Every year Variety seeks to identify the next generation of leaders in the entertainment business who represent the creative community of film, TV, music and the digital space. The 2021 music industry group has among its ranks hip-hop label Empire’s COO, online event innovator Moment House’s CEO, the manager for Normani and Anitta, a marketing VP for Sony Nashville, an exec-manager whose dual roles include representing Megan Thee Stallion and Young Thug, the CEO of the Kluger Agency, the founder of Milk & Honey Management, a social media SVP for Warner Music, a top songwriter manager, and the agent who signed Billie Eilish at 14.
(See the full list, including leaders from the film and TV industries as well as music, here.)
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Sara Bollwinkel
Senior VP, Wasserman Music (37)
Even in the crushingly competitive world of music agents, Bollwinkel’s story stands out. Six years ago she (along with colleague Tom Windish) signed then-14-year-old prodigy Billie Eilish, and has since carefully guided the star’s live career during Eilish’s build to superstardom. “Agents give 100% of their energy to their jobs — we ignore family to take the call; we skip holidays and birthdays, skip the gym or therapy because we are busy; we have no boundaries because we love our jobs and are addicted to our work,” says Bollwinkel, who also reps Eilish’s brother-collaborator Finneas (among others on her roster). But she adds that “if we continue to work this way, there will be absolutely nothing left for ourselves at the end of the day. I just don’t feel that is what our clients want for us … so now I am learning to give myself grace, allowing myself to be human and letting that energy shape the kind of business I want to run coming out of this pandemic.” Career-wise, she says, “It has never been about the name on the door for me, but about the people within the four walls. This business is our community and if we don’t take care of ourselves … we cannot take care of each other … and we cannot deliver the high-level work we need to deliver.”
No pause for creativity:
As for the pandemic-induced pause on live events: “Our clients have created some of the most meaningful art imaginable these past two years, and there’s no lack of motivation on my end to continue designing opportunities for fans to safely experience what these artists have worked so hard on.”
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Anthony D’Annunzio
Partner & GM of Producer-Songwriter Management, Electric Feel Entertainment (30)
For Electric Feel, which has grown into one of the most formidable talent hubs of the past decade, 2021 has been another banner year, pandemic be damned. “For me, being on the producer-writer side of the business, it’s been an amazing opportunity for our clients as a lot of creatives spent a lot more time in L.A.,” says D’Annunzio of the demand for his roster of hitmakers. They include Louis Bell (Post Malone) Blake Slatkin (The Kid Laroi) and Brian Lee (Camila Cabello), just to name a few who’ve notched chart-topping songs.
Looking ahead: D’Annunzio says next year is already shaping up nicely: “Our No. 1 goal is the long-term growth for our clients and making sure they are staying on path to where they need to go.”
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Nima Etminan
COO, Empire (34)
Etminan has been with fast-growing hip-hop label Empire since its inception in 2010, collaborating closely with founder Ghazi Shami for over a decade. As COO, Etminan has overseen the company’s hugely successful 2021, which included releasing the catalogs of Timbaland & Magoo and the late Aaliyah through the company’s partnership with Blackground Records, as well as working with King Von, Young Dolph and Tyga. But Etminan is most proud of the breakout success of rapper Yung Bleu, who released his debut album “Moon Boy” in July.
Leadership and empathy: As for what makes a good leader, Etminan believes the most important trait is empathy: “I look for character, principles and ethics over skillset and accolades.”
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Alex Kamins
Senior VP, New Business & Ventures, Warner Music Group (36)
Kamins has been at the forefront of establishing partnerships with Roblox, Twitch, Snap, Genies and Wave to provide digital opportunities for artists. Though WMG was already planning for a future involving social music experiences, the pandemic accelerated that process, and Kamins is most proud of how his team adapted to bring live music into fans’ homes.
Be prepared: “While many of our competitors were caught flat-footed, we found ourselves primed at the intersection of preparation and opportunity,” he says. As for what makes a good leader, Kamins believes it’s all about “empowering those around you.”
