Billboard’s 2025 Global Power Players Revealed
As the recorded-music business worldwide grew for the 10th consecutive year, these are the executives driving success for artists outside the United States.
Manu Kaushish – President of International, Create Music Group
In June 2024, Create Music Group reached a significant milestone when it received a received a $165 million investment from Chicago-based private equity firm Flexpoint Ford. The move elevated CMG to “unicorn” status after getting a $1 billion valuation. The capital allowed CMG to acquire the catalogs of deadmau5 and his label, mau5trap. Founded in 2015, CMG includes marketing agency Flighthouse and independent music distribution platform Label Engine, which handled Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Billboard 200 No. 1 Vultures 1.
“We are poised for continued aggressive expansion in 2025, empowering and onboarding even more international artists and labels,” Kaushish says.
Biggest issue now: “How to adequately and fairly compensate music creators in a world of ever-changing streaming royalties and algorithms, especially with the dominance and power that DSPs and their stakeholders have right now.”
