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In times of upheaval, there is always opportunity — a condition that aptly describes the past year in the indie sector of the music business. Across the industry, there has been change: in leadership, in ownership, in distribution, in what it means to be independent and in creative control.
And at the same time, the indie world is thriving. Some of the biggest artists in the world — like this issue’s cover subject, RAYE — are independent; the industry’s biggest deals are being made by independent companies, like France’s Believe, preparing for its much-vaunted entry into the United States; and by label ownership, independents made up 44.15% of the U.S. recorded-music industry in the first quarter of 2026, a figure nearly twice as high as any major company.
As the tectonic plates of the business continue to shift, one thing is clear: It’s good to be indie.
Associations
Ian Harrison
CEO, American Association of Independent Music
Lisa Hresko
COO, American Association of Independent Music; president, Foundation for Independent Music
Gee Davy
CEO, Association of Independent Music
Helen Smith
Executive chair, IMPALA
Charlie Lexton
CEO, Merlin
Lexton Kate Shortt
Since taking over as Merlin’s CEO in January — succeeding the organization’s previous leader, Jeremy Sirota, now at Suno — Lexton has a simple overriding mission: using the “collective value” of the indie digital rights agency’s members to “enable and support their independence.”
Shortly after Lexton assumed leadership of the organization he’s been with since its 2007 founding, Merlin announced it had struck a licensing deal with generative AI startup Udio, enabling Merlin’s stable of indie labels, distributors and artists to be compensated for allowing their recordings to be used in AI training. This followed a previous opt-in licensing deal Merlin struck with ElevenLabs for its music model Eleven Music, which marked “the first at-scale deal between a global rights holder and a significant AI company,” Lexton says.
These deals proved that “AI companies can reach commercial agreements with music rights holders,” Lexton says. “We are here to do business and deals are achievable.”
However, he qualifies, “We will only do business with partners who respect copyright. That ultimately means partners who agree to terms that respect the investment, by artists and entrepreneurs, that it takes to make great music. Those terms are not solely about payments, they’re also about the inclusion of guardrails that protect the integrity of existing catalogs and the ability of artists and labels to control the use of their intellectual property.
“The deals we have struck fulfill those criteria,” he continues, “and not only have we found great partners, we have demonstrated it’s possible for AI companies to build music products without looking for exceptions to existing legal frameworks.”
Also under Lexton’s leadership, Merlin recently announced it had signed a deal with Pipeline, which will offer advances — through more than $200 million in capital — to member companies against digital royalties generated by Merlin, effectively opening up another funding stream for the indie labels it represents.
Noemí Planas
CEO, WIN
Labels & Distributors
Alejandro Duque
President, ADA
Kyle Aycock
CFO, ADA
Adriana Sein
Global head of artist and market development, ADA
MaryLynne Drexler
Global head of content acquisition and business and legal affairs, ADA
Bryan Roberts
Vp/head of A&R and label acquisition, ADA
Chris Swanson
Co-founder, All Flowers Group
Sam Valenti IV
Co-founder, All Flowers Group; founder, Ghostly International
Caleb Braaten
Founder, Sacred Bones Records
Nigil Mack
Founder, drink sum wtr
Dean Tabaac
Head, AMPED
Pip Smith
Vp of sales/GM, AMPED
Jocelynn Pryor
Vp of marketing, AMPED
Eli Piccarreta
Senior vp of A&R, Artist Partner Group
Alec Henderson
Vp of marketing, Artist Partner Group
Iain Catling
CEO, AudioSalad
Lonny Olinick
CEO, AWAL
Bianca Bhagat
GM, AWAL
Pete Giberga
President of North America, AWAL
Humberto Novoa
CEO, Azteca Records
Sergio Pérez
Vp, Azteca Records
Emmanuel de Buretel
Founder/CEO, Because Group
