As part of our Horizon series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s current and next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys.
This week we caught up with Alex Hehir, Managing Director of Wixen Music UK, one of the most respected independent music publishers, known for its artist-first ethos.
As MD, Alex oversees client relationships, royalty investigation, data handling and A&R across a small but internationally connected team.
Publishing is one of the least understood parts of the music industry - despite being a significant strand of the business - and Alex is unusually honest about that.
His advice for anyone wanting to work in it cuts straight to the point: understand the pipeline from a song being written to a writer getting paid, then learn every source of income along the way. The people who will thrive in publishing are the ones who fervently chase every penny on behalf of their clients, so artists can focus on what they actually got into music for.
That clarity comes from experience. Alex has seen the industry from the ground up - literally, loading venues and running festival operations before finding his way into publishing. What stuck with him from all of it is something deceptively simple: sometimes it’s not about knowing the answer yourself, it’s about knowing who can get you to it.
And in a sector as collaborative as publishing, where you’re constantly working with external writers and companies, being helpful, dependable and genuinely excited about music is what builds the kind of trust that actually moves things forward.
His closing advice is worth sitting with: be inspired by your peers but don’t compare yourself harshly to them. Success in this industry isn’t linear - stay consistent and you’ll be celebrating your own wins before you know it.
Read Alex’s Horizon Future Leaders Q&A 👇
What’s your current role in the music industry?
I'm Managing Director of Wixen Music UK Ltd, an independent and creative music publisher and neighbouring rights representative. We work with artists, songwriters, publishing catalogues, musicians and labels to ensure they are compensated for the use of their music.
Immaculate royalty collection is the central pillar of our work, and our creative proactivity serves to enable our clients to grow their income streams.
What does your general day to day look like?
A regular day to day could be nice! We're a small team with a broad remit and international network, so the cliché that every day is different is very true here.
In my position specifically, I oversee various key areas; client relationships, data handling and delivery processes, royalty investigation, A&R discussions and proactive outreach.
It's also my responsibility to ensure our team of six are well supported in their departments. It’s varied! The specific tasks in these areas change daily but ultimately my aim is to grow our company by supporting our roster in their own growth.
There's a real balance of creative and technical projects which keeps things fresh, after a busy week in the spreadsheets there's nothing better than sitting down and chatting about new music. The most common thread through it all is regular conversation with all of our writers, artists and their teams to help them navigate the complex world of music publishing.
What steps did you take early in your career to gain experience and build skills to get you where you are now?
I guess my very earliest experiences didn't feel like skill building at the time but were just born out of a hunger to be close to music as a fan. Everything started at my local venue - RIP, White Rabbit - which was the first step into what you might now call "networking".
Studying a music business degree was somewhat useful in developing a broader knowledge of the music industry, even though publishing was barely mentioned as a tangent. But the most valuable thing from that chapter was getting stuck in with bands and meeting very dedicated people who have gone on to smash it in their own careers.
Beyond that, it's just always been about trying to learn as much as possible. All sectors of music are complex and sometimes it's not about knowing the answer itself, but knowing who can help you get the answer.
A lot of my early experience was in the live sector, loading venues, promoting gigs, event management at festivals, even travel operations. But it all gave insight to the wider workings of the industry that is still useful today.
Even now, the hunger to be near music remains and drives everything. I am constantly looking for ways to be on the front foot in supporting our artists and have a burning desire to see them succeed.
What opportunities did you explore early on that were particularly valuable?
At university, some friends and I started booking bands to play Southampton under the name Above The Waves Promotions. The day before our first show the venue owner went AWOL and closed without telling us.
We ended up repurposing a friend's house and had two punk bands play chaotic sets from their kitchen. It became the silliest, most-fun gig in the world, but it was a real baptism of fire into the chaotic world of live events.
My first professional role was an internship at events company Vision Nine. I was an operations assistant so I was learning first-hand what goes into planning their major UK festivals like Boardmasters and NASS. Seeing everything from who booked the headliners through to who planned where the fences would be placed on the site-map was eye opening.
I've then been fortunate at Wixen Music that I've been able to learn from some of the best, most dedicated and most knowledgeable people in music publishing. No one more-so than our founder, Randall Wixen.
Has the opportunity landscape changed since then?
It's probably accurate to say it's becoming increasingly competitive for a shrinking number of opportunities at established companies.
But I think the flip side is that there are so many more independent companies, independent artists and the teams around them that are desperate for proactive support.
The opportunity might not be an internship or position at a large company anymore, but it can definitely be supporting a manager in their workload a couple days a week or working with a new artist to handle one part of their world.
Obviously, as someone who first started in a local music venue, I'd say it's crucial these spaces stay open for nurturing artists and careers alike.
Are there any specific internships, projects, or initiatives that you would recommend to newcomers looking to pursue a similar role?
In the world of music publishing, I'd say it's important to identify which area you want to be active in and try to build experience that's specific to that area.
If applying for a position that is heavily data and royalty focused then years of writing music in the studio might not be the most relevant. And vice-versa in a creative position.
I'd say the universally helpful knowledge in publishing is understanding the pipeline from a song being written to a writer getting paid, then deepen your familiarity with the sources of that income.
There are some brilliant music conferences around the UK that have a real emphasis on sharing knowledge and empowering early careers. Fast Forward in London, Sound City in Liverpool, Launchpad in Leeds are all great examples of this and provide an abundance of opportunity to meet new people.
What advice do you have for building and leveraging a professional network in the music industry?
Build a community of genuine connections.
Be friendly, be open and be dependable. Creating trust is probably the most important thing, so don't offer to do something you don't intend on following through with.
The publishing sector is extremely collaborative; there will always be external writers and companies that you need to work with. Be helpful when someone needs something so that they'll support you in return.
Good people attract good people, always be kind.
Finally, be a loud and vocal fan of music, it's cool to be excited by what you work with.
How has the evolving digital landscape impacted your role, and where do you focus to stay ahead?
Music is being used, performed and broadcast in more places than ever. The challenge then is keeping track of where our clients should be earning royalties.
This is where data handling has become crucial. As a company, we are always developing new tools to assist our work and ensuring we can capture and distribute good metadata.
These tools can help us be more efficient and accurate, but only if we know where to point them. Nothing can beat intimate human knowledge of our writers and our catalogues. Energy is always best focused on understanding our clients, their songs and their history.
What trends or changes do you see on the horizon for the music industry, and how can early career professionals prepare for them?
Human connection is only going to become more important. Artists will need teams around them that can help cut through the noise and connect with people.
It's tough to earn a living as an artist or songwriter and it's only getting harder. The best people in publishing will be the ones who fervently chase every penny. No musician I know ever got into music because they dreamed of scouring a spreadsheet for missing payments, so be the one to take that off their hands and give them the time and space to write, record and perform.
If everyone is equipped with the same tools and technology then being the person that cares the most might be what sets you apart.
What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
Be inspired by your peers but don't compare yourself harshly to them.
Success in this industry certainly isn't linear, and if you stay consistent you'll be celebrating your own wins before you know it.
Also, my productivity hack, "Eat The Frog".