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NARIP’s 2007 Best in the Biz Winners

Wood, Weber & Zelisko Win Big

January 29, 2008

The winners are in!

Interscope’s Luke Wood, Spectre’s Jessica Weber and Live Nation’s Danny Zelisko won by a landslide in NARIP’s 2007 Best of the Biz List, which recognizes excellence and high professional standards in our business.  NARIP congratulates them along with all other winners and nominees. It is real credit to be selected by one’s peers, and our list packs high-level executive talent and know-how in major areas of the record and music industries.

We are delighted at how much attention (and how many votes) this poll generated, and took great pleasure in tuning in to responses in real time as they poured in. It felt like tracking race horses, very exciting!

In a few instances, the winners took the lead early and kept it. In other instances, such as the Top Attorney category, Dina LaPolt took an early and substantial lead before Don Passman caught up, tied with Dina and then took first place.

We hoped to cull down each category to 4 or 5 nominees each, but this turned out to be impossible. Some categories have 4 nominees, several have 10 and the Top Attorney category has 11. The winning percentages should therefore be considered in that context.

Five individuals stand out because they won by such wide margins in their respective categories and deserve additional applause for this:

  • Danny Zelisko, Best Concert Promoter Executive
  • Jessica Weber, Best Radio Promotion Executive
  • Luke Wood, Best A&R Executive
  • Max Hole, Best International Music Executive
  • Timbaland, Best Music Producer

Also noteworthy is that the Best Digital Distribution Executives perfectly synchronized with the Best Digital Distribution Company winners, i.e., Steve Jobs of iTunes, Robb McDaniels of INgrooves and Derek Sivers of CDBaby via iTunes, respectively.

An almost perfect synchronization is evident in the Best Traditional Distribution Executive and Company Categories.  Bob Freese of KOCH Entertainment, Jim Urie of Universal Music & Video Distribution and Andy Allen of ADA took home top honors, as did their companies.  In this case, however, Fontana won out over its parent company (UMVD).

You are all to be congratulated, and the next time you’re in town (or if you’re in town now), NARIP will buy you a drink or hand-deliver a delicately stirred martini or spritzer or other beverage of your choice to your office and toast you heartily. And for those among the winners who wish to sport their tuxedos or taffeta (or both), consider yourself officially invited to present the award to 2008 winners.  And if any of you are on friendly terms with Daniel Day-Lewis, NARIP loves him and would be delighted to have him as Master of Ceremonies.

We congratulate you once again, a toast to the winners and to excellence!

And the awards go to:

Top A&R Executive (5 nominees):

1. Luke Wood, Interscope with 36.8% of the vote
2. Tony Ferguson, Geffen / A&M
3. David Bason, Roadrunner

Top Artist Manager (10 nominees):

1. Terry McBride with 22.7% of the vote
2. Irving Azoff, azoffmusic management
3. Andy Gould, Spectacle Entertainment Group

Best Source For Music Business News (6 nominees)

1. Billboard with 34% of the vote
2. Digital Music News
3. Lefsetz Letter

Best Concert Promotion Company (5 nominees):

1. Live Nation with 51.6% of the vote (by a mile, wow!)
2. Goldenvoice
3. AEG Live

Best Concert Promoter Executive (9 nominees):

1. Danny Zelisko, Live Nation with 30.2% of the vote
2. Don Law, Live Nation
3. Ron Delsener, Delsener / Slater Enterprises

Top Consultant / Strategist (10 nominees):

1. Fiona Bloom, The Bloom Effect with 18.1% of the vote
2. Jake Finkelstein, Universal Buzz
3. Jim Griffin, OneHouse

Best Digital Distribution Executive (7 nominees):

1. Steve Jobs, iTunes with 33.7% of the vote
2. Robb McDaniels, INgrooves
3. Derek Sivers, CD Baby via iTunes

Best Digital Distribution Company (5 nominees):

