BMG has promoted Alistair Norbury to President, Repertoire & Marketing for the UK.
In his new role, Norbury will be responsible for both music publishing and frontline recordings at the company’s biggest repertoire source outside the US.
He replaces Alexi Cory-Smith who exited the company after seven years in December.
After working in artist management, Norbury joined BMG as EVP International Artists two years ago, with a brief to develop its roster of new releases by successful established artists with international appeal.
Since then, BMG has scored worldwide success with Rick Astley, blink-182, Nickelback and Blondie, as well as signing acts including Avril Lavigne, Gary Numan, Marc Almond and Sparks.
Norbury will be responsible for developing a UK music publishing roster, and is now a key member of BMG’s UK-based management team which includes EVP Global Catalogue Recordings Peter Stack, EVP Global Rights Administration Ben Katovsky and EVP and CFO BMG UK Paul Wilson.
Discussing the promotion, BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said: “The growth of our UK operation is crucial to the success of BMG. UK repertoire helps drive the global music business.
“With his breadth of experience, unique insight into artists, and leadership skills, I am confident that Alistair will lead the UK repertoire teams to even greater heights.”
hartwig masuch, bmg
“With his breadth of experience, unique insight into artists, and leadership skills, I am confident that Alistair will lead the UK repertoire teams to even greater heights.”
Prior to BMG, Norbury spent 15 years working with Chris Blackwell’s Island Group of Companies, initially as a lawyer at Island Records and then as Managing Director of Blue Mountain Music, the music publisher of U2 and Bob Marley.
In 1998 he took on the additional role as a founder Director of Blackwell’s new audio-visual label Palm Pictures.
Immediately before joining BMG, Norbury was a manager acting for artists including Bryan Ferry, James and Texas.
“To be given the opportunity to run the fastest-growing music company in the UK is a real honour.
“I am lucky to have inherited an exceptional team and roster and I look forward to working with them to further build our success.”
alistair norbury
He said: “To be given the opportunity to run the fastest-growing music company in the UK is a real honour.
“BMG offers something genuinely new for artists and songwriters in terms of service and ethics, but it combines that with the artist-centric creativity and entrepreneurialism which made the original Island Records so legendary.
“I am lucky to have inherited an exceptional team and roster and I look forward to working with them to further build our success.”
Forthcoming releases from BMG in the UK include albums by Kylie, A Perfect Circle, The Prodigy, Ash and Echo & The Bunnymen.
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