Back in May 2024, when then-Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the U.S. Department of Justice had filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, he didn’t exactly mince words: “It is time to break it up.” 

And now two years later, after a coalition of states decisively won that case, they’re asking the judge for exactly what Garland promised: A court order forcing Live Nation to sell Ticketmaster. They say it’s the only way to end the company’s harmful monopoly over live music. 

But such a ruling would be extraordinary, in the truest sense of the word. Breakup orders (known as “structural remedies” in antitrust law parlance) on the scale of Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been granted only a few times over the last century. Experts tell Billboard they can be effective, but that judges view them as a drastic, last-ditch option. 

“There’s often been anxiety on the part of judges about restructuring industries,” says William E. Kovacic, a law professor at George Washington University and a former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. “The power is there. Judges have the capacity to put a bold structural remedy in place. But they’re looking for assurances that it’s going to do more good than harm.” 

A federal judge famously ordered John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil be broken up into dozens of companies in 1911 — a landmark ruling of the trustbusting era that eventually spawned today’s oil giants ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. Then in 1982, AT&T agreed to a settlement in a federal antitrust case that saw the massive national telephone monopoly broken up into “Baby Bells” across different regions of the country. 

Microsoft almost got broken up. After a judge ruled it had violated antitrust law by crushing competition for computer software, he ordered the tech giant split in two — with one firm to own Windows, the other owning apps like Word and Internet Explorer. But that ruling was overturned on appeal a year later, and Microsoft later signed a settlement that restricted its conduct instead of carving it up. 

Courts are wary of breakup orders for a few reasons. Federal district judges are single individuals, with the power to decide only specific disputes based on facts that are presented to them. They lack the broad investigative powers and administrative resources available to legislators and executive agencies to tackle complex policy problems.  

And breaking up a modern company is certainly complex. It’s hard for a judge to figure out how to cleanly split up units that have long been intertwined, or divide intangible assets like shared data and intellectual property. It’s harder yet for them to know with any kind of certainty that doing so will yield the pro-competitive economic effects that are the goal of antitrust law. 

Though a judge ruled in 2024 that Google had illegally monopolized the market for online search, he later flatly refused demands to break the company up. In doing so, he offered a candid glimpse into how judges view such scenarios: “The court is asked to gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future. Not exactly a judge’s forte.” 

More common than breakups are “behavioral remedies,” which allow a monopolist to remain whole but require it to abide by rules aimed at restoring fair competition. In Live Nation’s case, they would likely include restrictions on forcing venues to exclusively use Ticketmaster, and a ban on retaliating against those that use rival ticketing services, as well as compliance and monitoring provisions.

Such restrictions are seen as a far less severe option than permanently splitting a company in half, and legal precedents say judges should only consider breakups if those more measured injunctions won’t restore competition. Behavioral remedies are what came from the Microsoft and Google cases, and they’re what Live Nation agreed to when it signed a surprise settlement with the DOJ in March. 

A coalition of state attorneys general said those terms were too weak and pushed ahead with the case with the explicit goal of seeking a breakup, resulting in last month’s verdict. But Live Nation says that option is not even legally on the table. 

“The jury verdict in this case cannot support a request for divesting Ticketmaster from Live Nation,” the company’s executive vp of corporate & regulatory affairs, Dan Wall, said last week. “The states’ request for a breakup is performative and political.” 

That claim is supported by the weight of history. But experts say Live Nation’s own history could still change the calculus. Unlike earlier cases involving companies that grew naturally into behemoths, Live Nation and Ticketmaster were separate firms for many years, and were only combined in 2010 via merger. The states will likely argue that this makes it far easier for the judge to split them back up. 

“I think that will be a decided plus factor for the states,” says Kovacic. “These were discrete business operations that were self-contained. That’s different from an enterprise that grew organically where the assets in question are deeply intertwined.” 

That argument goes both ways, of course. Just 16 years ago, Live Nation got the explicit blessing of federal regulators to buy Ticketmaster after an extensive investigation into the deal and the economic impact it would have. Shouldn’t that count for something? But critics say that’s actually just more evidence that a breakup is the only option left. 

The feds only approved the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger after the company signed a consent decree — binding restrictions designed to allay fears that the newly-created company would hurt competition. In the years after, Live Nation was found to have repeatedly violated those terms, so much so that the DOJ extended the decree for another five years in 2019. And now, of course, a jury has found that the company operated as an illegal monopoly anyway. 

If the judge must consider whether more limited behavioral remedies will fix the problem before he even considers structural remedies, the states could very well argue that such regulatory restrictions have already been tried — and that they clearly didn’t work. 

