Merlin turns 10, expands with three international hires
Merlin celebrated its 10th anniversary yesterday (May 24) as global digital rights agency for the independent label sector by announcing three new international hires to expand services.
Marta de la Hoz joins as head of reporting from managing the UK royalties team at [PIAS]; Chaida Kapfunde is head of technology and development, formerly EMEA program manager at video advertising software company Videology; and Quentin Martins is member operations manager after gaining experience at [PIAS], Full Time Hobby and Hassel Records.
Merlin opened its doors with a staff of three.
With the new hires, it now has 21 staffers working across offices in Amsterdam (its headquarters), London, New York and Tokyo to service its 20,000 label and distributor members in 53 countries.
The agency claims a 12% share of the global digital recorded music market.
Last year, Merlin had its highest spike in membership since it began operations – mostly from Japan where it opened an office in October 2016 – and in August announced it had distributed $1 billion in distributions.
Charlie Lexton, chief commercial officer & general counsel, said: “Ten years feels like a significant landmark.
“However, as new services launch, and as streaming and subscription models gain traction in previously undeveloped markets, it is crucial that Merlin can evolve accordingly and offer our members the highest possible level of service.
“These new additions to our team add significantly to our level of expertise, and ensure that Merlin can continue to bring maximum value to our members’ digital business.”
Chief financial officer Helen Alexander added: “The scale of growth in the digital music market is phenomenal.
“Last year, we announced that Merlin had distributed $1bn in its first 9 years of operation, and this year we have already announced a ground-breaking series of Chinese deals, as well as our first global partnership with Facebook.
“This does, of course, considerably increase our reporting workload, but having Marta and Chaida on board ensures Merlin will continue to manage our continued expansion.”
Tom Deakin, director of global member services, observed: “Having been at Merlin since 2008, I have become accustomed to our constant growth – both in the number of members we represent and the number of DSP’s we licence.
“However, 2017 was remarkable for a real surge of new members, notably from Japan, all of whom continue to add value and geographic reach to the business.”
Alongside Australian-hailed CEO Charles Caldas, other senior members of the Merlin team include Becky Bishop (head of finance), Christopher Tarbet (head of member operations), and Ryan McWhinnie (director, legal and business affairs).
Jim Mahoney is general manager of Merlin USA.
Haji Taniguchi (general manager) and Kaoruko Hill (member services and operations manager) oversee Merlin’s Japanese office.
10 YEARS OF MERLIN
May 2008: opens with 200 indie companies, with labels such as Epitaph, E1/Koch, [PIAS], Epitaph, Dualtone, Saddle Creek, Domino, Beggars, Warp, Naïve, Wagram, !K7, Cooking Vinyl, Inertia and distributors such as Kontor New Media, Finetunes, Redeye, Thestate51consipracy and Kudos.
Its membership is estimated to make up 8% of the global market.
Within five months, it strikes a deal with Spotify in advance of its launch, alongside all of the major labels.
October 2011 – Merlin licenses Google Play store and appears alongside Universal and EMI at the Los Angeles press conference announcing the service.
February 2012 – Merlin announces landmark multi-million dollar settlement with LimeWire, the first time independents have participated in a settlement of copyright infringement claims against a global peer-to-peer service at this level.
February 2013 – Merlin, IMPALA and Warner announce deal to strengthen independent sector in a post-merger market.
January 2014 – Merlin adds it 600th member, and its first members from Nigeria, India, Greece and South Korea. Merlin now represents companies from 39 countries.
June 2015 – Merlin presents its 2015 members survey, announcing that digital is, for the first time, the main source of revenue for the majority of its members.
October 2016 – Merlin opens its Japanese office, having established its New York office exactly two years previously.
April 2017 – Merlin signs new multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify ahead of Sony and Warner, ensuring that its members remain at the core of the streaming service’s offering.
August 2017 – Merlin announces its billionth dollar in distributions to its members since opening for business.
March 2018 – Merlin announces landmark non-exclusive partnerships with China’s five leading digital music services: NetEase Cloud Music (NetEase Cloud Music), Xiami (Ali Music Group), QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo (all Tencent Music Entertainment).
May 2018 – Merlin cashes in its Spotify stock to distribute to members.