Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge
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Lucian Grainge's management style is not short on theatrical flourish. Four years ago, the Briton who is about to become the world's most powerful music industry executive, arrived late to the boardroom of Universal Music Group's international head office in London after the company had suffered a particularly poor sales period. As he entered, he turned off the lights, leaving his executive team sitting nervously in the dark. He then paced around the room until finally uttering the words: "See that. Better get used to it. That's what it's like when you don't have any hit records."
New York will have to get used to Grainge this summer when the 49-year-old takes over as head of Universal Music worldwide, the largest record company on the planet with a market share of nearly 29% and such acts in its stable as U2, Lady Gaga, Eminem and Amy Winehouse. Grainge has been groomed for the role for several years and says his fingers will remain close to the light switch. "It will depend if they have any hits or not," he tells TIME.
Grainge is one of a trio of talented British music executives -- all born within six months of each other -- who have landed at the heart of the industry, even though none had any college education. Simon Cowell, the elder of the group and the only one who has turned 50, is perhaps the most famous name in the business, with a television and music operation that generates significant profits for rival Sony Music. Simon Fuller, the youngest, is the impresario who devised American Idol and managed the Spice Girls.
Grainge, though, describes himself as "the powerful one." He may not appear on television, but the turn-off-the-lights story is typical of a man who is both fiercely competitive and entertainingly playful. He chases artists signed to other music companies with fervor, personally persuading the Rolling Stones to switch over from rival record company EMI two years ago. And once he's wooed acts, he can keep them on board -- no small achievement in an industry not short of ego. When he was honored at London's Grosvenor Hotel with a Music Industry Trust Award in November 2008, he was feted by some of the biggest names in the business. Bono and the rest of U2 presented the award, Take That performed, and Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the male half of ABBA, tried to outbid British rock band Snow Patrol in the fundraising auction that followed.
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