Brent Faiyaz
Brent Faiyaz at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
The most powerful people in the independent music business gathered together at Billboard’s 2024 Indie Power Players event at the Soho Grand Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday night (June 11), with guests from companies like EMPIRE, Concord, Merlin, Beggars Group, Secretly Group, The Orchard, Virgin Music, ADA, Hopeless Records, Downtown Music, A2IM, BMG, Stem, TuneCore, Believe, UnitedMasters, OneRPM and many more in attendance.
During the event, Indie Power cover star Brent Faiyaz was celebrated for his strategic and forward-thinking journey through the music business that prioritized his own independence — which has now seen him succeed as a businessman, too, given the success of his ISO Supremacy label venture with PULSE Music Group thanks to Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” — as well as Faiyaz’s manager, COLTURE head of ventures and innovation Ty Baisden, who was named Executive of the Year. Both gave speeches, as did Billboard’s Hannah Karp and Mike Van, BMG’s Jon Loba, Downtown’s Justin Kalifowitz and Stem’s Milana Rabkin. Laurie Anderson, avant-garde musician and performance artist, performed a playful instrumental piece via a self-made device affixed to the roof of her mouth that buzzed along with her vocal-cord vibrations (harking back to her so-called “mouth light” in 1983’s landmark piece United States).
The event came amidst a whirlwind week’s worth of parties and panels celebrating the independent music community in New York City, which has never been as diverse, or as vibrant, as it is in 2024, as artists, labels and distributors have more options, more challenges and more opportunities than ever before to find success in an ever-changing business.
Brent Faiyaz at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Claire Taylor and Nabil Ayers at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Dr. Richard James Burgess poses at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Christina “XTina” Prince at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Grupo Frontera at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Stacy Betton and Nik Stewart at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Brent Faiyaz, Ty Baisden, Mike Van, Hannah Karp, Milana Rabkin and Jon Loba at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Mike Van speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Hannah Karp speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Brent Faiyaz speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Ty Baisden speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Renzell Baisden, Annette Baisden and Brandon Tellis at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jon Loba speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.a
Blanco Brown at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Justin Kalifowitz speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.a
Justin Kalifowitz and Laurie Anderson pose together at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.a
Laurie Anderson speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.a
Milana Rabkin speaks at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.a
Brent Faiyaz signs his Billboard cover at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jayne Andrew and Darren Xu at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Colleen Theis and Mary Ashley Johnson at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Key Glock, Ghazi Shami and Jeremel “DaddyO” Moore at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jon Loba, Thomas Coesfeld and Thomas Scherer at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Dorothee Imhoff, Sarah Landy and Gareth Mellor at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jeremy Sirota at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Andreea Gleeson, Romain Vivien and Alejandra Olea at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jocelynn Pryor and Dean Tabaac at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Christiaan Kröner, Dorothee Imhoff and Sarah Landy at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
JoJamie Hahr, Blanco Brown and Jon Loba at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Michael Weiss and David Melhado at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Rob Levine and Kristen Wisneski at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Jacqueline Saturn and Cindy James at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Christiaan Kröner, Molly Neuman, Pieter van Rijn, Ben Patterson and Justin Kalifowitz at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
MaryLynne Drexler, Cat Kreidich, Samantha Moore, Adriana Sein and Kyle Aycock at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Kristen Graziani and Seth Faber at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Eddie Blackmon, George D’Errico, Emmanuel Zunz, Jenna LoMonaco, Erin Dunleavy and Joe Maimone at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Eddie Blackmon, Erin Dunleavy and Jenna LoMonaco at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Andreea Gleeson at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Agnes Julia and Adrian Finns at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.
Joceline Pryor and Sarah Landy at Billboard’s Indie Power Players Party at the Soho Grand on June 11, 2024 in New York.