Mediaboss Marketing

A version of this story first appeared in the Jan. 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

It hasn't been a pretty picture for the record companies the past 15 years. In that time, the U.S. music business has shrunk in half, from revenue of $14.6 billion in 1999 to $7.1 billion in 2012, and that's been reflected in job losses, consolidation of seven music giants into three and a general feeling of malaise that says the industry's glory days are an irretrievable thing of the past. Indeed, the landscape is littered with former executives bemoaning the loss of expense accounts and cocaine- and hooker-fueled days, but not these spry veterans, who have survived this brave new digital world to tell their tales.

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Jerry Greenberg, Atlantic Records president (1974-80), MJJ Music president/COO (1993-2000)

Then: Signed ABBA; connected producer Mutt Lange with AC/DC (the result: Highway to Hell); broke Led Zeppelin on U.S. radio with "Whole Lotta Love"; signed Chic, Sister Sledge and The Trammps.

Now: Founder of Ibiza-based label Pacific Electronic Music; spearheading documentary about his career.

Next: Involved with the Polyphony Foundation, a music school in Nazareth where kids from both Israel and Palestine learn together. "I love music and working with artists. I can still tell a hit when I hear it. I want to find the next Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake."

What He Misses: "Labels signing artists, developing them and waiting for the money to come later. Record companies don't stick with artists as much as they did back then."

Words of Wisdom: "This is as great a time to be a small, independent label as it was in the '60s."

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Link:
Music Moguls Reunite: 'I Saved My Money. I Didn't Put It Up My Nose' (Video)