Nabil Ayers
President, Beggars Group
Claire Taylor
U.S. GM, Beggars Group
Andy Larsen
Head of sales, Beggars Group
Pam Garavano-Coolbaugh
Head of U.S. product management, Beggars Group
Romain Vivien
Global head of music/president, Europe & USA, Believe
Elsa Bahamonde Bourgain
President, artist services and label and artist solutions, Believe
Brian Miller
Chief business officer, TuneCore
Nicki Shamel
Head of TuneCore, U.S. & Canada, TuneCore
Dan Waite
CEO, Better Noise Music
Seth England
Partner/CEO, Big Loud Records
Jordan Pettit
Stacy Blythe
Co-presidents, Big Loud Records
Paul Logan
Senior vp of sync, Big Loud Records
Joey Moi
Partner/producer, Big Loud; president, Big Loud Rock
Seon Jeong Shin
President, BIGHIT MUSIC
Scott Borchetta
Founder/chairman, Big Machine Records, Nashville Harbor R.E., Borchetta Entertainment Group
Gordon Kerr
President/CEO, Black River Entertainment
Rick Froio
Executive vp, Black River Entertainment
Dan Gill
Executive vp of recorded music, West Coast, BMG
JoJamie Hahr
Executive vp of recorded music, Nashville, BMG
Sean Heydorn
Senior vp, Rise Records
Andre Benz
Co-founder/CEO, broke records
Brandon De Oliveira
Co-founder/COO, broke records
Yo Gotti
Founder/CEO, CMG
Tom Becci
CEO, Concord Label Group
Fred Gillham
COO, Concord Label Group
Hazel Malit
CFO, Concord Label Group
Andy Serrao
Chief creative officer, Concord Label Group
Jonathan Strauss
Co-founder/CEO, Create Music Group
Alexandre Williams
Co-founder/COO, Create Music Group
Wayne Hampton
Co-founder/chief business development officer, Create Music Group
Mike Curb
Chairman, Curb Records
Justin Lubliner
Founder/CEO, Darkroom Records
Layne Cooperstein
GM, The Darkroom
Oliver Jordan
Head of global strategy, Darkroom Records
Jamie Oborne
Founder/owner, Dirty Hit
Ken Bunt
President, Disney Music Group
David Abdo
GM, Disney Music Group
Chip McLean
Senior vp/head of business affairs and development; GM, Disney Concerts Worldwide
Phil Bauer
President, DistroKid
Peter Berard
U.S. label manager, Domino Recording Company
Pushkar Ojha
Director of operations, Domino Recording Company
Berard Erin Thompson
Ojha Caitlin Pasko
Domino’s biggest success story over the last year was the launch of Isle of Wight-bred rock band Wet Leg’s second album, moisturizer, which dropped last July. The set’s fourth single, “mangetout” — propelled in part by a key synch in an episode of the smash TV series Heated Rivalry — subsequently scored a No. 2 placement on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.
“We have seen them go from performing at small clubs like the Echo to selling out amphitheaters such as the Greek and even playing the main stage of this year’s Coachella, all within the span of five years,” says Berard of the group. Wet Leg also scored a pair of Grammy nominations at this year’s ceremony — for best alternative music album and best alternative music performance — after taking home three trophies in prior years.
Elsewhere, Domino recently launched the electronic and dance music imprint Smugglers Way, whose roster includes Alan Braxe, DJ Falcon and Phoenix, along with collaborative works from Domino artists like Panda Bear, members of Hot Chip and Ela Minus. The lattermost also received a Latin Grammy nomination last year — “a first and rewarding honor for Domino in our continued effort to highlight exceptional artists from around the world,” Berard says. “It was very satisfying for our staff who have worked closely with Ela since early in her career to witness her profile build to this level of recognition.”
Looking ahead, Domino wants to continue “to look for ways to highlight our music in unique avenues,” Berard says, whether through synchs — also including Hot Chip’s live performance in the second season of Netflix’s Beef — or collaborations. A few notable examples on the latter front include KT from Upchuck joining Hayley Williams onstage at an Atlanta concert; Sasami teaming up with Clairo on a single from the former’s last album, Blood on the Silver Screen; and Daniel Avery’s collaborations with Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, The Kills’ Alison Mosshart and others on his 2025 album, Tremor.
