August 10, 2026 (Hockessin, DE) – Deborah Mannis-Gardner — Owner/President of DMG Clearances, Inc. and the “Queen of Sample Clearances” according to Billboard, Forbes, Variety, and more — has been selected to the 2026 Ad Age Leading Women list, which highlights senior executives who drive transformation inside their companies and across the industry.
This award recognizes Mannis-Gardner’s many recent accomplishments clearing music for a variety of advertisements and promos for some of the biggest brands in the world including Roblox, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Under Armour, professional NFL teams the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans, Kendra Scott Jewelry, and many others, as well as overseeing music clearances for a SirDavis campaign featuring Beyoncé and a Crocs ad featuring T-Pain and his song “Low” with Flo Rida. She also recently supervised the clearance of Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” for Buc’ees’ popular “Dancin’ Buc’ee” plush toys, as well as their dancing beavers at each location.
Across her extensive career, Mannis-Gardner has also previously handled music clearances for ad campaigns for Google, Ciroc, and Kmart; video games such as Rockstar Games franchises “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption”; metaverse platforms such as Meta, including a live concert from Post Malone; films by Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, and Richard Linklater; and TV series on networks such as HBO, Showtime, and Netflix. In addition, Deborah handled Grand Rights clearance for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway sensation “Hamilton” and music clearances for its release on Disney+. Earlier this year, she won the Best Music Supervision in a Docuseries award at the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards for her work on Hip Hop Was Born Here Season 1.
“I’m honored to be recognized by Ad Age alongside so many incredible women on this list,” said Mannis-Gardner. “Music is critically important to advertising and pairing the right song with the right campaign can create huge opportunities for artists and give brands new fans for life. None of the work I do would be possible without my team, and I want to extend a huge thank you to them for all that we have achieved together.”
The full Ad Age Leading Women list can be viewed here. The honorees will be celebrated at the ad Age Leading Women Luncheon, taking place on October 5, 2026 in New York City.
About Deborah Mannis-Gardner
Deborah Mannis-Gardner is the go-to expert for global music rights clearances. After starting DMG Clearances, Inc. in 1996, her sample clearance skills quickly became legendary, and she has cleared releases for artists including Drake, Tyler the Creator, DJ Khaled, Eminem, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, De La Soul, Clipse, Megan Thee Stallion, J. Cole, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and more.
In addition, Mannis-Gardner is the award-winning music supervisor of HBO’s Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine docu-series “The Defiant Ones” She has also handled music clearances for TV series on networks such as HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and Paramount+; video games such as Rockstar Games franchises “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption”; films by Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, and Richard Linklater; ad campaigns for Google, Ciroc, and Kmart; and much more. Mannis-Gardner also handled Grand Rights clearance for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway sensation “Hamilton” and music clearances for its release on Disney+.
In 2024, Deborah teamed with fellow music licensing and tech veteran Pär Almqvist to co-found AYO Music Group, an active copyright administrator offering global administration of publishing, neighboring rights, and recordings. The company helps clients “copyright copy-wrongs” by correcting administration issues that can date back decades, and prioritizes rightsholder education at the forefront of the company’s services.
DMG Press Contacts:
Laurie Jakobsen, Jaybird Communications laurie@jaybirdcom.com
Bill Greenwood, Jaybird Communications bill@jaybirdcom.com