Merlin, the worldwide digital licensing company for the impartial music business, has unveiled its new board – one which doesn’t characteristic co-founders Martin Mills and Michel Lambot.
The brand new board includes leaders from the indie sector in 12 totally different international locations throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania, and contains six new faces.
Solely revealed by Billboard immediately (Jan. 10), Merlin welcomes new board members Golda Bitterli, VP of gross sales, Revelator (Israel); Jeffrey Chiang, director of world enterprise, Fluxus (South Korea); Fer Isella, founder and CEO, limbo music (Spain); Irina Lipczyk-Kolakovska, digital distribution lead, e-muzyka (Poland); Simon Wheeler, director of world business technique, Beggars (U.Ok.); and Megan Jasper, CEO, Sub Pop (U.S.).
They be part of returning Merlin board members Pascal Bittard, founder and CEO, IDOL (France); Marie Clausen, managing director North America, Ninja Tune (U.S.); Tom Deakin, head of EMEA, AudioSalad (U.Ok.); Chris Maund, COO, Mushroom Music (Australia); Carlos Mills, founder, Mills Data (Brazil); Louis Posen, president & government director, Hopeless Data (U.S.); Michael Ugwu, CEO, Freeme Digital (Nigeria); Darius Van Arman, co-CEO, Secretly (U.S.); Horst Weidenmueller, CEO & Proprietor, !K7 (Germany); and Justin West, president & CEO, Secret Metropolis (Canada).
Van Arman is reappointed as chairperson for a second time period, having first joined the board in 2015, and taking part in an “instrumental” function in guiding the group’s strategic course, reads an announcement.
Moreover, Jennifer Newman Sharpe, basic counsel, Exceleration, and Dorothee Imhoff, CCO, FUGA, are appointed board advisors this yr.
Merlin’s board is elected from and by its membership, which represents tens of 1000’s of impartial report labels, distributors, and rightsholders, together with K7!, As a result of Music, Beggars Group, Higher Noise, CD Child and Downtown Music (together with FUGA), Exceleration, and lots of others.
Within the upcoming yr, explains Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota in an announcement to Billboard, the group “is dedicated to fostering significant, sustainable and value-driven member progress.”
Its mission, “to help labels and distributors who spend money on artists and their distinctive cultural contributions. By associating with members who spend money on high-quality music all over the world, Merlin goals to strengthen its community, whereas providing unparalleled entry and advantages to our members, and enriching the worldwide music panorama.”
Sirota and Merlin additionally pay tribute to outgoing board members Martin Mills (Beggars), Merlin co-founder, board member and former chairperson, and Michel Lambot ([PIAS]), Merlin co-founder and board member, two giants of the impartial music group whose “long-standing management” helped members “all over the world personal their independence.”
Additionally, Sirota factors to the completion final yr of the preliminary construct of a Knowledge Warehouse, which ought to allow Merlin to make “vital strides in information, analytics, and insights to additional advance our mission and our members.” In 2024, “we’ll now begin to present actionable insights derived from our collective information,” he provides. A part of that plan contains increasing Merlin’s information and insights staff, which in time ought to “ship insights that assist our members make knowledgeable selections and foster progress.”
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