04

Thomas Coesfeld

THE LEADERBOARD // NO. 25

CEO

Dominique Casimir Chief content officer Thomas Scherer President of repertoire and marketing, New York and Los Angeles

BMG

Jon Loba

President

BMG NASHVILLE

While BMG had breakthroughs in multiple genres this year, some of its biggest front-line wins came in the country genre with acts like Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Parmalee and Lainey Wilson all taking projects to the top of the charts. Wilson also aced the awards shows, emerging as the top winner at the Academy of Country Music Awards with four trophies, including best female artist, and receiving the coveted entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards, one year after winning new artist of the year. Despite the music company’s successes, Loba says BMG executives who work in all genres are frustrated by how hard it is to break new artists. “The industry has gone from true artist development, to pursuing artists with organic streaming consumption to chasing the newest social media star — with very mixed results,” he says. “I truly hope we will see a return to true artist development, which includes grassroots touring and building a brand and connection to audiences instead of chasing and investing in a one-hit or one-moment wonder.”