Peso Pluma
Co-founder/CEO, Double P Records
George Prajin
Co-founder/president, Double P Records
Molly Neuman
President, CD Baby
Ben Patterson
President, Downtown Artist & Label Services
Christiaan Kröner
President, FUGA
Michael Gallegus
Executive vp of business and legal affairs, EMPIRE
Ted May
Senior vp of international marketing, EMPIRE
Jentry Salvatore
Vp of A&R and creative development, EMPIRE
Samyah Ahmed
Chief of staff, EMPIRE
Brett Gurewitz
Founder/CEO, Epitaph/ANTI- Records
Sue Lucarelli
President, Epitaph Records
Glen Barros
Managing partner, Exceleration Music
John Burk
Charles Caldas
Amy Dietz
Dave Hansen
Partners, Exceleration Music
Shawn Barron
Ty Dolla $ign
Co-founders/co-CEOs, EZMNY Records
Ty Dolla $ign (left) and Barron Anika Jess
When Leon Thomas first previewed his second album, MUTT, for Ty Dolla $ign, he didn’t just press play — he made a presentation. Plugging his laptop into a TV, Thomas walked through a PowerPoint outlining the album’s color palette, visual world and even the stylists he envisioned would bring it to life.
Three years later, that meticulous vision paid off: MUTT earned Thomas — signed to Ty and Shawn Barron’s EZMNY Records — two Grammy Awards, a best new artist Grammy nomination, a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and an opening slot for Bruno Mars’ The Romantic tour.
“Watching Leon win two Grammys, top radio charts across three formats with ‘MUTT’ and ‘Watching Us’ — his collab with Wale — sell out both his North American and European tours, then go right into the Bruno Mars stadium tour has been incredible,” Barron says.
Founded by Barron and Ty Dolla $ign, EZMNY Records has served as the launchpad for Thomas’ evolution. From a burgeoning songwriter who co-penned SZA’s Grammy-winning, Hot 100 No. 2 hit “Snooze” to one of R&B’s most electric new voices, Thomas has become the blueprint for EZMNY’s brick-by-brick mentality.
“It’s a true testament to the power of artist development, good music and staying the course,” says Barron, whose growing roster features rjtheweirdo, Bizzy Crook, Keith Turner and Saige Michael.
Last year, MUTT proved to be a slow-burning breakthrough. After missing the Billboard 200 upon its 2024 release, the project began to steadily gain traction, earning gold certification — with the title track eventually climbing to No. 6 on the Hot 100 last November.
“We’re just getting started,” Ty Dolla $ign says.
Chris Atlas
President, FatBeats
Kevin Engler
GM, FatBeats
Zack Bia
Founder/CEO, Field Trip
Derek Davies
Dave Wallace
Co-founders/co-CEOs, Futures Music Group
Sarah Kesselman
GM/chief marketing officer, Futures Music Group
Dana Biondi
Partner/artist manager, G59 Records
Larry Jackson
Co-founder/CEO, gamma.
Ike Youssef
Co-founder/president, gamma.
Shawn Holiday
Co-founder, Giant Music
Nate Albert
President, Giant Music
Matt Lamotte
Managing director/executive vp of marketing, Giant Music
Daniel Glass
Founder/president, Glassnote Music
Logan Mulvey
CEO, GoDigital Music
Lauren Demarte
COO, GoDigital Music
Tip “T.I.” Harris
CEO, Grand Hustle Music
Thuy-An Julien
Chief business officer, Grand Hustle Music
Neil Jacobson
Founder/CEO, Hallwood Media
Danny Jacobson
Head of A&R, Hallwood Media
Niki Zahedi
Senior vp of A&R/management, Hallwood Media
From left: Neil Jacobson, Zahedi and Danny Jacobson. Jennifer Miller
In September, Hallwood raised eyebrows by signing the first known record deals for what it calls “AI music designers,” trying to turn what many in the traditional music industry considered a novelty or nuisance into a real business. “I never sign AI,” Neil Jacobson says. “I sign the real people behind them.” That includes the human backers of AI projects Xania Monet, who reached No. 3 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart, and The Soulful Gentleman, who reached the Viral 50 Spotify charts in 17 different countries.
