Irving Azoff

Azoff’s unparalleled grasp of the concert business made him promoters’ worst nightmare: a manager who knew their business as well as they did. Questioning every industry assumption, Azoff moved beyond negotiating for a cut of ticket sales into merchandise — and eventually had artists like the Eagles dictating financial terms for stadium shows. Azoff’s Frontline Management supplanted Geffen-Roberts as the premier rock company, and he has managed dozens of arena headliners including Gwen Stefani, Jimmy Buffett, Stevie Nicks, Steely Dan, Van Halen, Journey, Jon Bon Jovi and Neil Diamond; his son, Jeffrey Azoff, manages Harry Styles. He also ran MCA Records, Giant Records, Ticketmaster and Live Nation and, in 2013, started the collecting society Global Music Rights. “I want my legacy,” Azoff says, “to be that no one did more for artists’ rights.”