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New boss confirmed for US indie labels trade group
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 7 January 2016
America’s indie label trade group A2IM has got itself a brand new CEO in the form of Richard James Burgess, previously business head at not-for-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the record label of America’s Smithsonian Institution, and Chairman of the board over at, oh, well, A2IM.
He replaces Rich Bengloff, who stood down from the top job at the label group last year. Molly Neuman, who had been filling in on an interim basis, announced she was leaving to take on a Head Of Music role at Kickstarter last month and that a full-time replacement would be announced imminently.
Confirming his new gig, Burgess told reporters: “I am honoured to have been chosen by the board to lead A2IM into the future. A2IM is the vital voice for independent labels – the small and medium-sized businesses that have grown to command more than a third of domestic market share for recorded music. We will continue to grow; we will spotlight the impact our members have on jobs and revenue; and we are determined to build greater accord within the music industry”.
He added: “We will persist in our quest for equitable conditions for artists, musicians, songwriters, publishers, and labels big and small. Our label members deliver the greatest diversity of choice in recorded history, and we will work to unlock the value inherent in this pinnacle of popularity”.
Secretly Group co-founder Darius Van Arman will take over as Chairman of the A2IM board, while Hopeless Records owner Louis Posen will take Burgess’s seat on the board.
