DVD visionary WARREN LIEBERFARB In the early '80s, this home-video exec began obsessing about replacing videotape by putting a movie on a CD. Most in the industry scoffed. Now the 57-year-old president of Warner Home Video is having the last laugh as the DVD becomes a mainstay, with sales passing $2 billion last year and an estimated 13 million players in U.S. homes by year's end.
Universal Records' MONTE LIPMAN Gimme just one hit. Named president of Universal Records in January, the 35-year-old former radio promotion exec has enjoyed early success with big records from Nelly, Godsmack, 98[Degrees], and Eiffel 65.
LIONS GATE Once written off as a Canadian also-ran, the indie that brought American Psycho and Dogma to theaters just acquired rival Trimark (best known for Eve's Bayou and video fare like the Leprechaun series). Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire is already getting Oscar nibbles.
Rap attorney MURRAY RICHMAN Known as Don't Worry Murray for helping rappers beat criminal charges, the 63-year-old Bronx lawyer is a speed-dial staple for artists in tha dogg house such as DMX, Jay-Z, and Shyne, the alleged gunman in Puffy's club brouhaha (he pleaded not guilty). In fact, Richman's so down with the hip-hop scene he sports Versace ties in the courtroom. Can you say "bling bling"?
Arista's Antonio "L.A." REID With a proven track record at LaFace nurturing artists like TLC and Babyface, Reid, 43, was tapped by BMG top dog Strauss Zelnick to fill the large shoes of Clive Davis as Arista Records president-CEO. First task: to cope with fallout from recent layoffs and quiet grumbling from mainstays like Aretha Franklin miffed by the Davis "retirement."
NBC Studios' TED HARBERT Drafted to run NBC's in-house production arm, the 45-year-old former ABC Entertainment chair scored by placing five new shows on the lineup this fall (Ed, DAG). And he's in a prime position to move up should the Peacock bosses decide to pluck the feathers of entertainment prez Garth Ancier.
