TRUSTEES

John first joined the industry as a music publisher in the 60’s and he became the first ASCAP representative in Europe.

• John is a Qualified Accountant.
• In 2010 he will have been in the Music Business for 50 years.
• For the last 32 years he has been the co-owner of a successful independent record company.
• He has recorded 150 West End shows for release on CD.
• He won a Grammy for the Complete Symphonic Les Misérables.
• Produced a West End show and has substantial music publishing holdings.
• He is the longest serving BPI Council member.
• He was part of the team that raised the money that started The BRIT School.
• Chief Responsible Officer and Governor of The BRIT School since its inception and Chairman of The BRIT Trust, the school’s sponsor.
• The BRIT Trust has donated £8 million to The BRIT School, £3 million to Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, £250,000 to Drugscope and £1 million to other worthy charities.
• He helped Radio 2 with Children in Need and manufactured all “Janet and John” (which raised £2.5 for the charity) and “Bandaged” CDs on their behalf.
• He was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Years Honours for Music and Charity.

• Andy has worked in the music industry for over 20 years, most of it spent running independent record companies such as Profile with Paul Oakenfold and Edel where he signed Carl Cox and created the Extravaganza label which signed Chicane. He also ran X-Phonics plc where he worked with the producer and songwriter John McLaughlin.
• Andy’s other key focus in the music industry is with brands and creating alternate distribution paths for music in partnership with them. Most notably, creating alternative distribution paths such as the online retail store mycokemusic.com for Coca-Cola, a mobile music tv service for BT, ando CDs in newspapers for News International.

• Mervyn knew from the moment he left school that he wanted to be heavily involved in music. Already a recognised name in the DJ fraternity on leaving college, he turned his hand from nocturnal duties to selling records for a small chain of stores in north London and eventually managing the largest store in the chain.
• Mervyn was soon recruited by Blues & Soul magazine, which had been the nurturing ground for many a record executive and true to form he was snapped up by Virgin Records in 1986 and has been in the business of music ever since.
• Mervyn ran Sleeping Bag Records in Europe prior to two stints at BMG. Sandwiched in between was a GM role at Motown International looking after the label in all markets outside US for Polygram. He is still at Sony Music, which was born out of the merger with the now departed BMG, and he is in his 17th year there having served in a number of senior roles including VP Global Marketing (Europe), VP Marketing and is currently VP Strategic Partnerships.
• With a music business career that spans the best part of 32 years including those early DJ years, Mervyn is a passionate music man who believes very much in fair play and equal opportunities. In this time he has been a stark campaigner for recognition of these causes inside and outside the industry.

40 year Music Industry Veteran

• Managing Director Rondor Music (London) Music Publishers (3 years)
• Managing Director/Senior Vice President A & M Records Europe (12 years)
• Founder/Owner/Chairman China Records Ltd and Empire Music Publishing (15 years)
• Music Industry Consultant/Director Playlouder.com
• Served as a director of UK Record Industry Associations BPI and AIM for a variety of terms
• Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Trustee

• Paul has served as President, Sony Music Europe, Middle East & Africa (2000-2003), as Chairman Sony Music UK/Ireland (1993-2000) and President, Sony Music Canada (1989-1993). He then set up Soho Artists in 2003, an artist management company which is also engaged in music consultancy as well as live touring, and which also runs a bespoke record label. His management clients include both pop and world music artists including Yasmin Levy, Ilham al-Madfai, The Barbarellas (a new pop duo soon to be launched) and Karen Bishko. Paul also serves as Chairman of TRP 2009, a touring company which is funded through Edge Group. He also consults for a variety of industry clients including both independent labels and artists. Paul is a Director of the Music Managers Forum and is active in numerous industry and communal charities.

• David was born in England but educated in Canada. He is the Managing Director of Kassner Associated Publishers Ltd, a family owned music publishing and record business started by his father over six decades ago. Today the publishing company proudly represents a catalogue of more than seventy thousand songs while President is one of the longest established independent record labels, having become a member of the BPI in 1969.
• David has served on the Board of the Music Publishers Association since 2001 and was invited to become a Trustee of the BRIT Trust in 2005.

