Highlights From Billboard Power 100’s Event At Nobu Fifty Seven

On January 25, 2018, Billboard hosted its annual Power 100 event at Nobu Fifty Seven in New York, revealed its ranking of music’s top power players. An official Grammy week event, the evening consisted of a red carpet, cocktail reception, and presentations of the Power 100 Executive of the Year and Label of the Year Awards. Clive Davis presented the annual Clive Davis Visionary Award. Neil Portnow, President of The Recording Academy spoke, as did John Amato, President of the Billboard – The Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Attending guests included some of the most influential names in the music industry, from executives to artists, including Daddy Yankee, Diplo, ODESZA, Irving Azoff, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, Dennis Arfa, Jody Gerson, Diplo, Paul Rosenberg, Zane Lowe, and Sylvia Rhone.

While working around the red carpet, I had the pleasure of speaking with Glassnote Records head Daniel Glass and ODESZA members Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight. Highlights of these chats are below. More highlights from the Billboard Power 100 event can be found on the Billboard site.

What’s coming up for you in 2018?

Daniel Glass: I was in meetings today with Spotify, Amazon and Apple today, and everyone’s talking about Jade Bird, I’ve been very excited about that. Robert DeLong, we’re playing new music for people now. There’s a rumor that CHVRCHES has a record coming soon. (laughs) A personal thing, I just got to meet someone I’ve admirer, the producer Dave Cobb. He came to my office and surprised me. He just produced two albums for us, one is for a band called GIVERS, and one is from an artist from Canada who won a JUNO named William Prince. I think we’ll be talking about Jade Bird and William Prince here next year.

ODESZA’s Harrison Mills: We’re doing a bunch of touring, we’re doing a bunch of shows. We’re always working on new music.

ODESZA’s Clayton Knight: Just touring and new music, doing the grind.

What was the last concert you attended for fun?

Daniel Glass: I go to a lot of shows. Jingle Ball was amazing. Friday night I went to the iHeartRadio show, Mumford & Sons were the headliner. I loved that. We had no artists on Jingle Ball, but I went with my son and loved that. Ed Sheeran was brilliant. We saw Hamilton Leithauser at the Carlyle. Live music is the mantra and tenant of our company. It’s a live company.

ODESZA’s Harrison Mills: They kind of blend together because when you play a festival, you see a ton of bands. It was a while ago but I really liked LCD Soundsystem.

ODESZA’s Clayton Knight: At Coachella the year we played, I really loved AC/DC.

Nobu aside, do you have favorite restaurant in New York?

Daniel Glass: My favorite restaurant in New York is Le Bernadin, but I eat at Le Bilboquet every day.

ODESZA’s Harrison Mills: For me it’s Momofuku.

ODESZA’s Clayton Knight: This place called Santina’s, it’s downtown. It’s one of my cousin’s favorite spots, we go there and always drink a lot of wine. (laughs)

Finally, any last words for the kids?

Daniel Glass: If they want to be in the music business, learn the history before they get in. Respect the past before you move to the future.

ODESZA’s Harrison Mills: Stay in school.

ODESZA’s Clayton Knight: Keep working, keep on keeping on.

Photo: Tawni Bannister for Billboard
Photo: Tawni Bannister for Billboard
Photo: Tawni Bannister for Billboard
Photo: Tawni Bannister for Billboard
Photo: Tawni Bannister for Billboard

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Tags: Billboard Power 100, Daddy Yankee, Daniel Glass, Glassnote Records, GRAMMY Week, Irving Azoff, Nobu Fifty Seven, ODESZA

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."