Jay Z, Beyonce named most powerful people in music industry

Billboard has named Jay-Z and Beyonce the most powerful people in the music industry.

Both husband and wife have topped the Power 100 list, coming ahead of a slew of industry players and CEOs, including Lucian Grainge, the CEO and chairman of Universal Music Group and Jimmy Iovine, the chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M.

The Billboard Hot 100 is the American music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Its chart rankings are based on radio play, streaming online and sales.

Billboard placed the ‘power couple’ at the top of the list as they used their “star power to release new albums in unprecedented ways” referencing Jay Z’s ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ record, which was released through Samsung and Beyonce’s self-titled visual album, which came out through iTunes. “He gave his album away; she charged a premium price for hers,” commented Billboard.

Beyonce and Jay-Z performed last night at the Grammy Awards ceremony. The husband and wife team reportedly performed a duet of Drunk In Love from Beyonce’s recent release, Beyonce.

The Grammys took place in Los Angeles at the Staples Center and was hosted by LL Cool J. The Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr also performed together on the night, as Madonna and Daft Punk.