Report: Billboard Publisher OUT Over Wrongdoing

John Amato

The CEO of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter reportedly was pushed out last week after a private internal investigation raised concerns about evidence of sexual harassment and other wrongdoing, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the outcome of the internal investigation.

The Daily Beast reports the probe stemmed from allegations of sexual harassment, and expanded over the past few weeks after an audit was launched looking into other allegations of impropriety by John Amato. Sources said the probe is also examining whether the company adequately addressed complaints by staff of inappropriate behavior by top company officials.

Both Valence Media, the magazines' parent company, and Amato declined to comment.

Along with the investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations, the company recently undertook an audit of parts of the 2016 acquisition of SpinMedia for examinations of financial wrongdoing. The outcome of the audit is not known.

Over the past several weeks, concerns have grown among higher-ups at the company about Amato’s past behavior. The Daily Beast reported in May that the exec worked to derail a series of stories at Billboard and Spin about close friend and Republic Records ex-president Charlie Walk’s alleged inappropriate and unwanted advances on younger women.

After the article was published, company brass began to hear stories about Amato’s own past behavior.

Meanwehile, The NYTimes reports Amato’s departure is the latest tumultuous development at Billboard, whose position as the music industry’s most influential trade publication has been challenged. There has been frequent turnover of top editors, and a recent effort to update the magazine’s  chart rules drew vigorous lobbying by both the major record labels and the streaming services.

He was a driving force behind efforts like the chart revisions, which went into effect last week, and a new Hot 100 Music Festival — named after the magazine’s standard singles chart — at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island.

Amato, who helped found a taxi advertising company and was chief executive of Backstage, a publication aimed at actors, had been a top executive at Billboard since 2013 and at The Hollywood Reporter since 2014.