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MMF pays tribute to its former General Secretary
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 8 April 2020
The Music Managers Forum has paid tribute to James Fisher, who was the organisation’s General Secretary during its first decade in existence from 1992 to 2002, and who died last week reportedly as a result of COVID-19.
The tributes were led by music manager Dennis Muirhead, the founding Chair of the MMF and now one of the trade body’s custodians, who described Fisher as “the friendliest, sweetest, kindest, most generous man you can imagine”.
Muirhead says that he was first introduced to Fisher by a partner at his law firm Simons Muirhead & Burton. “James knew everyone and they all loved him”, he adds. “He was born in England but moved to Perth, Western Australia in his early years. He was a presenter on ABC Radio and a lover of music. He thought of himself as an Australian and as a fellow Aussie we got on well together from day one”.
Explaining how Fisher came to work for MMF, he goes on: “The MMF was struggling with administration as it was establishing itself. James had retired from [US collecting society] ASCAP and was respected by everyone in the music industry, just what the MMF needed. With the support of Gail Colson and the board we hired James. Initially, he worked from my management office and made all the difference to the MMF”.
In his role as General Secretary, Fisher sought to recruit ever more artist managers to the organisation’s membership and board, and also helped later MMF Chair John Glover establish the British Music Roll Of Honour event, the forerunner of today’s Artist & Manager Awards. “The MMF has never looked back”, Muirhead adds, “and now plays a key role in the music industry worldwide”.