“They had these conditions in the consent decree, and Live Nation violated them anyway,” says Matthew L. Cantor, a veteran antitrust litigator who represented StubHub in a 2015 lawsuit against Ticketmaster. “They tried that. Been there, done that. So what’s on the table now? Divestiture is on the table.” 

Following April’s verdict, Live Nation and the states will now spend months arguing over the appropriate remedies the company should face. The judge has said a ruling on these issues likely won’t happen until at least early next year.  

If he follows the historical trends and opts against a breakup, that ruling will be met with widespread disappointment from Live Nation’s critics, many of whom blame the company’s dominance for the broader issue of skyrocketing concert ticket prices. Live Nation & Ticketmaster Face New Restrictions isn’t exactly the headline they’re looking for. 

But Kovacic says that a more limited outcome could still prove effective at restoring competition to the live music industry if implemented correctly and, crucially, enforced rigorously. He says that many people were upset when Microsoft was left intact in 2002, but that the restrictions imposed on the company look much better two decades later. 

“It had an important inhibiting effect on Microsoft, and it gave breathing room to upstart companies like Google and Facebook to come into the market to get a foothold and to prosper,” Kovacic says. “Cases like Microsoft might give the court confidence here that behavioral solutions can work, and with good reason.” 

A collaboration between opera soprano Renée Fleming and genre-jumping banjo auteur Béla Fleck may seem, on the surface, like something that came out of nowhere. But truth is their Appalachian-flavored album The Fiddle and the Drum, which comes out Friday (May 29) has been a long time coming.

The pair — which has 23 combined Grammy wins and numerous other honors — has been talking about the project for nearly two decades, since a meeting to discuss it at a restaurant on 57th Street in New York City. “Renée was thinking about making a record like this, and for some reason I don’t understand I was suggested as the producer,” Fleck, who was recommended by Fleming’s associates at Decca Records, tells Billboard. “And I was like, ‘I’d love to do this.’

“I’ve always been a fan of great female vocalists, from Joni Mitchell to Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou (Harris), people like that. I always liked their records even though they didn’t relate so much to what I did in my own music. So I was very excited to work with somebody of (Fleming’s) ability and stature, with creative music.”

The Fiddle and the Drum — which features guest appearances by Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan, Sierra Hull and Sarah Jarosz — is perhaps more of an eyebrow raiser coming from Fleming than Fleck, who has worked frequently in the album’s bluegrass and folk idioms. The set’s 10 tracks draw from both public domain traditionals (“In the Pines,” “The Cuckoo,” “Blackest Crow”) and more contemporary fare, including the Mitchell-penned title track, Ola Belle Reed’s “My Epitaph,” one of the set’s prerelease singles, and Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett’s “The Scarlet Tide” from the Cold Mountain film soundtrack. It’s not Mozart, Verdi, Handel or Strauss, in other words.

But Fleming maintains that her interest in Americana music is not at all new.

“I’ve always had eclectic tastes in music,” notes the vocalist, whose grandfather was a fiddler and drummer in rural Pennsylvania. “In junior high and high school and through college I played guitar and dulcimer. I did coffee houses. I was studying classical music but I was also singing with a jazz trio every Sunday night. Up where I went to school (SUNY-Potsdam) there was a band I saw every weekend, and we clogged; I didn’t know what clogging was, but it seemed like a natural response to that music. So I always loved it.”

Fleming says that the soundtrack to the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? helped steer her back to the rootsy path. “It was T Bone Burnett’s work on that film that reminded me how much I loved that music,” she notes, which planted the seed for The Fiddle and the Drum. Fleming and Fleck even made a half-dozen demos back when they first started talking, which he says “turned out pretty good, but they never got acted on. They never got completed. But we would run into each other in all these different situations — including in China with Abigail (Washburn, my wife) — and (Fleming) said, ‘We should do something with that stuff sometime.’”

The two began working in earnest on The Fiddle and the Drum during 2023 in Nashville, with a core band that included Douglas on Dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton on guitar and Mike Bub on bass. “We had a really fun time working on the music,” Fleck recalls. “For me, if you can get those guys…they’re just such marvelous musical people who are also very comfortable with that (stylistic) direction and trying unusual ideas and putting their hearts and soul into it. Being in the room with Renée was really fun and interesting and new. And everybody brought their A game.”

Fleming, meanwhile, refers to Fleck as “a secret weapon” in the process. “He did more than a producer normally would, in my experience,” she explains. “He had more artistic kinds of ideas and felt strongly about certain things, and in my recording experience that wasn’t the norm. I felt like we really worked on this together, and (Fleck) did the lion’s share of the work….and he kept coming back to it, like, ‘I found some more things. What do you think about this?’ That’s unheard of in classical music.”

