Jody Gerson, president/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), is set to receive the Grammy 2025 Salute to Industry Icons Award at The Recording Academy and Clive Davis' annual Pre-Grammy Gala, to be held on Saturday, Feb. 1, the night before the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. This is the 50th anniversary of the high-profile event.
Gerson is just the third woman to receive the honor, following Debra L. Lee (2017), then president/CEO of BET Networks, and Julie Greenwald (2023), then president/CEO of Atlantic Music Group, who received the award at along with Craig Kallman, president/CEO of Atlantic Records.
“Jody is an inspirational leader who champions integrity and inclusion in everything she does and is a revolutionary,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “She has opened doors and advanced the careers of many of the world's greatest songwriters, while also serving as one of the greatest advocates for women in music. We are thrilled to be hosting an extraordinary evening that not only celebrates her remarkable reach, but also marks the gala's incredible 50-year milestone.”
“Jody Gerson is one of the music industry's most iconic leaders, and I'm thrilled to have her as this year's Salute to Industry Icons honoree,” added Davis. “Jody's long-standing pioneering commitment to supporting songwriters across the musical spectrum, as well as her tireless dedication to advocacy, diversity and equality in the music industry are exemplary. Artists and the industry at large are lucky to have a leader with such tremendous insight and passion at the helm.”
Davis started the pre-Grammy Gala in 1976 when she was looking for a way to celebrate the success of Barry Manilow's “Mandy,” Arista Records' first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (and her first Grammy nominee of the year ).
Since joining UMPG in 2015, Gerson has built the company into a global powerhouse that owns and manages more than five million copyrights. He leads a global company with 48 offices in 40 countries and more than 850 employees. She made history as the first female president of a global music company and the first woman to be appointed CEO of a major music publisher.
Gerson is a member of the board of Universal Music Group (UMG).
Gerson was ranked No. 14 Bulletin board2024 Power 100 List. Christine Robinson, Bulletin board(ed.), led her essay on Gerson by saying, “As CEO of UMPG, a board member of the National Music Publishers' Association, and co-founder of She Is the Music, an organization committed to empowering women creators, Gerson is one of the most trusted voices in music publishing.”
This has been confirmed with hard evidence. From 2013 to 2023, UMPG's US revenue grew from $900 million to more than $1.9 billion. In the same period, the company narrowed the revenue gap between itself and market leader Sony Music Publishing from $400 million to $188.5 million.
Gerson received a 2021 Primetime Emmy Award as an executive producer for HBO The Bee Gees: How to mend a broken heartwhich was nominated for Outstanding Specialty Documentary or Non-Fiction. A year ago, he received a Grammy nod as one of the video producers for 2Pac Dear momwhich was nominated for best musical film.
Gerson has signed and collaborated with many of the world's biggest music stars including Adele, Bee Gees, Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Drake, Billie Eilish, HER, Elton John , Alicia Keys. , Steve Lacy, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Maren Morris, the Prince estate, Rosalia, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, SZA and The Weeknd. He also led UMPG's acquisitions of the hit catalogs of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Sting, among others.
As a champion for women in music and an advocate for education, Gerson co-founded the global nonprofit She Is The Music. He also serves on boards for the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the National Music Publishers Association, the New Roads School, and Project Healthy Minds.
Gerson co-oversees Polygram Entertainment, a film and television development and production arm of UMG that produces feature films and music-centric series. In 2024 alone, she served as an executive producer on a wide range of projects, including; Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary; The Beach Boys? STAX: Soulsville, USA and Billy Preston: That's the way God designed it. Other recent works produced by Gerson's staff include the aforementioned The Bee Gees: How to Mend a Broken Heart and HBO Music box series. Among her and Polygram's many projects in progress are documentaries about Bernie Taupin and Prince.
In January 2020, Gerson became the first woman and first music publishing executive to be named Bulletin boardexecutive of the year on the annual Power 100 list. He is the recipient of numerous other honors, including Bulletin board's Power Players' Choice Award? VarietyHitmakers Executive of the Year; Bulletin boardExecutive of the Year's 2015 Women in Music Issue. Rolling Stone's “Future 25”? Variety's Power of Women LA? and the March 2016 of Dimes Inspiring Woman of the Year.
The invitation-only Pre-Grammy Gala is sponsored by Hilton, Mastercard and IBM.
Jon Platt, President/CEO of Sony Music Publishing, was last year's Grammy Salute to Industry Icons honoree.
Here is a complete list of previous pre-Grammy Gala honorees.
2005: Ahmet Ertegun
2006: Mo Austin
2007: Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss
2008: Berry Gordy
2009: Clive Davis
2010: David Geffen
2011: Doug Morris
2012: Sir Richard Branson
2013: Antonio “LA” Reid
2014: Sir Lucian Grange
2015: Martin Bandier
2016: Irving Azoff
2017: Debra L. Lee
2018: Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter
2019: Clarence Avant
2020: Sean “Diddy” Combs
2022: Rob Stringer
2023: Julie Greenwald & Craig Kallman
2024: John Platt
