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BMG announces new UK structure

By | Published on Thursday 24 February 2011

BMG Rights Management

BMG has announced a revamp of its UK operations that follows its acquisition last year of independent music publisher Chrysalis. Moving forward BMG Chrysalis UK will bring together all of the German music rights company’s British assets into one business.

Recent recruit Alexi Cory-Smith, a music business lawyer by trade, will become Senior Vice President of the combined BMG Chrysalis, overseeing creative, marketing and business affairs. Meanwhile BMG’s COO of Europe will directly managed UK operations. Top A&R execs Ben Bodie of Chrysalis and Alan Pell of previous BMG acquisition Stage Three will also be involved in the creative development of the new company.

Confirming the new appointments, BMG top man Hartwig Masuch told CMU: “Alexi is a keen and innovative dealmaker who is focused on driving growth for our artists and our business. Her skills, combined with John’s expertise and vast experience in running operations, will serve BMG Chrysalis UK well as a rights management business leader with a unique approach to today’s music market”.

Cory-Smith herself added: “One of my top priorities is to preserve and build on the creativity and independent spirit that are inherent in the BMG Chrysalis family of companies and their people so that we can best serve the artists we work with. Ben Bodie, head of A&R for Chrysalis, and Alan Pell, director of A&R for BMG/Stage Three, will be key to developing the creative direction of the company and I look forward to working closely with them and their teams as we continue to build our roster of writers and producers”.

The new appointments mean that the former MD of Chrysalis, Alison Donald, is leaving the company. Masuch added: “Alison helped grow Chrysalis Publishing UK into the country’s leading independent music publisher. She has built a formidable A&R team who have signed some of the world’s most talented songwriters. We thank her for her many contributions and we wish her every success in her future career”.

The new company will be based out of Chrysalis’s West London base, which will be refurbished as part of the revamp. BMG remains one of the most interesting new companies in the music space, and we hope to get an insight into how it will be working with artists moving forward when the aforementioned Pell joins us on the ‘Future Music Company’ panel at The Great Escape in May. More info on that at www.escapegreat.com.



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