Jacobson and Hallwood’s year, however, has gone beyond AI-related projects. The company’s human stars had strong growth years as well, including management client 2hollis, whose 2025 album, star, became one of the most acclaimed projects of the year; Remy Bond, who just toured Europe; and Sturdyyoungin, who hit No. 17 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart in March.
Jacobson says he’s also proud of Hallwood’s venture capital side, which invested in AI music company Suno’s $250 million Series C round through Hallwood Ventures. He calls Suno, which has been sued by multiple music companies for training on musical copyrights without a license, “a transformative company and the most exciting investment in music this year.”
When surveying the past 12 months, Jacobson says he’s most proud of his “really well-balanced approach” to Hallwood, which does everything from merchandise to management, label and publishing services. “Everything is growing. It feels really strong and solid — and frankly none of it has happened with a Billboard No. 1 hit,” he says. “To have all of these wins to point to before we’ve had that undeniable No. 1 hit has been really awesome to see.”
Jae Yoon Choi
Founder/CEO, hello82
Louis Posen
Founder/president, Hopeless Records
Erin Choi
GM, Hopeless Records
Eric Tobin
Executive vp of A&R and business development, Hopeless Records
Julius “J” Erving
Founder/CEO, Human Re Sources; executive vp, The Orchard; executive vp of creative development, Sony Music Entertainment
Pascal Bittard
Founder/president, IDOL
Brent Faiyaz
Founder/CEO, ISO Supremacy
Ashani Allick
Head of A&R and marketing, ISO Supremacy
Alison Ball
CEO, JBR Creative Group
Eric Benét
President, JBR Creative Group
Ball Harp Digital Media
Benét Helen Perez/Harp Digital Media
Established in 2023 by veteran A&R executive Ball and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Benét, JBR Creative Group notched several successes in the past year. Its scorecard includes an Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 with the Benét and Chanté Moore pairing on “So Distracted,” plus two top 10 showings on that chart: Joe Leone’s “Over Under” with Ne-Yo and Benét and India.Arie’s “Must Be Love.”
Both Benét tracks appear on his 2025 album, The Co-Star. Leone also co-wrote another song that landed at No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay, J. Brown’s “True Love.” Rounding out JBR’s roster is singer-songwriter Autumn Paige, who released her debut EP, Down the Rabbit Hole, last year.
In positioning JBR as an independent force in R&B, Ball says the company is taking a “disciplined, strategic approach focused on building real infrastructure, developing artists like Leone and Paige, expanding our catalog and strengthening our partnerships across distribution, marketing and synch. It’s about creating a sustainable ecosystem where artists can grow.”
With a string of hits including “Spend My Life With You” featuring Tamia, “Georgy Porgy” featuring Faith Evans and “Sometimes I Cry,” Benét is a four-time Grammy nominee. He kicked off his solo career in 1994 when he signed with Warner Music. Before partnering with Benét, Ball built her career in the A&R arena. Prior to serving as vp of A&R at Warner Bros. Records, she held posts as senior director of A&R at RCA Records and director of A&R at EMI. Along the way, she has worked with Prince, Chaka Khan and Curtis Mayfield, among others.
“Moving forward, we’re building on JBR’s momentum by continuing to scale our catalog, leaning into direct-to-fan engagement and executing more intentionally across every release,” Ball says. “The goal is long-term value — growing a company and a roster that can compete globally while staying authentically independent.”
Katie Dean
Label head, Leo33
Tunde Balogun
Co-founder/CEO, LVRN
Justice Baiden
Co-founder/head of A&R, LVRN
Amber Grimes
Executive vp/GM, LVRN
Pepe Aguilar
CEO, Machin Records/Equinoccio Records
Patrick Amory
Co-owner/president, Matador Records
Gerard Cosloy
Chris Lombardi
Co-owners, Matador Records
Sean Stevenson
President/CEO, MNRK Music Group
Michael Goldstone
Founder/co-owner/co-president, Mom+Pop Music
Thaddeus Rudd
Co-owner/co-president, Mom+Pop Music
Terry McBride
Co-founder/co-CEO, Nettwerk Music Group
Simon Mortimer-Lamb
Co-CEO, Nettwerk Music Group
Ricky Reed
Founder/CEO, Nice Life Recording Company
Nicole Enos
Senior vp of operations and business affairs, Nice Life Recording Company
Reed Chantel Anderson
Enos Shlomit Levy Bard
Last year, Nice Life Recording Company celebrated The Marías snagging a best new artist Grammy nomination, and the group’s lead vocalist, María Zardoya, launched her first solo project, Not for Radio, joining the Coachella lineup as a surprise act ahead of releasing her three-track EP Bloom. Coming up this year, Tinashe will follow her 2025 summer hit with Disco Lines, “No Broke Boys,” with a new body of work, and Lizzo will release her next album.
