How important is display advertising to Sony Music and why?

It’s crucial. We are an image business, and our asset is people at the end of the day. Amazing, talented and creative human beings. They need to be displayed, which means we need to showcase them in the most beautiful way. While A&R [talent development] and sales and publicity and the other engines of our business are cornerstones, our design and imaging really are what build our brands. So much so that we created an agency at Sony Music called Arcade Creative Group which now applies that talent to brands. The display market has so aggressively evolved that it’s quite fascinating. From behavioral to trading desks to a whole market dedicated to data, there really is nothing quite like it. Don Draper’s head would pop off if he were around now.

What digital channels are most important to Sony Music and why?

The most important channels are the ones that drive business for us naturally. It does vary by artist, label, audience, strategy, etc. But to start, search is, of course, a key lever for us. It provides a direct mechanism for artists’ core fans to get access to what they crave from us immediately. Social channels are also significant drivers for us, but I think we are all trying to understand their role. The jury is still out on whether we believe it is a true sales mechanism. I am a huge proponent of display advertising. The intersection of imaging, interactivity, video, laser addressability and other attributes display brings is unparalleled. In fact, you see companies desperately trying to replicate the same approach in traditional media like TV.

Most of the buzz about the city’s reforms focuses on the banishment of organized labor and the proliferation of charter schools, which enroll nearly 80 percent of public school students, up from 1.5 percent pre-Katrina. But what really distinguishes New Orleans is how government has re­defined its role in education: stepping back from directly running schools and empowering educators to make the decisions about hours, curriculum and school culture that best drive student learning. Now, state and school-district officials mostly regulate and monitor — setting standards, ensuring equity and closing failing schools. Instead of a traditional school system, there is a system of schools in what officials liken to a fenced-in free market. Families have more choice about where their children can best succeed, they say, and educators have more opportunity to choose a school that best aligns with their approach.

One teacher I spoke with during a recent trip talked about the luxury of being pursued by different charter networks willing to pay for her talents. After 11 years of teaching, she said, it was the first time she felt she was being treated as a professional. I visited the classrooms of Sci Academy, where 99 percent of the students are minorities and 92 percent are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. They have some of the city’s highest scores on statewide tests, and more than 90 percent of Sci Academy seniors have already been accepted to a four-year college or university. At O. Perry Walker College and Career Preparatory High School, one of the first charters to open after Katrina, the mostly African American student body has turned in dramatic gains in achievement. (The school’s academic performance, as graded by the state, went from 48.1 in 2006-07 to 68.4 in 2009-10.) To those who argue that the overarching effects of poverty prevent children from learning, Principal Mary H.L. Laurie has a terse answer: “Then don’t come to work here.”