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Paulette Long becomes Chair of the Music Publishers Association
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 18 July 2022
The UK’s Music Publishers Association has a new Chair, with Paulette Long taking over from Roberto Neri. The new appointment was confirmed at the trade group’s Annual General Meeting in London on Friday.
Welcoming his successor, Neri – the former Downtown Music exec who joined Utopia Music during his stint as MPA Chair – said: “It has been the biggest honour to serve as Chair of the MPA and to represent the UK’s stellar music publishing community. I could not be happier to pass the baton to the amazing Paulette and to see the MPAs reinforced commitment to diversity and inclusion”.
“I have no doubt that Paulette will continue the MPA’s meaningful work towards ensuring the publishing sector is truly advocated for and represented”, he added. “Given my role as Chief Operating Officer at Utopia Music, I have also made the decision to step down from the [MPA] board to ensure neutrality, as we continue to serve all parts of the music industry equally and work with all trade bodies represented at UK Music”.
Long – already a long-term MPA board member – added: “I’m really pleased to be taking on this role as Chair of the MPA. I would like to express my thanks to my predecessor Roberto Neri for his vision, hard work and entrepreneurial style during his time as Chair. I look forward to working with the board and the entire MPA team, along with the MPA publisher members, as we work towards creating a more dynamic organisation and a stronger, more balanced industry”.
The MPA also owns two collecting societies – the UK’s mechanical rights society MCPS, plus PMLL, which licenses the copying of sheet music, mainly in the education space. The latter also has a new Chair, with Rachel Lindley from Oxford University Press taking over from Richard King, who has chaired PMLL since its creation ten years ago.
Lindley said: “I am delighted to step into my new role as chair of PMLL. To witness the success and growth of PMLL over the past few years has been incredibly exciting and I thank and congratulate Richard King on his dedication to his role as Chair over the past ten years”.
