Jeff Smith | No 17

Broadcaster: head of music, Radio 2/6Music Received wisdom says Radio 1 sells singles while Radio 2 sells albums – so with an audience somewhere north of 13 ­million at Radio 2 and 1.3 million at 6Music, where he determines musical policy, Jeff Smith's selections are enormously influential . Radio 2 is the country's most popular music station and its – or Smith's – choice of adult-friendly pop drives a great deal of the surrounding culture. At the end of the 90s, it was Smith who entirely reshaped Radio 1; he has worked for the World Service, ­Capital FM and Napster, and now sits at the head of the weekly playlist meeting, where individual producers choose the station's 30-track playlist.