Apple takes top - œPowergeek'prize

Thu 19th Jul, 2007 in International News

US magazine Blender has named Steve Jobs and Apple as the world’s most powerful technology trendsetters, placing the company at the very front of the online music revolution that has reshaped the way people listen to, buy and even watch music. The – œPowergeek 25’ list reflects what Craig Marks, editor-in-chief of Blender Magazine, identifies as the true power players in Web music.

“The iTunes Store and the iPod have done more to change the way people listen to music than anything since the CD, and maybe since the sound recording,” he says.

Beyond putting the spotlight on any particular individual or company, the list was more than anything meant to reflect how much the landscape has changed in the past few years. “Music fans spend much of their day, if not their life, sitting in front of their computer, discovering and downloading music,” says Marks. “Today’s power brokers no longer work in the steel-and-glass towers of the traditional record business; instead, they’re tech geeks, bedroom bloggers and Silicon Valley visionaries.”

Clocking in at #2 on the list was Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, the founders of social networking site MySpace. They were credited with making delivering on the internet’s promise over a decade ago to “level the music-industry playing field, allowing basement bands to effortlessly share their music, inform fans about tour dates and build an audience online.”

In third place were Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, the creators of YouTube, claiming the wildly successful video-sharing site has become “the star-maker MTV used to be.” Next up was Doug Morris, chairman/CEO of the Universal Music Group who at the age of 68, is pointed to as a main influencer of the direction of digital music policies, including areas like royalties and licensing.

The full list of winners in the Blender Magazine’s – œPowergeek 25’ was…

1. Steve Jobs: Apple (Technology corporation)
2. Tom Anderson and Chris Dewolfe: MySpace (social-networking site)
3. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen: YouTube (video-sharing site)
4. Doug Morris: Universal Music Group (recording company)
5. Ryan Schreiber: Pitchfork (indie-rock magazine)
6. Ian Rogers: Yahoo! Music (music portal)
7. Martin Stinksel and Felix Miller: Last.FM (music community site)
8. Greg Bildson: LimeWire (file-sharing program)
9. Christian Schmid: RapidShare (file-hosting service)
10. Coran Capshaw: MusicToday (online ticketer and merchandiser)
11. Scott Lapatine: Stereogum (indie-rock blog)
12. Mitch Bainwol: RIAA (music business trade group)
13. Perez Hilton: PerezHilton (gossip blog)
14. Anthony Volodkin: The Hype Machine (mp3 blog aggregation)
15. Tim Quirk: Rhapsody (subscription music service)
16. Vadim Mamotin: AllOfMp3 (discount retailer)
17. “Oinkylicious” Alan: Oink’s Pink Palace (invite-only file sharing site)
18. Jason Tate: AbsolutePunk (indie-punk news and community)
19. Bram Cohen and Ashwin Navin: BitTorrent (file-sharing service)
20. David Music: EMusic (online music retailer)
21. Matthew Perpetua: Fluxblog (mp3 blog)
22. Brett Woitunski: PureVolume (indie-punk community site)
23. Eric Garland: BigChampagne (online music research firm)
24. Bob Leftsetz: The Leftsetz Letter (music business blog)
25. Pete Wentz: net-obsessed star of Fall Out Boy