Fleck adds that he was particularly intrigued by the way Fleming sang The Fiddle and the Drum material compared to the classical work that’s earned her a National Medal of the Arts, a Kennedy Center Honor and other international accolades. “I discovered that in her low voice she was like a different singer altogether, which was really interesting, too,” he says. Fleming elaborates, “I learned early on that when I step outside of the classical word I need to stay within a certain range, because when I get to the top of the staff my voice is going to sound like my voice. So we keep the register low for me, and then I could really find another, more spoken sound that seemed to work really well. I did sing some more whoops and hoo-hoos and things like that. People who know my classical singing would never recognize my voice in this.”

To which Fleck quips, “whoops and hoo-hoos — that’s going to be the next album title.”

Fleming was flattered by all of the guests who took part on The Fiddle and the Drum — “I would’ve thought, ‘Bluegrass with an opera singer? Run away!’” she says with a laugh — while an unquestioned standout is the album-closing a cappella rendition of “Pretty Bird” with Hull and Jarosz. “The thing was it had been done a lot,” says Fleck. “But Renée did such an incredible performance of it that it changed my point of view.” Fleming, he adds, brought up the idea of having other singers on the track. “I was like, ‘I think we’re done,’ and Renée said at various times, ‘Hey I think there should be some other singers on it.’ I was like, ‘Oh, how do we match what you did?’ I didn’t want to lose anything…. It had to be singers who were willing to work on it and figure out how to match her. But I knew the people who could do it.”

Fleming and Fleck previewed The Fiddle and the Drum on May 16 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and also have upcoming performances booked at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado during June, at the Chautauqua Institution in New York during August and on Dec. 3 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. And since Fleck has already identified the “Whoops and Hoo-Hoos” title, what are the prospects for another album together?

“We haven’t had that conversation,” Fleming says. “I’ve been concerned since the beginning that it would find an audience at all, and Béla’s convinced me people will like what they hear, so we’ll see. It is really fun to step outside your genre and do other things — Béla’s a phenomenal example of that.”

Fleck, meanwhile, adds that he and Fleming “have a good trust and a good friendship, so I think the door’s open for other things. We just have to get there. It has to be the right thing at the right time. We both have such busy lives, but I loved working with Renée. It was a really wonderful experience and cool thing to do. I would love to do it again if we can.”

The Neal Agency’s Austin Neal leads the annual list honoring the top executives driving the success of the genre now across multiple industry sectors.

Labels, Distributors And Artist Services

Seth England
Co-founder/CEO, Big Loud
Patch Culbertson
Executive vp/GM, Big Loud
Stacy Blythe
President, Big Loud
Brianne Deslippe
Senior vp of marketing, Big Loud
Sara Knabe
Senior vp of A&R, Big Loud

Scott Borchetta
Founder/chairman, Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment/Borchetta Entertainment Group
Jimmy Harnen
President/CEO, Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment

Jake Basden
CEO, Blue Highway Records

Jon Loba
President of frontline recordings for North America and South America, BMG
JoJamie Hahr
Executive vp of recorded music for Nashville, BMG Nashville
Katie Kerkhover
Senior vp of A&R of frontline recordings for North America, BMG
Peter Strickland
GM, BMG Nashville

Ben Maddahi
Executive vp of A&R, Columbia Records
Julian Swirsky
Executive vp, Columbia Records
Evan Honor
Vp of commercial partnerships, Columbia Records
Amy Collins
Senior director of A&R, Columbia Records
Natalie Landsberg
Director of digital marketing, Columbia Records

Mike Curb
Chairman, Curb Records

Ghazi
Founder/CEO, EMPIRE
Jennifer Way
Executive vp of Nashville, EMPIRE
Eric Hurt
Vp of A&R publishing, EMPIRE

Katie Dean
Label head, Leo33

“I’m most proud of helping bring Zach Top’s sophomore album, Ain’t in It for My Health, to life and watching it all come together,” says Dean, who co-founded Leo33 in 2023.

“Our team was incredibly intentional at every step of the process, and you could feel that in both the rollout and the response.

“It was one of those rare moments when everything just clicked, and seeing it ­ultimately win the Grammy for best traditional country album made it even more special.”

Favorite musical moment: “C2C [the Country to Country festival] in London earlier this year.

“One of my first jobs in the business was at the [Country Music Association], where I worked as the international coordinator helping grow the global profile of country music. Watching Zach play a sold-out show at the O2 less than three years after signing him felt like a true full-circle moment for me, both personally and professionally.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Managing the pace of the genre’s growth.