• Tony Wadsworth CBE was Chairman and CEO of EMI Music UK & Ireland from 1998 to 2008
• In a 26 year career with the UK based company, he held many roles including Managing Director of the Parlophone label, a label which he re-launched in the 1990s achieving sustained hits with artists such as Blur, Radiohead, Crowded House, Pet Shop Boys, Tina Turner and Queen.
• His subsequent move to running all of EMI's UK labels saw a period of global success with artists such as Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Kylie Minogue, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.
• Having overseen the combination of the Virgin label with the UK company, recent worldwide chart profile and multi million sales have been achieved with brand new signings such as Lily Allen, KT Tunstall, Corinne Bailey Rae and Kooks.
• Prior to joining EMI, Tony gained a degree in Economics from Newcastle and spent the following three years playing in a band with his college friends. He later worked for various record labels before joining EMI.
• He is currently Chairman of the BPI and on the board of the BRIT Trust. He also sits on the board of 'Julie's bicycle', the not-for-profit company established to find ways to reduce the carbon emissions of the UK music industry
• He is a Trustee of the Music Sound Foundation, a charity devoted to improving young peoples' access to music education, and a trustee of the EMI Archive Trust.
• In June 2011, he was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to the UK music industry.
• Tony holds the post of Visiting Proessor in the music and business schools of the University of Newcastle-on-Tyne.
• In March 2008, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Music Week’ Strat award for outstanding contribution to the UK music industry.

• Jonathan is Director of PR & Corporate Communications at PPL/VPL.
• He spent many years at CBS/Sony Music in both artist and corporate PR capacities before setting up as a consultant to music and media companies. Jonathan joined PPL in November 2006.

• Rob was born in East Ham, London in 1950. He graduated with Honours in Political Science, Sociology and Russian. He became a Music Publisher for Warner Bros Music UK Ltd in 1971 and in 1974 he was appointed Managing Director. In 1979, Rob became the Senior Vice President Worldwide for Warner Bros Music Corp and then in 1983 he was appointed Chairman of the major record company Warner Music Group UK. In 1999 he set up his independent record and publishing company, Instant Karma.
• Rob was Chairman of the BPI 1986-88 and 1997-2002 and Chaired the BRITS committee 1992-5, as well as conceiving and chairing the Classical Brits for its first 5 years
• As well as his dedication to the BRIT Trust, Rob was also a founding Trustee for Youth Music. He was appointed as Trustee for the Victoria & Albert Museum by the Prime Minister in 2000 and is also a board member for the museum’s commercial activities. He chaired the National Museum of Childhood and is a Trustee of the Watts Gallery in Compton.
• He is currently Chairman of The Theatres Trust.

• After starting his career at RCA Records in 1983, Korda became A&R Director of the label in 1988 and counted The Blow Monkeys, The Wedding Present, Pop Will eat Itself, Londonbeat and Take That among his signings.
• Departing RCA in 1993 he launched Infectious Records, which eventually merged with Australian company Mushroom Records before being acquired by the Warner Music Group in 2003. At Mushroom Korda signed MUSE, Ash, Garbage and Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label.
• As part of this acquisition, Korda became Managing Director of the company's Atlantic Records label, where he signed The Darkness and James Blunt among others, before taking over at Warner Music in 2004 overseeing the careers of Madonna, Green Day, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and signing artists including Gnarls Barkley, The Foals, The Enemy, Pendulum and Seasick Steve.
• Korda re-launched Infectious Records in February 2009 which at the start of 2010 boasts hit band The Temper Trap, Local Natives and General Fiasco.

• 1979 – 1983 University of Nottingham Production Engineering with Production Management
• 1983 – 1987 Mobil Oil Company Graduate Trainee Retail Analyst
• 1983 – 1987 Mobil Oil Company Graduate Trainee Retail Analyst
• 1994 – Present Polygram / Universal International Financial Controller FD Polydor CFO Universal Music UK