David Furnish felt a rush of endorphins wash over him. It was a warm June evening in 2023, and the surging crowd of over 120,000 had gathered to witness the first-ever Glastonbury Festival set — and, at least for the time being, the last public concert in the United Kingdom — by Elton John. That crush of concertgoers was screaming for Furnish’s star client — who also happens to be his husband.

“Even the concession stands in the back closed down so that they could watch the show,” Furnish recalls, still flabbergasted nearly a year later. “The crowd just filled in around the stands and along the entire north barrier. It was a sea of joy.”

The performance would break records for the annual festival: Along with that in-person crowd, John’s performance garnered 7.3 million overnight viewers on BBC One, making it the most-watched Glastonbury set in history. And if not for Furnish, it never would have happened.

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Mary Allen

Agent

◾ UTA

UTA was a 2023 recipient of the Equality 100 Award, marking its perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, a national evaluation of corporate policies, practices and benefits related to LGBTQ+ employees. (Only 595 businesses across all U.S. industries received such a score.) “This recognition highlights UTA’s ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace environment,” Allen says, “and makes me proud to be part of such a supportive organization.” This company culture helped set the stage for the achievements of superstar clients including Karol G, Lil Nas X and Burna Boy.

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Annie Brinn

Senior vp of publishing, licensing and royalties administration

◾ Warner Music Group

In 2022, WMG launched Mentoring Remixed, a program that connects junior employees from traditionally marginalized communities — including LGBTQ+ people — with senior executives for learning opportunities. “Due to the great success of its inaugural cohort in 2022-2023,” Brinn says, “WMG expanded the program to offer a second cohort in the Americas.” Still, Brinn notes, “despite our collective efforts, legislative measures have become a formidable barrier,” referring to the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the United States. “It is imperative to advocate for increased LGBTQ+ representation and cultivate allies in positions of legislative power to halt the enactment of discriminatory laws targeting our community.”

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James Costas-Michael

Senior director of creative strategy

◾ Fame House, a division of Universal Music Group

Costas-Michael works on projects across the UMG spectrum, which in the past year have included e-commerce for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS rollout for Geffen and working on Karol G’s e-commerce strategy alongside Interscope during the Colombian sensation’s U.S. stadium tour. “It has been so rewarding to be able to really lean into her creative identity as an artist,” Costas-Michael says of Rodrigo, adding of the Karol G campaign: “Witnessing the strong connection she has with her fans and our team being able to amplify that through merchandise and authentic storytelling has been really fulfilling.”

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Amanda Martino

Director of international commercial strategy

◾ Sony Music Entertainment

Martino was part of the team that helped Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” become a smash hit, ending 2023 as the No. 2 track on the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart and the No. 1 title on the year-end Billboard Global 200. The executive also helped deliver a Billboard 200 No. 1 for blink-182’s comeback release, One More Time, in October, as well as Hozier’s first-ever Hot 100 chart-topper, “Too Sweet,” which also ruled the Billboard Global 200. “It’s a privilege to help lead the international commercial strategy for a diverse roster of artists across Sony Music,” Martino says.

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Avery McTaggart

Managing partner

◾ TBA Agency

Along with internal expansions of TBA’s branding and partnerships divisions, McTaggart is proudest of its ever-growing roster. Spurring growth from clients like the band Rawayana and Faye Webster in 2024, McTaggart additionally points to TBA’s growing LGBTQ+ roster, citing fast-rising acts like Remi Wolf, Adrianne Lenker and salute as examples of the agency’s commitment to fostering change. “We need to remain focused on not only uplifting the voices and art made by our LGBTQ+ artists,” he says, “but equally need to invest in making sure there are more spaces within the music business for LGBTQ+ people to thrive.”

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Sara Mertz

Vp of music partnerships for venues

◾ Tixr

With more than a decade of experience in the industry, Tixr has processed over $1 billion in transactions through its platform built for unified commerce and sales beyond tickets. As of 2024, the ticketing platform — which offers features from personalized seat maps to in-app merchandise and food and beverage integration — has grown to power over 500 live-entertainment brands in 40 countries. “Tixr’s growth has been exponential,” Mertz says. “As we continue to release new products that dramatically increase our partners’ revenue over time, we have continued to fulfill our mission of going beyond ticketing.”

