Jay Z and Beyoncé have long been considered a “power couple” with an estimated combined net worth close to $1 billion. Some have even referred to them as the “Royal Family of Hip Hop.” Now the two entertainment titans have also been named the most powerful people in music.
Jay and Bey topped Billboard’s “Power 100″ list for 2014 beating out other industry heavyweights like Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge (2), Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris (6), and Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine (10).
“What is power? At its base, it’s the ability to reshape the world around you according to your vision. And who in the music industry did so better in the last year than this power couple?” states the publication about Jay Z and Beyoncé .
The Carters each had stellar years in 2013. The “Drunk In Love” collaborators both released platinum selling albums that reshaped the way music projects were presented to the public. Jay also received more Grammy nominations than any other artist with 9 total, and Bey broke the U.S. iTunes records for most albums sold in one week with 617,000 units in just three days.
“Though there was great discussion of the game-changing implications of both releases – and whether they can ever be re-created – perhaps what’s most important is that Jay Z and Beyoncé found ways to focus attention on music itself,” adds Billboard.
Other individuals closely associated with Hip Hop that made Billboard’s “Power 100″ include Cash Money founders Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams (50), Warner/Chappell Music’s Jon Platt (51), 300 Record Label founder Lyon Cohen (74), Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg (85), and BET CEO Debra Lee (92).