“With the recent surge in popularity, there’s been a lot more attention from the coasts, which is exciting, but it has also created unrealistic expectations around how quickly artists and audiences should develop.

“Followers don’t always translate to real engagement, and a viral moment isn’t a long-term strategy. The focus has to stay on building something sustainable, which is ­exactly [why] my team tries to keep our attention on the bigger picture.”

Mike Harris
President/CEO, MCA
Dave Cobb
Chief creative officer, MCA
Rob Femia
COO/executive vp of business and legal affairs, MCA
Katie McCartney
Executive vp/GM, MCA
Stephanie Wright
Executive vp/head of A&R, MCA

Tyler Arnold
Chairman/CEO, Mercury Records
Alex Coslov
Executive vp, Mercury Records
Jackson Weingart
Vp of marketing and digital strategy, Mercury Records

Heather Vassar
Senior vp of Nashville, The Orchard

Dan Chertoff
Senior vp of A&R, RCA Records
Aaron Stern
Vp of marketing, RCA Records

Barry Weiss
Founder/partner, RECORDS Nashville
Joe Fisher
Executive vp of A&R, RECORDS Nashville
Josh Easler
Executive vp of promotion and commercial strategy, RECORDS Nashville

Monte Lipman
Executive chairman, REPUBLIC Collective
Avery Lipman
Vice chairman, REPUBLIC Collective
Jeffrey Remedios
President/CEO, REPUBLIC Collective

Jim Roppo
Chairman/CEO, Republic Records
Mary Catherine Kinney
Executive vp of artist and label strategy, Republic Records

Taylor Lindsey
Chair/CEO, Sony Music Nashville
Ken Robold
President/COO, Sony Music Nashville
Margaret Tomlin
Vp of A&R, Sony Music Nashville

Kevin Herring
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records/Akando Music
Annie Ortmeier
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records
George Couri
Managing partner/co-president, Triple Tigers Records

For Triple Tigers Records, the past year has brought “so many proud moments,” Herring says, “from watching Shane Profitt develop at radio to signing Ian Munsick. But the success of No. 1 singles in that time period has sure been a fun ride.” Ella Langley, the Columbia Records artist for whom Triple Tigers provided radio country promotion, has spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her hit “Choosin’ Texas”; Russell Dickerson’s “Happened to Me” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart; “and top all that with Scotty McCreery’s [Country Airplay] No. 1 hit ‘Bottle Rockets,’ featuring Hootie & The Blowfish, the band’s first No. 1 single ever [on Country Airplay]. This will be a tough year to follow.”

Favorite musical moment: “Hard to choose one,” Herring says. “But I’d have to say, while driving to lunch one day with our vp of promotion, Raffaella Braun, I was emailed the first mix of ‘Bottle Rockets.’ Up until then I’d only heard the demo. When we both heard Darius [Rucker] come in on the chorus for the first time, I almost had to pull over. We both knew right then and there [that] we had something special.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Personally, I think it’s not being afraid to be too country. Country is the business we are in and what attracts our core audience. It’s OK to step out a little — but two-step our ass back as soon as we can.”

Jesse Morav
Vp of A&R, UnitedMasters

Cris Lacy
Chair/president, Warner Music Nashville
Victoria Mason
Executive vp of marketing, Warner Music Nashville
Patrick Sabatini
Executive vp of WRN operations and business and legal affairs, Warner Music Nashville
Kristen Williams
Executive vp of radio and commercial partnerships, Warner Music Nashville

Aaron Bay-Schuck
Co-chairman/CEO, Warner Records Group
Tom Corson
Co-chairman/COO, Warner Records Group
Miles Gersh
Executive vp of A&R, Warner Records

Management

Bob Doyle
CEO, Bob Doyle & Associates/Major Bob Music/Major Bob Productions
Mike Doyle
Manager, Bob Doyle & Associates

Simon Tikhman
Kevin “Chief” Zaruk
Co-founders/co-CEOs, The Core Entertainment
Tracy Martin
President, The Core Entertainment

Danny Nozell
CEO, CTK Entertainment

Austin Rosen
Founder/CEO, Electric Feel Entertainment
Bobby Greenleaf
Creative director, Electric Feel Entertainment

Scott Siman
President, EM.Co

Jeb Hurt
Founder, Floating Leaf Entertainment

Daniel Miller
Manager, Fusion Music/Red Light Management

Kerri Pauley Edwards
Owner/president, KP Entertainment

John Meneilly
Founder, Left | Right Management

Chris Kappy
Founder/owner, Make Wake Artists
Jarrod Holley
Sophia Sansone
Managing partners, Make Wake Artists

“We’re most proud of how the company has grown around the artists,” says Kappy, whose management firm represents Luke Combs, Flatland Calvary and The Castellows. “A major focus has been building out our internal infrastructure, including digital, label services, merch and PR. We want our managers focused on the artists, not buried in logistics.”

