Independent music powerhouse [PIAS] has announced a number of key promotions within its UK division.
Jason Rackham, the current Managing Director of [PIAS] Cooperative, the company’s associated labels arm, will become Managing Director of [PIAS] UK.
This appointment is effective immediately and Rackham (pictured) will report directly to [PIAS] Group Managing Director Edwin Schröter.
This new role will see him assume overall responsibility for three core divisions – [PIAS] Artist & Label Services, [PIAS] Cooperative and Play It Again Sam.
All three divisions will continue to be run by their existing teams with Peter Thompson heading up the company’s in-house record label Play It Again Sam and Richard Sefton running the sales and distribution division as Director of [PIAS] Artist and Label Services.
The recently acquired Harmonia Mundi business will be relocating to the [PIAS] London Head Quarters in Bermondsey, with Simon Astridge heading up the dedicated services team for classical and jazz repertoire, reporting to Richard Sefton.
“Jason has a wealth of experience in the UK music industry, an enormous amount of enthusiasm and a vital understanding of independent label culture.”
In addition, Craig Penney has been promoted to Head of [PIAS] Cooperative and Geoff Muncey becomes General Manager of [PIAS] UK.
[PIAS] says that business operations and client facing activity will remain unaffected by these changes.
Jason Rackham has also been given a remit to expand and augment the existing [PIAS] UK promotions team, in order to offer more options and expertise to the company’s artist and label clients.
Edwin Schröter said, “With the growth of our UK business and our ongoing global expansion plans, we felt the need for a UK leader who could cohesively represent [PIAS], our values and our vision in the UK market place. It has been amazing working with Jason over the last few years and he is the right person to take on this new role.
“He has a wealth of experience in the UK music industry, an enormous amount of enthusiasm and a vital understanding of independent label culture. With a strong operational structure and existing senior management already in place, Jason will be able to focus on enhancing our offering in the UK market, further grow our business and make [PIAS] the ideal partner for independent labels and artists regardless of their size, genre or the type of deal we have with them.”
Jason Rackham said,” Overseeing the three core divisions of [PIAS] UK in this new role is a challenge I am relishing.
“My colleagues at [PIAS] Cooperative, [PIAS] Arist and Label Services and Play It Again Sam are all hugely experienced at running successful operations and I am looking forward to working alongside them and their teams to build on and develop the wider [PIAS] offering.”Music Business Worldwide
