Billboard’s 2026 Country Power Players Revealed
Categoria: Musica
Here are the names comprising the 12th edition of the leading executives within the genre.
Por Billboard | 29/05/2026
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. Related After Slow-Burn Rise, Riley Green Is Red Hot: ‘If This Had Happened To Me When I Was 22, It Would Have Been Mayhem’ Suspect in Taylor Swift Vienna Concert Attack Plot Convicted & Sentenced to 15 Years Man Who Plotted to Attack Taylor Swift Vienna Concert Apologizes Ahead of Verdict in Trial 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 Dean Chrissy Nix “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 engag