Is Billionaire John Malone Controlling the Music You Listen To?

A recent Department of Justice decision to allow Liberty Media to increase its stake in iHeartMedia has made billionaire John Malone one of the most powerful people in the music industry.

The DOJ approved Liberty Media to increase its stake in iHeartMedia up to 50 percent, according to Politico. iHeartMedia owns 850 radio stations (both AM and FM) and the iHeartRadio streaming app. According to the Liberty Media website, the organization currently has a 5 percent ownership stake in the company.

Malone, 79, is the Chairman of the Board and founder of Liberty Media. Liberty has a 71 percent ownership stake in SiriusXM and a 33 percent ownership stake in Live Nation Entertainment. SiriusXM also owns streaming platform Pandora, and Live Nation Entertainment also owns Ticketmaster. Read more in Newsweek.