On a good day, I’m speaking to every single corner of the world, making sure that everybody understands that [Africa] is not a trend for us"
Todd Mayo, the Steadfast Venue Owner Who Steered Through Covid — Future 25
"If there's human beings on this Earth, they'll be coming to see music in the Caverns 10,000 years from now," pledges the Tennessee venue owner
Ant Taylor, the Savior of Concert Ticketing — Future 25
Buying a concert ticket — an experience filled with bots and hidden fees — can be nightmarish. Ant Taylor has a plan to wipe the entire thing and start anew
WondaGurl, a.k.a. Ebony Oshunrinde — Future 25
The young producer, who's behind hundreds of tracks for the likes of Drake and Travis Scott, is an outlier in the music industry in every way
Neil Jacobson, Head of TMAC the SPAC — Future 25
“I don't think people have realized how much the tech community has deconstructed the creation of music,” says the music salesman, who is now gearing up to acquire entire music companies
CreateSafe Founders Daouda Leonard and Jonathan Tanners — Future 25
The duo made the Record Deal Simulator, a deceptively simple, Pandora's-box-opening website that lets artists predict their leverage with record labels
Universal Music’s Branding Guru LJ Gutierrez — Future 25
“The frozen pizza industry has just skyrocketed through Covid!" muses the branding star, who orchestrates wildly inventive partnerships for everyone from Billie Eilish to Post Malone
Henderson Cole, Champion of State-Sponsored Streaming — Future 25
An entertainment attorney has put forth a bold new proposal of a government-run streaming service. The music industry — reeling from the embattled pandemic year — may just be on board
‘Color Me Country’ Host Rissi Palmer — Future 25
“I don’t want anybody to die feeling like they’re forgotten and that they don’t matter," says the Apple Music host, who spotlights overlooked artists of color in country music
IFPI Director of Litigation Melissa Morgia — Future 25
The efforts to combat the music industry's “unfortunate blight” of streaming manipulation have fallen to a woman unafraid of battle
Rapper and Entrepreneur Lil Yachty — Future 25
The rapper once crowned "King of the Teens" is now building an empire out of Twitch, Discord, and crypto
RAC, the Artist, Producer, and Creator of $RAC — Future 25
The tech-obsessed RAC went from making mixtapes out of radio broadcasts to becoming the music industry's go-to crypto expert