Reed says he’s “tripling down on the care-forward, music-first, DIY ethos that we’ve become known for.” As distribution companies and other indies get bought up by the majors and venture capital, he’s determined to keep the artist central to all of Nice Life’s releases.
“As an artist-owned company, we know what it means to ‘want it’ and are drawn to true musical originals and outsiders that take that approach,” Reed says. “The name Nice Life itself is an ode to my late manager who was an outsider as well. When he would see someone who didn’t have to fight to get to where they are, with a smirk he’d say, ‘Nice life, bro.’ ”
While majors are setting their sights on the indie market, both Reed and Enos say they’re seeing just as much opportunity for themselves as major labels.
“The old ideas of what was achievable by independent labels versus majors has disappeared,” Reed says. “Success comes from the quality of the art and passionate, hard work. Whoever wants it more wins.”
Enos adds, “Artists don’t have to choose between scale and care anymore. Indies are competing for and winning the same artists as majors, not by outspending them but by moving fast and showing up with a truly white-glove, boutique approach.”
Marie Clausen
Managing director for North America, Ninja Tune
Emmanuel Zunz
Founder/CEO, ONErpm
Brad Navin
CEO, The Orchard
Colleen Theis
President/COO, The Orchard
Richard Gottehrer
Co-founder/chief creative officer, The Orchard
Mary Ashley Johnson
Executive vp of commerce, The Orchard
Alan Becker
Senior vp of artist and label partnerships, The Orchard
Gottehrer Meredith Nadeau
Richard Gottehrer is rock’n’roll history. The industry icon, 86, wrote his first song on piano, “I’m on Fire,” in the 1950s after hearing Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” — and Lewis later released it as a single in 1964. Gottehrer was there in the early days of the girl-group sound, co-writing The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back” in 1963. He was there at the start of the British Invasion, as a member of The Strangeloves, and co-founded Sire Records in 1966 with Seymour Stein. He was there at the advent of punk and at CBGB in 1976, producing the first two Blondie albums, and helped take new wave to the top of the charts, producing the first Go-Go’s album. In the ’80s and ’90s, he produced for as many as 40 artists.
But beyond Gottehrer’s creative endeavors, he’s also an indie music industry champion. From the early 1960s through 2010, all of his creative work and entrepreneurial business enterprises happened in the independent sector. Even now, 14 years after Sony acquired a majority stake in the company he co-founded with Scott Cohen in 1997, The Orchard, he has remained indie: The Orchard is the largest distributor of independent music in the world.
Of all of his accomplishments during his 65-plus years in the music industry, Gottehrer counts co-founding The Orchard as his proudest.
Read the full story on The Orchard’s Richard Gottehrer here.
Tim Putnam
Co-founder/president, Partisan Records
Zena White
COO, Partisan Records
Jeff Bell
Label manager, Partisan Records
Putnam Jasmine Archie
White Jasmine Archie
The night that Zena White moved from the United Kingdom to America, she dropped her bags at her new Manhattan apartment and walked a few blocks to the Lower East Side’s Bowery Ballroom. It was October 2017, and White, who had relocated for a new job at Brooklyn-based Partisan Records, was checking out Cigarettes After Sex, the dream-pop band that had recently released its debut on the indie label.
