TORONTO, Canada, Thursday, April 28, 2022 – The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), a SoundExchange company, is pleased to announce numerous key promotions and hires, effective immediately, across its client engagement, operational and business affairs portfolios. Since SoundExchange’s acquisition of CMRRA in 2017, the combined teams have been diligently working on integration and system optimization to ensure that CMRRA is well equipped to handle the ongoing global growth of music consumption, and to ensure the organization can effectively support new licensee opportunities that further propel consumption.
“CMRRA is the market leader in reproduction rights licensing and administration in Canada and has been for over 40 years. Our people are our greatest asset. These promotions and hires are a demonstration of our commitment to our employees’ depth of knowledge and our passion for getting rights holders paid efficiently and consistently, without delay. I’m immensely proud of the team we have and believe that these enhancements to the team structure provide CMRRA with a solid foundation.” said Paul Shaver, CMRRA President.
Andrea England is promoted to Associate Director, Publisher Engagement and Strategy, a newly created role. England’s genuine and nuanced understanding of the music industry as both a tenured employee of CMRRA and a respected self-published songwriter who serves on the Songwriters Association of Canada’s Board of Directors brings a renewed energy to client outreach. CMRRA Publisher Relations ManagerMarianne Anderson joins England’s team.
Eric Cohen is hired as Industry Relations Consultant – Quebec reporting to Director of Industry Relations & Communications, Rebecca Webster. Located in Montreal, Cohen’s focus is on the ground support and engagement for CMRRA’s Quebec-based music publishers and self-published songwriter clients and label licensees. Webster now directly reports to President Paul Shaver.
Michael Mackie is promoted to Director, Repertoire and Client Services and Nigel Barylewicz is promoted to Assistant Manager, Repertoire and Client Services. Both Mackie and Barylewicz manage the day-to-day repertoire processes and related interactions with clients and international partners ensuring our data is accurate and best in class.
Lauren Ali is promoted to the newly created role of Associate Director, Licensee Management (Broadcast|Digital) and Operational Support to head up the new Licensee Management team. Ali will focus on fostering partnerships with digital and broadcast mechanical licensees while continuing to leverage her business process background to promote greater operational efficiencies across all lines of business. Jennifer Bird now reports to Ali under a new title of Supervisor, Licensee Management overseeing the Tariff Administration team while continuing to be responsible for the coordination of major label royalty processing activity. Vicki Bonomo joins Ali’s team in a new role as Licensee Relations Liaison to support the day-to-day relationships with new and current DSP’s as well as with Broadcast Mechanical licensees.
Laurie Gelbloom is promoted to General Counsel and Andrew Hunter is promoted to Manager, Legal and Business Affairs, while Sacha Isaacksz joins the team as licensing and legal consultant. All report to Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Corporate Development,Veronica Syrtash. Collectively they provide expert guidance on legal compliance and business practices, as well as improving value for our clients through the negotiation and implementation of licensing agreements, the steering of legal and Copyright Board proceedings, and enforcement of all active licensing agreements.
Sandra Nettleton is promoted to Senior Director, Licensing and Distribution Operations, focusing her vast knowledge and experience on system integrations and improvements to processes, data and quality assurance activities related to licensing and quarterly invoicing and distributions.
As the world emerges into a new phase of the global pandemic and as overall music consumption and engagement continues to grow globally, CMRRA remains dedicated to active client engagement, while remaining focused on strengthening relationships with licensees and evolving our system to support the growing needs of a rapidly changing global landscape.
About CMRRA
The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA) represents the vast majority of music publishers doing business in Canada. CMRRA licenses, collects and distributes royalties for the majority of songs recorded, sold and broadcast in Canada. The market-leading royalty collective provides licences to dozens of digital services, including all the major online music services operating in Canada as well as YouTube, the Meta platforms, TikTok and more. CMRRA is a SoundExchange company. For more information, please visit cmrra.ca.
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Media Contact
Rebecca Webster
Director of Industry Relations & Communications
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA)
[email protected], 416-562-5294