Favorite musical moment: “One moment that stood out was Luke Combs selling out three nights at Wembley Stadium” when tickets went on sale for this summer’s London stops on his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour. “Wembley is one of the most iconic venues in the world, and seeing a country artist not just play it but sell it out across multiple nights says a lot about how far the genre has come internationally,” Kappy says.

The greatest challenge ­facing country music now: “Balancing short-form momentum with long-term artist development. Platforms reward constant output that is great for exposure but exposure doesn’t guarantee a career. There’s constant pressure on artists to stay in a perpetual content cycle. The artists who last will be the ones who capture attention in the short term without sacrificing great songs.”

Clarence Spalding
Chris Parr
Partners, Maverick Nashville

Hayley Corbett
Manager, Megan Moroney

“I’m incredibly proud of Megan’s Billboard 200 No. 1 debut with Cloud 9,” Corbett says.

“The entire rollout surrounding the album was incredibly intentional and deeply fan-focused, and I’m proud of the campaign our team built. Every decision, from the visual world to the fan experiences and live moments, centered around Megan’s vision and the connection she and her fans have built together, ultimately helping her land the No. 1 spot.”

Favorite musical moment: “Megan’s surprise in-the-round show in Athens [Ga.] during the ‘9 Cities in 9 Days’ album campaign stands out as one of the past year’s most special musical moments.

“She sold out Akins Ford Arena performing the new album in a setting that felt intimate and centered around the music and the fans. Just three days after the album’s release, the crowd was unbelievably loud, with some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen screaming every word back to her from the moment she walked onstage.

“It wasn’t the biggest production or the largest crowd she’s played for, but it perfectly captured the heart of the Cloud 9 era and the connection Megan has built with her audience.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Continuing to break down the perception that it exists separately from mainstream music.

“Over the last few years, the genre has grown tremendously and reached wider audiences than ever before. But there is still room for country music to be viewed on the same global scale as pop or any other major genre.

“The opportunity now is to continue evolving while still preserving the authenticity and storytelling that make country music so special.”

Clint Higham
Partner/president, Morris Higham Management

Megan Hinde
Bradley Jordan
Managers, Painted Rock Management

John Peets
Founder, Q Prime South Management

Matt Graham
Co-founding managing partner; head, Range Music
Jack Minihan
Co-founding managing partner, Range Media Partners/Range Music
Jared Cotter
Managing partner, Range Media Partners/Range Music
Abas Pauti
Artist manager/vp of artist development, Range Music
Shawn McSpadden
Managing partner, Range Music; GM, Range Music Nashville

Coran Capshaw
Founder/CEO, Red Light Management
Tom Lord
Executive/manager, Red Light Management
Mandelyn Monchick
Zach Sutton
Managers, Red Light Management
Enzo DeVincenzo
Manager, Red Light Management/377 Management

Jason Owen
Founder/CEO, Sandbox Entertainment

Ian Thornton
Owner/manager, WhizzbangBAM

Mary Hilliard Harrington
Executive/manager, Wild Heart/Red Light Management

Danny Kang
Stefan Max
Managers, Zach Bryan

Publishing

Rakiyah Marshall
Founder/CEO, Back Blocks Music

Brad Kennard
Senior vp of A&R, Concord Music Publishing

Stephanie Cox
GM/senior vp of creative, Nashville, Kobalt Music

Rusty Gaston
CEO, Sony Music Publishing Nashville

Troy Tomlinson
Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville

Austen Adams
President, Warner Chappell Music Nashville

Live

Rich Schaefer
President of global touring, AEG Presents
Adam Weiser
Senior vp of global touring, AEG Presents
Amy Buck
Vp of marketing, global touring, AEG Presents
Weston Hebert
Vp of global touring, AEG Presents

Stacy Vee
Executive vp, Goldenvoice

Brian O’Connell
President of country music touring and festivals, Live Nation
Milly Olykan
Senior vp of global touring and artist development, Live Nation
Tara Traub
Senior vp of global touring, Live Nation
Aaron Spalding
Global tour promoter, Live Nation

Louis Messina
Founder/CEO, Messina Touring
Mike Dugan
President, Messina Touring
Rachel Powers
Vp, Messina Touring

Patrick Moore
CEO, Opry Entertainment Group
Dan Rogers
Senior vp/executive producer of the Grand Ole Opry, Opry Entertainment Group

“What we are most proud of at Opry Entertainment Group [OEG] is our expansion,” Moore says, “because it amplifies our ability to grow the genre by engaging country artists and fans wherever they might be.

