The respected European boss of global independent publisher Carlin Music has left the company, MBW can confirm.
David Japp first joined Carlin in 1977, after being invited on board by long-term associate and Carlin founder Freddy Bienstock.
Japp (pictured) started at Carlin as MD of subsidiary The First Composers Company, representing composers and producing film and TV scores.
He became director of Carlin in 1981. After Freddy Bienstock bought Chappell, Japp went to live in France in 1984 where he was President of Chappell France. After Chappell was acquired by Time Warner in 1988 he stayed on as President of Warner Chappell.
In 1989, after five years in Paris, Japp left Warner Chappell as Bienstock named him Carlin CEO with responsibility for running the UK operation and Carlin’s European companies – which Japp created. It was a role he would hold until shortly before Christmas 2014, when he and Carlin parted ways.
Japp told MBW: “I intend to continue to work as a music publisher, either in my own right or as a consultant for other publishers, and to fulfill a long held ambition of getting back into movie production – which is where I started out after leaving school.”
Carlin enjoyed huge success in the decade after Japp’s appointment as CEO, looking after the songs behind hits including Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell II’ album and the Whitney Houston version of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You.
Moby utilised songs from the Carlin catalogue to form the basis of tracks on his global best-selling ‘Play’ album in 1999.
Long-term Carlin writers have included Ray Davies, Aretha Franklin and Rush, whilst it is perhaps nest known for looking after compositions by Elvis Presley, including many No.1 hits.
After Bienstock died in 2009, Japp continued to run the Carlin London-based EU office, while Bienstock’s daughter Caroline and his son Robert headed up the company from New York.Music Business Worldwide
