The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has made several new hires to help lead the company’s customer experience, marketing and communications, education and outreach, human resources, and third-party partnerships efforts.
The new hires follow the appointment of respected music industry executive Kris Ahrend (pictured) as CEO in January.
In addition to the five new appointments, Ahrend states the organization “will be actively seeking to fill additional roles” in the coming months.
Established by the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the MLC is a nonprofit entity designated by the United States Copyright Office to develop and administer a mechanical licensing system that will launch on January 1, 2021.
The MLC will be responsible for collecting and distributing royalties payable to songwriters and copyright owners by digital music services, and for the creation of a first-of-its-kind, public database that will contain critical copyright information on all musical works.
In November 2019, The MLC and Digital Licensee Coordinator reached a deal on funding levels for the organization, which will see the MLC receive $33.5 million for start-up costs and an initial annual assessment for 2021of $28.5m.
The new MLC employees include:
- Ellen Truley, who joins the MLC as Chief Marketing Officer with 20 years’ experience across marketing, brand strategy, digital initiatives, advertising, and public relations.
- Leigh McCorkle, who has been appointed as Chief People Officer. McCorkle was most recently the Executive Director of Human Resources for Broadcast Music Inc (BMI).
- Dae Bogan joins as Head of Third-Party Partnerships. Bogan is founder of several music technology companies, and is an adjunct lecturer at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He will lead The MLC’s strategy of engaging third-party entities that provide support to creators and publishers in the areas of rights administration, data management, operations, and education.
- Serona Elton, who joins the MLC as Head of Education Partnerships, is a professor, Director of the Music Business & Entertainment Industries Program, and Associate Dean of Administration at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Elton will lead The MLC’s effort to engage future members of the music industry currently studying music business and related subjects at colleges and universities across the US and globally in support of The MLC’s outreach and education efforts.
- Lindsey Major has been hired as Head of Customer Experience, having previously helped companies such as SmileDirectClub and Lyft develop and enhance their customer service operations.
“We’re excited to build our team of knowledgeable experts who are passionate about helping to improve the licensing, administration, and payments process for digital audio mechanicals and provide greater transparency to songwriters and publishers.”
Kris Ahrend, MLC
Chief Executive Officer Kris Ahrend said: “We’re excited to build our team of knowledgeable experts who are passionate about helping to improve the licensing, administration, and payments process for digital audio mechanicals and provide greater transparency to songwriters and publishers.
“Our newest employees bring a wealth of valuable experience and insight that will be incredibly helpful as we continue to build The MLC in the coming months.
“Their leadership and contributions will help ensure we assemble a talented and diverse team that can communicate effectively with the many constituencies that will be interested in learning more about The MLC and provide a high-quality user experience for the songwriters and publishers we will serve.
Added Ahrend: “These five leaders are among the first to join our team. In the coming weeks and months, we will be actively seeking to fill additional roles at The MLC as we continue to build and grow our organization.
“If you are interested in learning more about these additional roles and would like to join our extraordinary team, I encourage you to visit The MLC’s website to view current openings and submit your application.”Music Business Worldwide
