Jaime Gough, Matt Gudinski & More Among Billboard’s 2025 Global Power Players

Australasia’s growing clout in the global music business is front and centre in the Billboard Global Power Players 2025 list, published late Monday, May 20th, with several of the region’s top publishing execs making a strong showing.

Leading the Australian charge is Jaime Gough, managing director of Concord Music Publishing ANZ, guiding the company through its expansion after the 2022 Concord acquisition of Native Tongue, overseeing a diverse roster of local and international songwriters while driving growth across Australia, New Zealand, and key Asian markets.

Also earning a spot is Simon Moor, managing director of Kobalt Music Group APAC, a mainstay of the independent publishing world across Asia-Pacific.

They’re joined by Dan Rosen, president of Records & Publishing at Warner Music Australia and Warner Chappell Music Australasia, and Heath Johns, president of BMG Australia and South East Asia — both credited with expanding the global reach of Australian and regional talent.

Matt Gudinski

Matt Gudinski, chairman and CEO of Mushroom Group, also returns to the list after last year’s inclusion, continuing his late father Michael Gudinski’s legacy with another big year of touring, label and publishing wins under the Mushroom banner.

A special shoutout goes to Kim Frankiewicz, executive vice president of worldwide A&R at Concord Music Publishing, whose influence stretches well beyond home soil.

Billboard’s annual rundown features execs nominated by peers and companies, then handpicked by editors across key global sectors. To qualify, nominees must have primary responsibility for markets outside the US, which, as Billboard notes, now account for nearly 60% of the world’s recorded music sales.

The global recorded music industry grew for the tenth straight year in 2024, reaching US$29.6 billion in revenue, according to the IFPI’s Global Music Report 2025. While growth slowed to 4.8%, streaming remained the key driver - paid subscriptions climbed to 752 million, generating more than US$20 billion and now making up 69% of the total market.

Australasia outpaced the global average, with US$629 million in recorded music revenue, up 6.4%. In Australia, ARIA reported AU$717 million in wholesale revenue, a 6.1% lift and the sixth consecutive year of growth. Still, Australia slipped out of IFPI’s top 10 music markets, edged out by Mexico, while New Zealand posted a 7.8% year-on-year gain.

Read Billboard’s 2025 International Power Players list here.