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Allison Moore

Head of content strategy and operations

◾ SoundCloud

Since helping launch SoundCloud’s First Fans project in 2023, which surfaces new music to listeners most likely to enjoy it to avoid what she calls the “zero-play problem,” Moore is proud of having given “millions of artists a better chance” to get their music heard. Behind the scenes, she has a similar mission: “The workplace is still challenging for folks in the LGBTQIA+ community as an underrepresented group. We need mentorship and support from leaders in the music business and beyond. We need safe spaces for sharing and listening.”

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Anna Neville

Global co-president/COO

◾ TaP Music

Neville describes the LGBTQ+ community as “resilient,” and the word also applies to TaP’s star-studded roster — especially Lana Del Rey, whom Neville praises for achieving her biggest year to date for her recorded music following the March 2023 release of her Grammy Award-nominated ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. In April, Del Rey continued to celebrate its success with a headlining Coachella set. “We wanted to show the depths of Lana’s influence on contemporary music,” Neville says, “and I think we’ve achieved that.”

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Don Parker

Senior vp of programming, San Francisco

GM, PRIDE Radio

◾ iHeartRadio

As Parker puts it, the recent upticks in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and attacks on the trans community across the United States have made it “more important than ever” to ensure that the community has trustworthy news sources — hence the creation of the company’s PRIDE Radio News Update feature. The platform now highlights relevant news and developments to empower listeners with knowledge and inform them about ways to act, expanding on iHeartRadio’s reputation as a leading music, entertainment and lifestyle brand.

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Henry Quintero

Latin tour buyer

◾ Live Nation

Live Nation’s global touring team and roster of Latin tours keep expanding, in line with the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. “We continue focusing on developing new and established Latin artists into successful touring acts within the U.S.,” says Quintero, whose purview includes promotion of sold-out shows for artists such as Danny Ocean, Kany García, Myke Towers, Juanes and Eladio Carrión.

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Ed Razzano

Senior vp of administration services, Songwize

◾ ASCAP

Razzano is proud that ASCAP reported record revenue of $1.7 billion in 2023, but he calls another accomplishment “especially important to me”: the formation at ASCAP of an LGBTQ+ group called Syncopation. “Its mission is to create a safe space where members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies can belong, not just fit in,” he says, “empowering all to bring their full authentic selves to ASCAP and to their work on behalf of our members.”

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Adam Roth

Executive vp of global partnerships and business development

◾ Recording Academy

LGBTQ+ artists made a strong showing in the 66th annual Grammy Award nominations, with Victoria Monét and Phoebe Bridgers each receiving seven nods and such wide-ranging artists as Brandy Clark, Allison Russell, Romy and Troye Sivan also being recognized. In addition, the academy launched Academy Proud, which “shines a spotlight throughout the year on the queer community,” Roth says. “One of the Recording Academy’s proudest moments was launching Grammy House, which provided programming, panels and performances geared toward the next generation of music creators and executives.”

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Scott Seviour

Chief marketing officer

◾ gamma.

The media company — which creates, distributes and markets content ranging from music to podcasts — launched in 2023 and quickly partnered with stars such as Snoop Dogg and Usher. Gamma. “had such a dynamic and prolific inception, and I’m so proud that the brand has instant recognition and gravitas within the industry,” Seviour says of the Los Angeles-based venture, which acquired distribution platform Vydia in 2022. “We’re blessed with illustrious partnerships, have an amazing, dedicated team and we’re making an impact on culture.”

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Alice Simmons

Senior director of business and legal affairs

◾ Concord

As a member of Concord’s mergers and acquisitions team, Simmons is proud to have seen the company expand its holdings and begin managing iconic catalogs for acts including Céline Dion, Carrie Underwood and KISS through the acquisitions of Mojo Music & Media and the Round Hill Music Royalty Fund in 2023. With a shared goal to “protect the legacy” of Concord’s newly acquired catalogs, Simmons emphasizes she’s “proud to work with a team that treats these works with the same respect and attention shown to our artists and songwriters.”

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Darina Smethurst-Connolly

Head of music partnerships, U.K. and Ireland

◾ TikTok

In April, TikTok Pride’s European Union/U.K. group unveiled the Trans+ History Week initiative, a series that Smethurst-Connolly says had two goals: “educating and inspiring staff on the trans+ history lesson we never had,” while also “providing insights on how to be a powerful ally in the workplace.” Efforts like this are crucial — “two in five trans people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months,” Smethurst-Connolly says. “We need to work as allies to address the huge barriers trans people in the U.K. face.”