“In just the last year, we celebrated the Opry’s 100th anniversary, added both music festivals and amphitheaters to our portfolio and announced new locations of our Category 10 and Ole Red brands with our respective partners Luke Combs and Blake Shelton.

“We now have a much more substantial footprint across the U.S., and I am tremendously proud of the team and what they continue to achieve every day.”

Favorite musical moment: “Watching the Grand Ole Opry: Live in London at Royal Albert Hall. We had so many terrific Opry members perform: Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce and Marty Stuart. The rehearsals were conducted at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, and the performance itself was awe-inspiring.

“Seeing and hearing how enthusiastic the crowd was throughout an Opry show in London validated everything we know about the exploding popularity of country music worldwide. In fact, the fans were dancing in the aisles — something that the team at Royal Albert Hall had never seen before.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “As country music continues to gain in popularity through music streaming, we need to ensure it is easily accessible to these new fans through live performances, broadcast and other forms of media.

“That accessibility will expose these new audiences to more artists and more music, ultimately building long-lasting superfans that will engage across the entire country genre for a lifetime.

“This is a top priority for us at OEG, which is why we have invested in getting Opry content and shows distributed across the country and around the world.”

Agencies

Jeff Krones
Head of Nashville music, CAA
Marc Dennis
Chad Kudelka
Darin Murphy
Music agents, CAA

Kyle Carter
Joshua Rittenhouse
Senior vps of global touring, IAG

Austin Neal
Founder/co-head, The Neal Agency
Adi Sharma
Co-head, The Neal Agency
Ryan Beuschel
GM, The Neal Agency

When Austin Neal launched his talent booking firm, The Neal Agency, in 2022, he faced a steep learning curve.

“It was like I was dropped into the ocean. I had to figure out how to swim,” he says with a laugh as he looks back on that daunting period. From his years as an agent at prominent country music booker Buddy Lee Attractions and WME, he knew how to book and route clients, but he had no clue about setting up his own company. “I didn’t know what I needed to do to form an LLC. My assistant at the time, who is now an agent with us, jokes that she walked into my apartment and saw Business for Dummies sitting on the counter.”

With a little aid from the instructional book, a much greater assist from lawyer Elliot Groffman (the powerhouse attorney who represents Dave Matthews Band, Phish and more) and a business management team that handled everything including setting up payroll, “it’s like I blinked and we had an office, a lot of employees and new artists,” he says.

Fast forward four years and, in addition to flagship client Morgan Wallen — who is performing double stadium plays in nearly every market on his current tour — Neal, 39, and his team have developed Riley Green (who Neal signed in 2017, when he started at WME), Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and HARDY into arena headliners.

Read the full story on Executive of the Year Austin Neal here.

Jonathan Levine
Executive vp/managing executive, THE·TEAM
Shannon Casey
Senior vp of fairs and festivals, THE·TEAM
Keith Levy
Senior vp, THE·TEAM
Chappel McCollister
Senior vp of business development, THE·TEAM

Elisa Vazzana
Partner/agent, UTA
Nick Barnes
Agent, Heartland, UTA
Brett Saliba
Alec Vidmar
Agents, UTA

Becky Gardenhire
Joey Lee
Jay Williams
Co-heads of Nashville office, WME
Aaron Tannenbaum
Senior partner of country music, WME

Streaming

Michelle Tigard Kammerer
Global head of country music, Amazon Music
Emily Cohen Belote
Global lead of country music programming, Amazon Music
Chris Graham
Global head of artist relations, Amazon Music

Madison Hanten
Global programming lead of country and Americana, Apple Music
Kelleigh Bannen
Host of The Kelleigh Bannen Show, Apple Music Country
Laurissa Phillips
Executive producer, Apple Music Country
Taylor Eickenhorst
Head of marketing for country music, Apple Music
Sally Seitz
Head of artist relations for country and Americana, Apple Music

Tim Foisset
Head of label partnerships for Nashville and Canada, Spotify
Jackie Augustus
Lead of country and folk for artist partnerships, Spotify
Gemma McInturff
Lead of label partnerships for Nashville, Spotify
Claire Heinichen
Senior editor of country, Spotify

Margaret Hart
Head of Nashville label and industry partnerships, YouTube/Google
Copeland Isaacson
Head of Nashville artist partnerships, YouTube/Google

Business and Associations

Damon Whiteside
CEO, Academy of Country Music
Taylor Wolf
Executive director, ACM Lifting Lives

“One of my proudest accomplishments was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the ACM Awards [in May 2025],” says Whiteside, who is leaving his post at the end of June.

