jody gerson
Jody Gerson, chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), is set to receive the 2025 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons honor at The Recording Academy and Clive Davis‘ annual Pre-Grammy Gala, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1, the night before the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. This is the 50th anniversary of the high-profile event.
Gerson is just the third woman to receive the honor, following Debra L. Lee (2017), then-chairman/CEO of BET Networks, and Julie Greenwald (2023), then-Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO, who received the award in tandem with Craig Kallman, Atlantic Records chairman/CEO.
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“Jody is an inspirational leader who champions integrity and inclusivity in everything she does and is a revolutionary executive,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “She has opened doors for and propelled the careers of many of the world’s greatest songwriters, while simultaneously serving as one of the biggest advocates for women in music. We are thrilled to host an extraordinary evening that not only celebrates her remarkable impact but also marks the gala’s incredible 50-year milestone.”
“Jody Gerson is one of the music industry’s most illustrious leaders and I am thrilled that she will be this year’s Salute to Industry Icons honoree,” added Davis. “Jody’s longtime trailblazing commitment to supporting songwriters across the music spectrum as well as her tireless dedication to advocacy, diversity and equality in the music business are exemplary. Artists and the industry at large are fortunate to have a leader with such tremendous insight and passion at the helm.”
Davis originated the pre-Grammy Gala in 1976 when he was looking for a way to celebrate the success of Barry Manilow’s “Mandy,” Arista Records’ first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (and its first Grammy record of the year nominee).
Since joining UMPG in 2015, Gerson has transformed the company into a global powerhouse that owns and administers more than five million copyrights. She leads a global company with 48 offices in 40 countries and more than 850 employees. She made history as the first female chairman of a global music company and the first woman to be named CEO of a major music publisher.
Gerson is a member of Universal Music Group’s (UMG’s) executive management board.
Gerson ranked No. 14 on Billboard’s 2024 Power 100 list. Kristin Robinson, Billboard’s senior writer (publishing), led her essay about Gerson by saying, “As UMPG’s CEO, a National Music Publishers’ Association board member and co-founder of She Is the Music, an organization committed to empowering female creators, Gerson is one of the most trusted voices in music publishing.”
That was backed up with hard facts. From 2013 to 2023, UMPG’s U.S. revenue grew from $900 million to more than $1.9 billion. In that same time frame, the company narrowed the revenue gap between it and market leader Sony Music Publishing from $400 million to $188.5 million.
Gerson received a Primetime Emmy nod in 2021 as an executive producer of HBO’s The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which was nominated for outstanding documentary or nonfiction special. A year ago, she received a Grammy nod as one of the video producers for 2Pac’s Dear Mama, which was nominated for best music film.
Gerson has signed and works with many of the world’s biggest music stars, including Adele, Bee Gees, Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Drake, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Elton John, Alicia Keys, Steve Lacy, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Maren Morris, the Prince estate, Rosalia, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, SZA and The Weeknd. She also led UMPG’s acquisitions of the hit-studded catalogs of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Sting, among others.
As a champion for women in music and an advocate for education, Gerson co-founded the global nonprofit She Is The Music. She also serves on boards for the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the National Music Publishers Association, New Roads School and Project Healthy Minds.
Gerson jointly oversees Polygram Entertainment, a film and TV development and production division of UMG that produces feature-length films and music-centric series. In 2024 alone, she served as executive producer on a broad array of projects, including Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary; The Beach Boys; STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A.; and Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It. Other recent projects that Gerson executive produced include the aforementioned The Bee Gees: How to Mend a Broken Heart and HBO’s Music Box series. Among her and Polygram’s many projects in development are documentaries on Bernie Taupin and Prince.
In January 2020, Gerson became the first woman and first music publishing executive to be named Billboard’s executive of the year on its annual Power 100 list. She is the recipient of numerous other honors, including Billboard‘s Power Players’ Choice Award; Variety’s Hitmakers Executive of the Year; Billboard‘s 2015 Executive of the Year for its Women in Music issue; Rolling Stone’s “Future 25”; Variety’s Power of Women L.A.; and the 2016 March of Dimes Inspiring Woman of the Year.
The invitation-only Pre-Grammy Gala is sponsored by Hilton, Mastercard and IBM.
Jon Platt, Sony Music Publishing chairman/CEO, was last year’s Grammy Salute to Industry Icons honoree.
Here’s a complete list of previous honorees at the pre-Grammy Gala.
2005: Ahmet Ertegun
2006: Mo Ostin
2007: Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss
2008: Berry Gordy
2009: Clive Davis
2010: David Geffen
2011: Doug Morris
2012: Sir Richard Branson
2013: Antonio “L.A.” Reid
2014: Sir Lucian Grainge
2015: Martin Bandier
2016: Irving Azoff
2017: Debra L. Lee
2018: Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter
2019: Clarence Avant
2020: Sean “Diddy” Combs
2022: Rob Stringer
2023: Julie Greenwald & Craig Kallman
2024: Jon Platt
After more than 1,500 votes cast over three rounds of voting, Billboard Pro members selected Universal Music Publishing Group chairman/CEO Jody Gerson for the 2024 Power Players’ Choice Award, which honors the executive they believe had the most impact across the business in the past year. Since Gerson joined UMPG in 2015, the company’s annual […]
Lana Del Rey has signed a publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, sources tell Billboard. The singer-songwriter was previously affiliated with Sony Music Publishing. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news News of the UMPG deal arrives just a day after Del Rey was announced as one […]
LONDON — “I still feel like that little girl who started out in music publishing,” said Universal Music Publishing Group chairman and CEO Jody Gerson as she accepted the Ralph Peer II Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Music Publishing. It was presented by the award’s namesake at the July 10 annual meeting of the International Confederation of Music Publishers, or ICMP, held at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Gerson was, of course, being modest: She’s one of the most accomplished publishing executives in the world. But in front of dozens of European publishing and collective management executives, she shared the story of how she got started in the business.
The Pennsylvania native grew up in a music family that owned nightclubs in Philadelphia, and she had always been interested in getting into the music business. But when she first applied for label jobs, she didn’t have much luck. Eventually, she scored an interview with Chappell Music (later Warner Chappell) and her first job there was as the archivist, where she ran the tape library and became interested in the demos submitted by songwriters.
“I started thinking about marching songs with artists,” she remembered.
At the time, she pointed out, the music publishing business was much smaller, both in absolute terms and in comparison with recorded music, which dwarfed it in terms of both revenue and, it seemed to many at the time, wow factor. Now publishing is thriving, and a series of big song catalog purchases are generating plenty of excitement and attention.
The award was presented by Ralph Peer II, executive chair of peermusic and the initial recipient of the ICMP award that’s now named after him. “This wasn’t my idea,” he joked about the name of the prize. “It was foisted on me.” But he praised Gerson’s dedication to the publishing business. “On an everyday level she helps make the industry better,” he said. “She has acumen in business and music that’s very deep.”
Gerson was introduced by Mumford & Sons singer-songwriter Marcus Mumford, who praised her as well as the publishing business at large. “I don’t think artists are the best at protecting their songs, and managers aren’t always much better,” he joked. “We need publishers!”
The ICMP meeting itself, held at Abbey Road before the awards dinner, was more about business — royalties, metadata and the other details that make sure publishers and songwriters get paid as fast and accurately as possible. Trombonist Eric Crees, who plays at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden spoke about making film soundtracks, as did composer Stephen Warbeck.
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