Hipgnosis Song Management has revealed three key appointments.
The company has also announced that chief music officer Ted Cockle will be leaving. The former Virgin EMI president joined Hipgnosis in September 2020.
In the latest round of appointments, Danny Bennett has joined as executive vice president. Based in New York, his responsibilities will include leading global marketing and audience development.
As well as masterminding the career transformation of his father, Tony Bennett, he has worked alongside artists such as Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Jamiroquai, Elvis Costello, Ozzy Osbourne and Pearl Jam.
Bennett’s experience includes his position as CEO and president of the Verve Label Group, where he restructured the label as well as signing artists such as Jon Batiste, Tank And The Bangas and Madison Cunningham.
Sara Lord has joined as executive vice president, content creation, leading Hipgnosis’ collaborative work with creative and production companies to further expand opportunities for the song catalogues in the audiovisual space, from documentaries to dramas and digital experiences, as well as theatrical and product opportunities.
Lord has more than 25 years of experience in music, film, advertising and digital experiences. She joins from Concord Music, where she built an international team and launched the Concord Art Prize amongst many other initiatives. She ran her own artist management company for 15 years. She has been inducted to the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour.
Patrick Joest has been appointed as head of synchronisation, leading Hipgnosis Song Management’s global sync marketing and licensing initiatives.
Joest joined Hipgnosis in 2021. His career spans over 20 years in media and music at Sony, BMG, Warner and MTV. He has global experience in film & TV/sync licensing on both the supervision and rights owners' side.
Prior to joining Hipgnosis, he was EVP, global content partnership & sync at BMG. During 11 years with the business, he built the global sync business, leading a team across 15 offices. From 2015-2018, he worked out of Los Angeles with responsibility for sync in the US. He was also responsible for BMG’s new Brazilian business.
These appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in our team in order to grow the value of our catalogues
Merck Mercuriadis
Merck Mercuriadis, CEO and founder of Hipgnosis Song Management, said: “Danny, Sara and Patrick have developed careers based on integrity and each have a proven track record of strong delivery.
“Danny brings a deep understanding of the new technologies that are a catalyst for success in today’s business. His arrival will better enable Hipgnosis to capitalise on countless untapped opportunities, thereby creating value to Hipgnosis funds and ushering in fresh, captivated audiences to our unparalleled collection of songs. The US is our biggest single market and for some time we have been looking to find the right person to lead our marketing and audience development and Danny is a perfect fit.
“In Sara and Patrick, we have two seasoned experts who will respectively, drive forward our partnerships with content creators and content producers making the most of our incredible songs.”
He added: “Given our decision to focus our marketing in the US, Ted Cockle, our chief music officer, will not be moving long term with the company. He’ll work on the transition to America over the coming weeks. I would like to thank Ted for all he has done for Hipgnosis and I hope there will be opportunities for Ted and Hipgnosis to work together again in the future.
“Over the last 18 months we have continuously invested in new hires and in upgrading our systems. These appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in our capabilities and team in order to grow the value of our catalogues, and, most importantly, bring our songs to new audiences around the world so that more people can discover and enjoy them.”
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