Sir Lucian Grainge paid tribute to Republic Records’ Monte and Avery Lipman as the MUSEXPO conference in Los Angeles wrapped up with a gala awards ceremony.
The Lipman brothers, who helmed Republic from indie label to the No.1 US record company by market share and who gave a keynote address at MUSEXPO on Tuesday, received the 2017 International Persons Of The Year award, with Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Sir Lucian handing over the gong.
“They are both open-minded,” Sir Lucian said of the co-founders and co-CEOs. “They are able to pivot, they listen, they are immensely loyal, good friends to each other, they love the music business. They are absolutely central to what we do at UMG and what we aspire to be.”
In response, Avery Lipman paid tribute to Grainge, saying: “To have a mentor and leader who is fully behind you really does make a difference.” And Monte urged the young executives in the audience to persevere in pursuit of their ambitions, adding: “Be passionate, that’s the name of the game.”
Amongst the other winners at the International Music Industry Awards was BBC Radio 1, with controller Ben Cooper and head of music Chris Price picking up the trophy for best Radio Station.
Earlier in the day, Cooper took centre stage on the conference’s final panel, which looked at multi-media opportunities in the digital age.
“The 10 years since the iPhone was invented have changed radio’s world,” Cooper said, leading to Radio 1’s Listen/Watch/Share policy. Over 100,000 hours of Radio 1 visual content are now watched every day.
“Radio isn’t dead,” declared Cooper. “It isn’t dying, it’s evolving.”
The full list of winners at the International Music Industry Awards is below:
Digital/Technology Platform – Gaana
Performance Rights Organisation – SESAC
Radio Station – BBC Radio 1
Music Publisher – Mio Vukovic (SVP A&R/head of creative, Disney Music Group)
Music Supervisor (Film/TV/Games/Advertising/Brands) - Thomas Golubic (owner/music supervisor, SuperMusicVision)
Live Entertainment Executive (Booker or Promoter) – Ron Bension (president, House of Blues Entertainment/Live Nation)
Talent Manager – Mark Beaven (founder & co-CEO, Advanced Alternative Media)
A&R Executive – Pete Ganbarg (head of A&R, Atlantic Records)
To catch up with what happened at MUSEXPO on Day 1, click here. For Day 2, click here. For Day 3, click here.
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