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Lucas Keller
Founder, CEO, Milk & Honey Management (37)
In just seven years, Keller has grown Milk & Honey from a self-funded startup to the biggest global management company in the world by volume for songwriters, producers and DJs. Its size allows him to “leverage the whole house for any one client” and seize opportunities as they arise, including an already successful foray into sports management and investing in NFTs. Keller’s goal is to be a one-stop-shop for Milk & Honey’s clients — who include hitmakers Jenna Andrews (BTS’ “Butter”) and Oak Felder (Demi Lovato’s “I Love Me”) — and to have sold more than half a billion records.
We deliver: Says Keller: “The idea is if you sign us as managers, we’re going to do everything for you right here.”
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Adam Kluger
CEO, the Kluger Agency (35)
Kluger, whose clients include Lil Yachty and Bhad Bhabie, has proven to be a pandemic-proof agency. “Every artist that was earning 85% of their revenue from touring started looking for new income streams,” says its founder. Yachty, who has lucrative brand partnership deals ranging from Reese’s Puffs to Twitch, and Bhad Bhabie — a self-made millionaire from OnlyFans — showed the way. “Other artists took note and our client list exploded.” Kluger’s business continues to grow, recently opening Scoop Investments. Agility and the compulsion to overdeliver set him apart.
Deal after deal: “For every deal I do, I do a second one,” he says. “Always have some good news in your back pocket.”
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Arjun Mehta
CEO, Co-Founder, Moment House (25)
In 2019, Mehta started Moment House — a platform for high-concept live- stream music performances and other online “elevated ticketed performances” — right out of USC, where he’d proven himself a prodigy in the Jimmy Iovine/ Dr. Dre music business program. Backed by investors including Scooter Braun, he built a company with more than 50 employees that hosted Clive Davis’ private virtual Grammy gala this year as well as presented web concerts by Tame Impala, St. Vincent and Kygo.
Pandemic push: As Moment House has taken off, Mehta says the pandemic was “absolutely an accelerant” of people being willing to pay for quality web shows, but it would have happened anyway: “Concerts and livestream exist hand-in-hand.”
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Geoffrey Ogunlesi
VP of A&R, 300 Entertainment; CEO, Ogunlesi Group (31)
“Music is like water to me,” says Ogunlesi, who holds down simultaneous executive positions at 300 Entertainment (home to Megan Thee Stallion) and his own management company, where his roster includes influential rapper Young Thug. In fact, Ogunlesi insists that his job never feels like work. It also doesn’t hurt that his main client is “tied into everything I do.” “Slime Language 2,” Thug’s compilation album with Gunna and YSL Records, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, followed by Thug’s own “Punk,” Ogunlesi cites as among his proudest achievements.
Growth is beautiful: “To see all the artists grow from the ground up and culminate in a No. 1 album is beautiful,” Ogunlesi says.
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Brandon Silverstein
Founder-CEO, S10 Entertainment (29)
Silverstein manages the flourishing careers of pop mononyms Anitta and Normani through S10’s management joint venture with Roc Nation. He also launched a publishing division in 2020, which soon celebrated its first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” co-written and produced by S10 client Harv. “It’s about creating an environment that feels mom-and-pop,” Silverstein says of his growing business empire. S10’s complex in West Hollywood is a perfect example.
Communal vibe: “We bought a house and converted all the bedrooms into studios,” he says. “We’re making real records, having communal dinners and building a creative community.” S10 is enjoying similar growth in its management, label, TV and film and investment divisions.
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Jennifer Way
Senior VP, Marketing, Sony Music Nashville (38)
Way’s resume since joining Sony five years ago after an 11-year run at UMG Nashville includes being in on making a star out of Kane Brown, one of country’s foremost Black artists, and the commercial resurgence of Miranda Lambert, the figurehead for women in country. She’s helped break out Tenille Townes, Jameson Rodgers and Niko Moon and worked with a newer Black artist, Willie Jones, on extracurricular racial/social justice initiatives.
Endurance test: Having been upped to a senior VP post last December, Way says, “Taking on this role mid-pandemic has been an endurance test I wasn’t expecting, as the mental challenges often rival our market challenges, but we’ve grown stronger and smarter.”