“It was incredibly rewarding to take the year to honor the history and legacy of the show and reflect on what the ACM Awards have meant to the country music industry over the past six decades.

“I truly believe the 60th show was one of the best ACM Awards shows of all time because of the balance we were able to create between legendary artists, current superstars and exciting new acts.

“Having Reba [McEntire] return as host for the milestone anniversary and present the inaugural Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award to Alan was also incredibly meaningful.

“I was also proud of how we celebrated songs of the year from each decade during the opening performance, which really showcased the lasting impact of country music across generations. The show was sold out, the response was amazing and it felt like a true celebration of the genre and its community.

“Beyond the awards show itself, the 60th-anniversary gala, ‘Play Something Country,’ was another major highlight. It was only the second gala we’ve ever produced, but it was an incredible success. Celebrating Brooks & Dunn with such an amazing lineup while also raising significant funds for ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music, made it an especially meaningful event.

“Looking ahead, another exciting milestone has been moving the ACM Awards back to Las Vegas. After such a historic 60th-anniversary celebration, returning to Vegas feels like going back to our roots and beginning a new chapter for the show while continuing to celebrate the foundation of the organization.”

Favorite musical moment: “Alan Jackson’s performance of ‘Remember When’ during the 60th ACM Awards. That song has always been incredibly emotional and timeless to me, and it felt like the perfect way to celebrate Alan’s extraordinary career.

“Knowing it would be the final song he performs on an awards show stage made the moment even more powerful. It felt deeply personal, full circle and incredibly poignant — not just for the academy but for country music fans everywhere. Being able to honor him in that way was truly special.

“Another moment I [was] especially excited about [was] Carter Faith’s performance of ‘Let’s Go to Vegas’ for the 61st ACM Awards. It’s a fun way to celebrate the show’s return to Las Vegas and capture the energy and excitement surrounding this new chapter for ACM.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Maintaining its authenticity and strong sense of community during a period of rapid growth and crossover success.

“With so many cross-genre artists, musicians, producers and labels moving toward Nashville, the city has truly become a creative hot spot, which brings a lot of exciting opportunities for the genre.

“At the same time, it’s important to preserve what makes country music special and unique — the storytelling, the quality of the artistry and the genuine way it connects with audiences.

“Country music has always felt approachable and deeply rooted in fan connection and community. Nashville itself operates like a family, and that sense of community has always been a defining part of the industry.

“As country music continues to grow, the challenge is keeping that community strong while ensuring the music and artistry remain authentic. It’s about embracing new voices and growth while continuing to foster the connection between artists, fans and the broader country music community that makes the genre so meaningful.”

Lori Badgett
Diane Pearson
Senior vps/team leaders, Nashville, entertainment and sports banking, City National Bank

Sarah Trahern
CEO, Country Music Association
Tiffany Kerns
Senior vp of industry relations and philanthropy, Country Music Association; executive director, CMA Foundation

“This year has been a meaningful period of momentum for CMA and for the genre,” says Trahern, who announced in January that she would step down from leading the Country Music Association after a 12-year tenure.

“We have made important, foundational decisions that will help shape the next decade, from reaffirming our long-term headquarters in Nashville to securing media rights agreements that create new ways for fans to connect with and experience our television shows.

“We are also navigating a thoughtful leadership transition as we begin onboarding my successor this fall, an important step in ensuring both stability and fresh perspective as CMA continues to grow and evolve.

“At the same time, we remain deeply committed to serving as a resource for the country music industry and the people within it. One area that feels especially close to my heart is our growing investment in mental health resources. Taking care of the entire country music ecosystem is essential to the long-term health of this industry. If we want country music to continue to thrive for generations, we have to support the people who bring it to life every day.

“Not to mention, we are on the horizon of two special milestones in the coming year — the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards this November and the grand opening of the new Nissan Stadium in 2027, our host site for the nightly concerts at CMA Fest each year. Moments like this remind me how far the genre has come and the opportunity we have to continue shaping what comes next. It has certainly been an exciting year, and I am even more excited for what lies ahead.”

Favorite musical moment: “Over the past year, I have had several moments, especially during our Songwriters Series events, that have reminded me just how powerful country music can be.

“One that sticks out to me was a recent songwriters show in New York that featured Dierks Bentley, Karen Fairchild, Jim Beavers, Jon Randall, Charlie Worsham, Derek Wells, Priscilla Block and Matthew Ramsey. It was just a few voices, a few guitars, and it completely held the room.

