Good morning! OpenAI’s female employees are concerned about the company’s gender disparity, Gwen Shotwell says the competition is good for SpaceX, and good lucks Ellie Austin explains why a major music publisher doesn’t want to be the only woman — and what she learned from Taylor Swift.
– Charting progress. Judy Gerson became the first woman to serve as CEO of a major music publisher when she joined Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) in 2015.
Although her appointment marked a breakthrough in the historically male-dominated industry, Gerson, who previously held top positions at Sony, Polygram and EMI, was not satisfied. “When I came into this job, I openly said that I would not be satisfied that when I left this job, I was still a single woman,” she says. “I wanted to be the first. I didn’t want to be the only one.”
The global publishing arm of Universal Music Group, UMPG represents songwriters such as Adele, Taylor Swift, SZA, and Elton John. It also manages the catalogs of Queen, The Biggies, ABBA, and Bob Dylan, more than 600 of whose songs it bought in a blockbuster 2020 deal worth more than $300 million. Under Gerson’s leadership, the company has more than doubled to $2 billion in annual revenue and has been instrumental in the evolution of the industry as well as the acquisition of artists’ rights and royalties. Earlier this year, UMG pulled its music from TikTok until the platform agreed to better payment terms and AI protections for its artists, in a deal that brought creators together in the digital age. Set a new example of behavior.
“My job is to make sure songwriters can make a living,” Gerson says. “I love any platform that wants to use music but you have to be able to contribute to the value of that music.” In addition to being CEO, Gerson is the chairperson of UMPG and also oversees Polygram Entertainment, Universal’s film and TV division.
While the industry embraces new technologies, its progress with gender equality has been slow. Gerson now has a handful of female partners, including Sylvia Rhone, CEO and chairperson, Epic Records, and Desiree Perez, CEO of Roc Nation, but the business is still largely run by men. (Julie Greenwald, the former CEO and chairperson of Atlantic Music Group, recently stepped down and will leave the company in January.) “There aren’t many women in the C-suite right now. We need to change that. Gotta come together,” says Gerson.
For her part, in 2018, Gerson founded She Is The Music, a global nonprofit that campaigns for more women at all levels of the industry. She also advocates for women to be “more sensitive” about pushing themselves and each other for opportunities. Gerson recalls “playing the good girl” early in her career to get ahead, but today, she advises other women to listen to Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, and other female artists. Emulate aspirations and self-esteem. .
“I always say that Taylor Swift has taught me more about my own strength than anyone else,” she says. (Universal stepped in as Swift’s recording music partner after parting ways with Big Machine Records and a dispute over ownership that preceded her re-recording of her own albums.) I grew up making myself small. Taylor Swift stands strong in her desire [of women] Can learn a lot from him.”
Eli Austin
ellie.austin@fortune.com
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Even in the headlines
– Concerns of the company. Following the departures of CTO Meera Murthy and head of safety systems Lilian Weng, OpenAI’s female employees are concerned about gender disparity at the company. A written memo describes a female employee’s concerns regarding the retention and promotion of female staff and describes the situation as an “emergency”. Information
– Healthy competition. “It’s going to be hard to catch us, but I’m sure people will try,” said SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, encouraging competition in the space industry. The Elon Musk-backed company dominates the global launch industry, and Starlink is approaching 5 million users. CNBC
– Supporting football. Michelle Kang, founder of tech company Cognosante and owner of the Washington Spirit, is investing $30 million in the U.S. Soccer Federation over the next five years to support women’s and girls’ soccer. This is the largest philanthropic gift in support of these programs, as well as the largest federal gift by a woman. The Washington Post
– Big at the box office. substance is on track to gross over $70 million at the global box office. Written and directed by Corelli Forget and starring Demi Moore, the film is a body horror film about the pressures on women to stay young. Deadline
Movers and shakers
Clara Shaywho left her role as CEO of Salesforce AI, will lead a new business AI group for Meta.
LUUM, an AI- and robotics-powered lash extension service provider, named Joe Lawson CEO She was previously the president of the company.
The Hollywood Reporter Nominee Shirley Halperin Coaditor-in-Chief, to replace Next up is Moody.. Most recently, Halperin was editor. Los Angeles Magazine.
Labcorp, a laboratory services provider, named Julia Wang Executive Vice President and CFO. Most recently, she was CFO at BeiGene.
Canva Nominee Kelly Steckelberg CFO She previously served as CFO of Zoom.
Greywolf Therapeutics, an antigen modulation technology developer; Darlene Deptola-Hicks As CFO. Most recently, she was CFO at F-star Therapeutics.
Stax, a management consulting firm, named Amy Schuman Global Head of HR. Prior to that, she was Global Head of HR at K2 Integrity.
Congruex, a digital network services provider, has been appointed. Catherine Ford as general counsel. Most recently, she was a consultant at Armstrong Teasdale.
On my radar
‘Running fixes things’: In the first Every Woman Marathon, we asked women why they run The essence
How Vera Bradley took a trip down memory lane for a comeback. Ale
Casey told her story — and started music’s #MeToo reckoning. The Washington Post
Parting words
“You just have to let go and move on. And I think you’ve come to a point where you have to stop blaming yourself.”
—Michelle Yehu on her journey to accepting childlessness
