Sam Holdsworth , former editor-in-chief and publisher of Billboard , died May 18 at 72 of a heart attack. Holdsworth, who was also co-founder of Musician magazine, was part of a consortium that bought Billboard Publications Inc. (BPI) in 1984 from the Littleford family in a move that led him to become Billboard’s publisher.
The consortium was helmed by investor Boston Ventures and an internal BPI management group fronted by Holdsworth and Jerry Hobbs in a move that was seen as a non-disruptive way to keep BPI — which included Billboard, Musician and Amusement Business , among other titles — intact. Hobbs, who had served as executive vp of BPI and Billboard ’s publisher, became president/CEO of the new entity, while Holdsworth became publisher of Billboard and then publisher/editor-in-chief. BPI had purchased Musician in 1981, which brought Holdsworth into the company.
“As publisher, Sam had a wonderful calming influence on all around him in an otherwise stressful publishing environment. I’ll always appreciate the faith he showed in me and his willingness to delegate crucial tasks to his trusted management team,” Ken Schlager , who served as managing editor under Holdsworth, tells Billboard. “He and Jerry Hobbs brought Billboard into a new era,” says Adam White , who was Billboard ‘s editor-in-chief when Holdsworth became publisher, before leaving in 1985 and then coming back as international editor in 1989.
“For that alone, he should be remembered.” Ho.