“Experiences like that always bring me back to the heart of what makes country music so special: the storytelling. It also tends to send me back to songs and stories that I haven’t listened to in a while and helps me reconnect with the depth of a catalog.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “I would say country music’s biggest challenge is also its biggest opportunity. Country music today is less format-driven than it has been in the past, and that opens the door for the genre to exist across multiple platforms and alongside other genres in new and exciting ways.

“The challenge becomes how we embrace that growth while still maintaining a clear sense of identity.

“As country reaches broader audiences, it is important that we continue to champion the elements that define us — the storytelling, the authenticity and the connection to fans, while also welcoming innovation. If we strike that balance, we not only preserve what makes the genre unique but we expand it in a way that feels both organic and sustainable.”

Sherrese Clarke
Founder/CEO, HarbourView Equity Partners

Carter Robinson
Financial advisor, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Jackie Jones
Senior vp of artist and industry relations, RIAA

Rights Organizations

Mike Sistad
Vp of Nashville membership, ASCAP

Clay Bradley
Vp of creative for Nashville, BMI

Shannan Hatch
Senior vp/head of Nashville creative, SESAC

Media

Tim Roberts
Country format vp, Audacy

RJ Curtis
Executive director, Country Radio Broadcasters/Country Radio Seminar

Travis Daily
Vp of country, Cumulus Media
Mike Moore
Operations manager, Cumulus Atlanta; program director, WKHX (New Country 101.5) Atlanta
Mike Preston
Program director, KPLX (99.5 The Wolf) Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas/KSCS (New Country 96.3) Dallas-Fort Worth, Cumulus Dallas

Rod Phillips
Executive vp of programming, iHeartCountry
Bobby Bones
Vp/creative director, iHeartCountry; host of The Bobby Bones Show, Country Top 30 With Bobby Bones and Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast; executive producer, Women of iHeartCountry
Gator Harrison
Chief media officer on the Ministry Leadership Team, K-Love; former iHeartCountry brand coordinator; senior vp of programming, iHeartMedia Nashville; program director, WSIX (The Big 98) Nashville
Jackie Tigue Caldwell
Senior director of iHeartCountry artist relations, iHeartMedia

Johnny Chiang
Vp of music programming, SiriusXM
John “Trapper” Morris
Kathleen St. Clair
Program directors of music programming, SiriusXM

Contributors: Katie Bain, Eric Renner Brown, Anna Chan, Ed Christman, Hannah Dailey, Kyle Denis, Angel Diaz, Thom Duffy, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens, Gil Kaufman, Joe Lynch, Taylor Mims, Melinda Newman, Jessica Nicholson, Russ Penuell, Kristin Robinson

Methodology: Billboard executive power list honorees are chosen by our editorial staff with consideration given to industry nominations. For industry-sourced executive lists, nominations open no less than 150 days in advance of publication. A submission link is sent to all who request to participate in the power list process before the nomination period. (Email thom.duffy@billboard.com for inclusion on the email list for nomination links and for how to obtain an editorial calendar.) Priority for the Country Power Players list was given to companies previously recognized on the Billboard Power 100. Priority for managers was given to those whose clients ranked highest on year-end artist and Billboard Boxscore charts and those whose clients are participants in the Country Power Players event. Honorees are chosen by editors based on factors including the impact of honorees and their companies on consumer behavior, as measured by year-end Billboard charts, sales and streaming performance, market share, revenue or, where not available, Billboard revenue estimates, which may be aided by company guidance, social media impressions and radio audiences reached, using data available as of Feb. 19. Career trajectory and momentum were also considered. Where required, U.S. record-label market share was consulted using Luminate’s current market share for albums, plus track-equivalent and streaming-equivalent album consumption and Billboard’s quarterly top 10 publisher rankings. Unless otherwise noted, Billboard Boxscore and Luminate are the sources for tour grosses and sales/streaming data, respectively. Luminate is also the source for radio audience metrics. The source for radio metrics is monitored station airplay from Mediabase provided by Luminate.

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Executives on the Rise

Separate from Country Power Players, these five executives are designated by Billboard as up-and-comers to watch.

Mike Giangreco
President of A&R, Big Loud Publishing

Grace Watson
Senior director of streaming and revenue, Black River Entertainment

Sarah D’Hilly
Senior vp of digital marketing and strategy, MCA Records

Nikki Boon
Artist manager, Neon Coast

Brooke Hardesty
Senior vp of digital marketing, Warner Records Nashville

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This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.