Capitol Music Group (CMG) Chairman & CEO Steve Barnett hosted the company’s 3rd Annual Capitol Congress on Wednesday, August 5 at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood, during which CMG’s superstar and developing artists presented their forthcoming projects to company and entertainment industry representatives from around the world, as well as consumer and trade media. Those artists included Katy Perry, Don Henley, Tori Kelly, Bastille, Disclosure and Troye Sivan, as well as a surprise appearance by Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz of Beastie Boys, on what would have been the 51st birthday of Adam Yauch, who died in 2012. The band’s landmark 1989 Capitol Records album, Paul’s Boutique, was recognized by the company for its lasting importance and enduring influence in redefining popular music, while The Beastie Boys flag flew on the roof of the Capitol Tower for the first time since 1989.
Katy Perry was recognized by the company for the record-breaking and ongoing success of her Prism album, including 10,000,000+ total adjusted album, 2,000,000+ attendees of her “Prismatic” World Tour, 4,000,000+ total album sales, 30,000,000+ total single sales, 60,000,000+ total digital track equivalents, 225,000,000+ viewers of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, 1,000,000,000+ total video views on both “Roar” and “Dark Horse,” and 4,000,000,000+ total audio and video streams.
Attendees were greeted by Universal Music Group (UMG) Chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge, who opened the proceedings with a James Corden Car Karaoke video as seen on the latter’s The Late, Late Show with James Corden. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated CMG on its resurgent success and thanked its leaders for returning company headquarters to the city. Notable figures from the music and entertainment industries who spoke on major topics relevant to attendees included iHeartMedia Chairman & CEO Robert Pittman, Havas Sports & Entertainment President & CEO Lucien Boyer; Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group Jody Gerson, Executive Vice President of U.S. Recorded Music Michele Anthony, Apple Music’s Beats 1 host Zane Lowe (who interviewed Beastie Boys), and Lefsetz Letter author Bob Lefsetz.
During the day’s event, several noteworthy facts were announced that spoke to CMG’s resurgence since EMI was purchased by UMG and relaunched as the new Capitol Music Group less than three years ago. Since then, CMG’s music industry market share has surged, and the company has ascended to the #2 position among all industry label groups. CMG has also established three of the top ten breakout artists in the U.S. of the past three years: Sam Smith, 5 Seconds Of Summer and Bastille. The company is headquartered in Hollywood in the iconic Capitol Tower.
Encompassing a full day of new music and appearances by media notables at the Arclight and a gala celebration for nearly 1,000 guests at the Capitol Tower that evening, the 3rd Annual Capitol Congress was presented by Citi, who also supported the festivities by bringing attendees an exclusive photo exhibition of seminal music moments in Capitol’s nearly 75-year history. Other partners included DTS Inc., which provided sound equipment for Congress attendees, and Boulevard Brewery, which provided beverages for all guests.
The full list of artists, speakers and presenters during Capitol Music Groups 3rd Annual Capitol Congress were (in order of appearance): Actor and host of The Late Late Show with James Corden, James Corden; Universal Music Group (UMG) Chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge; Capitol Music Group (CMG) Chairman & CEO Steve Barnett; Capitol Records Senior Vice President of A&R Mike Flynn; CMG Senior Vice President of Marketing Mitra Darab; artist Tori Kelly; Motown Records President Ethiopia Habtemariam; Quality Control Music CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas and COO Kevin “Coach K” Lee; CMG Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Jubelirer; Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson; Harvest Records General Managers Piero Giramonti and Jacqueline Saturn; Capitol Christian Music Group CEO Bill Hearn; President of Capitol Records UK Nick Raphael; Virgin Records General Manager Ashley Burns; artists Bastille; CMG Executive Vice President Scott Greer, artists Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz (Beastie Boys); Apple Music’s Beats 1 host Zane Lowe; Chairman & CEO of UMG Nashville Mike Dungan; seventeenfifty’s Senior Vice President Kate Denton; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; CMG Executive Vice President Greg Thompson; CMG Chief Financial Officer Geoff Harris; UMG Executive Vice President of U.S. Recorded Music Michele Anthony; UMG Senior Vice President of Global Streaming Jay Frank; I.R.S. Nashville President John Grady; Lefsetz Letter publisher and writer Bob Lefsetz; Astralwerks General Manager Glenn Mendlinger; iHeartMedia Chairman & CEO Bob Pittman; iHeartMedia Senior Vice President, Programming, John Ivey; Caroline President Dominic Pandiscia; Caroline General Manager Mike Harris; Blue Note Records President Don Was; artists Disclosure (Howard Lawrence and Guy Lawrence); KCRW’s Jason Bentley; artist Troye Sivan; Mashable Senior Music Reporter Brian Hernandez; artist Don Henley.
Links to downloadable photos and video:
Photos: https://web.dfstudio.com/go/im/2cca1dd0-3b3f-11e5-ab55-22000b252c9d
Photo Credit: Eric Charbonneau – AP/Invision
Photos: https://assignments.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/gyipa_public?nav=pr291428137
Photo Credit: Lester Cohen or Rich Polk – Getty Images
Video: https://pigeon.to/1JOt0D5
