Seeing Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly hit No. 1 was a significant moment this year for Allison Kaye, the result of putting her “heart and soul” into the teen singer’s career. “Her becoming a music star, seeing her fans carry over [from the TV space] was so gratifying,” Kaye says. As GM of Scooter Braun’s SB Projects, Kaye is the key executive overseeing day-to-day management of the artist roster. So Kaye has had her hands full with Justin Bieber’s worldwide tour, theater tours and albums from Cody Simpson and Grande, and launching the career of Tori Kelly. In each case, the careers have been built on a combination of social media, videos, recordings and performances. “We want to sign acts kids want to hear, and we have to make sure we give fans what they want,” she says, emphasizing that acts like Bieber and Grande thrive on handling active Twitter feeds, and Kelly takes requests for covers that get posted on YouTube. “The visual element is really important to create fans of artists rather than fans of a song,” she says. “That’s how you grow a fan base, but it’s also a challenge—engaging fans so that in two years they can look back and see how you have changed as an artist.” —Phil Gallo

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