When you buy a CD, you've been influenced--unwittingly or not--by an industry player, someone who made the moves to get the record to the store in the first place. Here are the managers, programmers, DJs and A&R guys who consistently hit the right chords:
Program Director Kevin Weatherly and DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, KROQ Los Angeles: Weatherly does the playlist, while "Rodney on the ROQ" breaks new music. Bingenheimer is known for having introduced an amazing array of artists, including Blondie, Van Halen and Nirvana. KROQ's Xmas concert had sets by Alanis Morissette, Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz and Sonic Youth.
Andy Sckuon, MTV: As head of MTV's music department, he oversees two committees that make decisions by rough-and-tumble consensus. One group votes on which videos to air while the other monitors the world of available music.
Suge Knight, chief executive, and Dr. Dre, producer, Death Row Records: Death Row's gangsta rap continues to loom large--even in the eyes of Congress. Time Warner dropped Death Row's distributor, Interscope (headed by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field and home of Tupac Shakur), because Knight and Dre refused to muzzle Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound.
Perry Farrell: He sold his stake in Lollapalooza, his showcase event, to the William Morris Agency. He is planning a new festival, which may be a traveling, allnight pajama party with various musicians.
Tony Brown, president, MCA Nashville: Responsible for such country artists as Reba McEntire, George Strait, Steve Earle, Joe Ely and the Mavericks.
Sheila Rogers and Zoe Friedman (Letterman), Barbera Libis (Leno) and James Pitt (O'Brien), music bookers: Competition has made late-night TV a hot venue for unknowns who later turn up on radio and CD players.
Tim Sommers, A&R, Atlantic: He signed Hootie & the Blowfish. The band cut the record, and the rest is history--just check your rearview mirror.
Honorable mentions: Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch at Q Prime (managers for Metallica, Veruca Salt, Smashing Pumpkins), Butch Vig (producer), Scott Hendricks (head of Capitol Nashville), KCRWFM, Santa Monica (essential listening for label executives), and artists who foster new acts: Garth Brooks, Ice Cube, Madonna, Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys and Michael Stipe.