1. iTunes with 40.2% of the vote
2. INgrooves
3. CD Baby via iTunes

Best Traditional Distribution Executive (5 nominees):

1. Bob Freese, KOCH Entertainment with 32.4% of the vote
2. Jim Urie, Universal Music & Video Distribution
3. Andy Allen, ADA

Best Traditional Distribution Company (6 nominees):

1. KOCH Entertainment with 28.9% of the vote
2. Fontana
3. ADA

Top International Executive (6 nominees):

1. Max Hole, Universal Music Group (London) with 36.6% of the vote
2. Peggy Dold, Univision Music Group
3. David Joseph, Polydor (UK)

Top Marketing Professional, Online or Traditional (8 nominees):

1. Theo Bark, Palm Pictures with 33.9% of the vote
2. Jason Feinberg, On Target Media Group
3. Three-way tie for 3rd place between Liz Heller of Buzztone, Bryan Mead of Fontana and Melissa Talwar of Annex Project Creative

Top Music Business Attorney (11 nominees)

1. Donald Passman with 22% of the vote
2. Dina LaPolt
3. Jay Rosenthal

Top Music Business Writer / Journalist (7 nominees):

1. Chris Anderson, Wired with 24.5% of the vote
2. Bernard Baur, Music Connection
3. Moses Avalon

Top Music Producer (6 nominees)

1. Timbaland with 46.6% of the vote
2. Dr. Dre
3. David Kahne

Top Music Publishing Company (9 nominees):

1. EMI Music Publishing with 21.2%
2. Second Spring Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing tie for 2nd place
3. Cherry Lane and Sony Music Publishing tie for 3rd place

Top Music Publishing Executive (8 nominees):

1. Tied for 1st place: Big Jon Platt, EMI Music Publishing and Milt Okun, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, each with 31.1% of the vote
2. Jim Vellutato, Sony Music Publishing
3. Benjamin Groff, Kobalt Music Publishing

Top Music Supervisor (6 nominees):

1. Joe Cuello, MTV with 26.5% of the vote
2. P.J. Bloom, Neophonic
3. Karyn Rachtman, Mind Your Music

Top New Media Executive (7 nominees):

1. Courtney Holt, MTV Networks with 29.7% of the vote
2. 2nd place tie between David Goldberg, Benchmark Capital (formerly Yahoo) and Fred Bolza, Sony BMG
3. Michael Nash, Warner Music Group

Top Publicist (8 nominees):

1. Marilyn Laverty, Shore Fire Media with 22.5% of the vote
2. Mitch Schneider, The Mitch Schneider Organization
3. Ken Sunshine, Ken Sunshine Consultants

Top Radio Promotion Executive (9 nominees):

1. Jessica Weber, Spectre with 39.9% of the vote
2. Nan Cassidy
3. 3rd place tie: Bob Catania and Brenda Romano

Top Record Company President or CEO (8 nominees):

1. Jimmy Iovine, Interscope Geffen A&M with 21.2% of the vote
2. Rick Rubin, Columbia Records (Co-Head)
3. Terry McBride, Nettwerk Music Group

Top Music Retailer (5 nominees):

1. iTunes with 32.7% of the vote
2. Amoeba Music
3. Amazon

Top Sales Executive (5 nominees):

1. David Orleans, ADA with 28.9% of the vote
2. Jayne Simon
3. Chuck Stubbs, SideCho Records

Top Auditor / C.P.A. (4 nominees):

1. Gary Haber, The Haber Corporation with 34.8% of the vote
2. Gary Cohen
3. Fred Wolinsky, Wolinsky, Becker & Hurewitz

Top Royalty Tracker / Collector (5 nominees):

1. Jon R. Hichborn, Records On The Wall with 26% of the vote
2. Sindee Levin, AMRA
3. Will Page, MCPS-PRS Alliance

Once again, NARIP congratulates the winners and nominees!

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