Independent creative music rights company Bella Figura Music has announced two significant appointments: Billy Millar as Senior Vice President of Creative, and Chris Presland as Catalog Project Manager.
Millar is a seasoned executive with a rich background in the music industry, having held prominent positions at BMG and Hipgnosis. He brings over a decade of experience and expertise in sync, publishing, recorded music, and music acquisitions.
Notable for his work with renowned artists such as Blink-182, Bon Jovi, Labrinth, Bicep, The Heavy, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Robbie Williams, and more, Millar’s role will involve overseeing global sync & creative output while actively seeking new opportunities for the company’s catalog. His appointment takes effect immediately.
In response to his appointment, Millar said, “I’m really pleased to be a part of Alexi & Neelesh’s vision to build a home for established catalogues. We aim to be as creative & innovative as possible to bring these iconic copyrights & recordings to new audiences.”
“I had worked with Billy at BMG, and I knew he would be a great fit for Bella Figura. I am delighted he felt the same way.”
Alexi Cory-Smith, Bella Figura Music
Alexi Cory-Smith, Co-Founder & CEO of Bella Figura Music, also commented on Millar’s appointment, saying, “When drafting the role of the person who would build and lead our sync business from scratch we wrote down, ‘creative, experienced, commercial, ambitious, data and tech orientated, self-starter, must share our values, passion and energy and will roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work as well as the big ticket and high-level stuff.’ I had worked with Billy at BMG, and I knew he would be a great fit for Bella Figura. I am delighted he felt the same way.”
Meanwhile, Presland, who joins Bella Figura Music from AWAL, brings eight years of experience in working with established artists and labels. As Catalog Project Manager, his responsibilities will include overseeing the transition of David Gray’s recorded output to Secretly Distribution, with a focus on global digital support and vinyl reissues across the entire catalogue.
“I’m really pleased to be a part of Alexi & Neelesh’s vision to build a home for established catalogues. We aim to be as creative & innovative as possible to bring these iconic copyrights & recordings to new audiences.”
Billy Millar, Bella Figura Music
“It’s a privilege to be part of such a world-class group of industry experts with a mission to nurture and grow the legacies and careers of some of the greatest artists in music. There’s a palpable sense of passion in the office that’s inspiring to be around, and I can’t wait to see what we achieve,” Presland said.
Both Millar and Presland will be based in London, reporting directly to Hannah Overton, Head of Operations.
“We’re very pleased to have Chris join us to manage our catalogue, his knowledge, passion and skills will be of huge benefit to our artists,” Overton said.
These appointments come at a significant juncture for Bella Figura Music, which has been actively expanding its presence in the industry since its inception.
Cory-Smith, who left BMG UK in December 2017 after seven years, launched Bella Figura in early 2023, describing it as “a music company for the digital age.” The Times at the time reported that Cory-Smith and Neelesh Prabhu, Bella Figura co-founder, launched their company with over EUR €30 million (approx. $32.5 million) in backing from Freshstream, a London-based private equity firm.
With a focus on both the small details like metadata clean up and digital optimization, as well as the broader initiatives such as global synchronization and marketing, the company continued to invest in artists and writers with successful catalogs. Notable creators under their umbrella include David Gray, R3HAB, Guy Chambers, and Jeff Silverman.
Music Business Worldwide