The band’s career — and White’s, too — would soon change dramatically. Less than a decade after playing small clubs like the 575-capacity Bowery, the Texas act is headlining arenas, with its debut album certified platinum and over 3.2 million equivalent album units moved across its three studio sets, according to Luminate. And White is now Partisan’s COO, helping to oversee its eminent indie roster.
“The era that I have been at Partisan is really neatly bookended by Cigarettes After Sex,” White, 40, tells Billboard from Los Angeles, the night before Coachella launches with Partisan signees Geese, Blondshell and Interpol on the bill. “We were really focused on setting up a global footprint for them and then using that global footprint to advance our capabilities as a company and as a team.”
Co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler, Partisan featured in its early years a modest roster led by indie-rock bands, most notably Deer Tick, and the catalog of the late Afrobeat great Fela Kuti. But in the last decade, under the guidance of Putnam, now its president, and White, its small-but-mighty roster has become one of the most lauded in indie music. Partisan is responsible for launching next-gen rock heavyweights Fontaines D.C. and IDLES, home to critical darlings including Blondshell and Laura Marling, steward of catalogs for the legends Cymande and DJ Rashad — and behind the biggest indie-rock breakout in recent memory, Geese.
Read the full story on Executives of the Year Tim Putnam and Zena White here.
Sung Soo Han
Master professional, PLEDIS Entertainment
Jimmy Humilde
Co-founder/CEO, Rancho Humilde
Miguel “Mickey” Sanchez
President, Rancho Humilde
Humilde Courtesy of Rancho Humilde
Sanchez Courtesy of Rancho Humilde
“Rancho Humilde has already done what most labels are still chasing: building a global movement,” Humilde and Sanchez said in a joint statement. Over the last year, the Mexican music label has reaffirmed its status as one of the most influential forces driving Latin music’s global growth. Founded in Los Angeles, the trendsetting imprint’s powerhouse roster includes Natanael Cano, Junior H and Legado 7.
Beyond music, Rancho Humilde has extended its reach into film. “We signed a multimillion-dollar film deal with Columbia Pictures, which marked Rancho Humilde’s first long-form feature, CLIKA, which hit the top 10 on Netflix,” Humilde and Sanchez added. The movie — starring Jay Dee, frontman of Rancho Humilde act Herencia de Patrones — encapsulates the rise of corridos tumbados and the cultural movement the label sparked: “We’re moving from soundtracks to screens, and it’s only the beginning.”
Their achievements are backed up by data, including 80 billion global streams across platforms, according to the executives. Junior H sold out 27 dates on his $ad Boyz Live and Broken Tour, including two nights at the Hollywood Bowl. His first album in more than years, Depr<3$$ed MFKZ, a collaboration with Gael Valenzuela, debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on Top Latin Albums. Meanwhile, Herencia de Grandes hit No. 1 on Hot Regional Mexican Songs with their track “Ya Borracho.”
Looking forward, the Rancho Humilde team is focused on “more global touring, more chart-topping releases and continued artist expansion.” With upcoming music from Cano, Oscar Maydon and rising star Lencho, who has nearly 10 million monthly Spotify listeners, Rancho Humilde remains a rising force in the industry.
Ben Washer
CEO, Reach Records
Lecrae Moore
President, Reach Records
Javier “Jay” Sang
Founder/CEO, Rebel Music/Open Shift Distribution
Michael Petkov
Head of international, Redeye Worldwide
Noah Assad
CEO, Rimas
Lynn Oliver-Cline
Founder/CEO, River House Artists
Zebb Luster
Executive vp/artist manager, River House Artists
Darius Van Arman
Co-founder/CEO, Secretly Distribution
Chris Welz
COO, Secretly Distribution
Jon Coombs
Vp of A&R, Secretly Group
Ben Swanson
Co-founder/COO, Secretly Group
Phil Waldorf
Co-founder/chief marketing officer, Secretly Group
Robby Morris
Vp of creative marketing, Secretly Group
Emily Puterbaugh
Vp of streaming, Secretly Group
Kraegan Graves
Vp of operations, Secretly Group
Servando Cano
CEO, SERCA Music
Daniel Jang
Dmitry YJ Tak
Co-CEOs, SM Entertainment
Jorge Juarez
Founder/president, Socios Music
Sung Jin So
Master professional, Source Music
Seth Faber
GM, Stem
Bobby Davin
Senior vp of A&R and label partnerships, Stem
Jesús Ortiz Paz
CEO, Street Mob Records
JOP Street Mob Records
Founded by Fuerza Regida frontman Jesús “JOP” Ortiz Paz, the Southern California-based indie label has become a force in regional Mexican music, building a roster of over 25 artists and songwriters, including Chino Pacas, Calle 24 and Clave Especial.
