Reservoir COO Rell Lafargue appears in Billboard‘s annual Readers Survey this year, alongside a diverse range of executives at companies like RED/Sony, Joe’s Pub, The Orchard, and Shazam.

Appearing in Part 1 and 2 of the feature, Lafargue’s inclusions appeared as written below:

What was the most important/influential/impactful event to happen in the music business in 2013, and why?

Jay-Z ushered in a new mode of record distribution and promotion with the Samsung-funded app release of Magna Carter Holy Grail. This could set a trend that furthers the transition away from traditional record label distribution deals for the next several years.

Which artist this year has been most important/influential in the music business, and why?

Nile Rodgers. His involvement in Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” bridged two gaps at once.  It brought a prominent guitar riff into what would have been a standard EDM song, adding dimension and variation to our perception of the genre.  It also connected two generations of dance music fans — the funk fans from the ’70s and ’80s, and the electronic music junkies of the millennial generation.