“We’re making history right now,” JOP says. “[Fuerza Regida] went from arenas to a full stadium tour,” which will kick off June 18 at San Diego’s Petco Park.
The San Bernardino, Calif., group also delivered one of the biggest moments in Latin music history with the release of its ninth studio album, 111XPANTIA, in May 2025. The set — jointly released by Rancho Humilde and Street Mob Records and distributed by Sony Music U.S. Latin — debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting regional Mexican music album ever; with Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS holding the top spot, the chart placements also marked the first time that Spanish-language albums occupied Nos. 1 and 2 on the chart. The set also featured “Marlboro Rojo,” a smash hit written by standout Street Mob songwriter Miguel Armenta that reached No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay and spent 21 weeks on the Hot 100.
“It’s not just Fuerza. Street Mob [artists] took over, too,” JOP adds. The label’s younger acts are quickly shaping the future of música mexicana: Chino Pacas entered the top 10 of the Top Regional Mexican Albums chart in August with his second full-length, Cristian, while Clave Especial reached No. 83 on the Hot 100 with “Ferrari,” released in April. “Our artists and writers are leveling up,” JOP says. “Chuyin is hitting major festivals without even dropping a project yet. That’s when you know it’s real.”
The label’s approach is as bold as its roster. “This year we are really focusing on writing camps to keep elevating the sound,” he says. “We’re leveraging a 360 approach to the marketing, touring, merch and experiences that bridge sports, entertainment, fashion and beyond.” For Street Mob, the goal is clear: “To keep pushing this worldwide.”
Megan Jasper
CEO, Sub Pop
Jonathan Poneman
Co-founder/co-president, Sub Pop
Tony Kiewel
Co-president, Sub Pop
Jorge Brea
CEO, Symphonic
Randall Foster
Chief creative officer, Symphonic
Jack White
Founder/owner, Third Man Records
David Macias
Co-founder/president, Thirty Tigers
Gregory Hirschhorn
Co-founder/CEO, Too Lost
Alex Silverstein
Co-founder/COO, Too Lost
Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith
Founder/CEO, Top Dawg Entertainment
Annie Ortmeier
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records
Kevin Herring
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records; co-president, Akando Music
Steve Stoute
CEO, UnitedMasters
Jesse Morav
Vp of A&R, UnitedMasters
Sasha Safavi
Vp of legal/head of music licensing, UnitedMasters
Troy Carter
Co-founder/CEO, Venice Music
Suzy Ryoo
Co-founder/president, Venice Music
J.T. Myers
Nat Pastor
Co-CEOs, Virgin Music Group
Pieter van Rijn
COO, Virgin Music Group
Jaqueline Saturn
President of North America/executive vp of global artist relations, Virgin Music Group
Asmarina Zerabruk
Global head of projects, Young Recordings
Contributors: Trevor Anderson, Ed Christman, Chris Eggertsen, Eric Frankenberg, Ariel King, Carl Lamarre, Gail Mitchell, Isabela Raygoza, Kristin Robinson, Dan Rys
Methodology: Record companies are defined as independent by their ownership through entities other than the three major music groups. Distributors, regardless of their corporate ownership, qualify as independent through the repertoire they market. Companies self-certify they meet these criteria in submitting nominations. Nominations for all of Billboard’s industry-sourced executive lists open no less than 150 days in advance of publication, and a submission link is sent by request 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.) Billboard’s 2026 Indie Power Players were nominated by their companies and chosen by editors based on factors including market share as measured by the Billboard charts, using data available as of April 16. 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.
This story appears in the May 9, 2026, issue of Billboard.