BMI has announced to key internal promotions, with Alison Smith, SVP of operations, distribution and administration services upped to EVP, distribution, publisher relations and administration services, and Mike Steinberg, SVP of licensing, elevated to EVP, creative and licensing.
Smith’s and Steinberg’s new roles reflect a restructuring of BMI’s writer/publisher department following the retirement of Phil Graham, BMI’s SVP of writer/publisher relations, who announced earlier this year that he is leaving the company after a 40-year career.
BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill said: “As the music industry continues to evolve it makes perfect sense to realign BMI’s internal teams to better meet the needs of our songwriters, composers, publishers and licensees.
“These new roles position BMI to build on the tremendous success of our creative and distribution teams, growing our relationships within the industry and creating even more impactful opportunities for both the music creators we represent and the businesses we partner with to deliver that music to the public.”
Smith will work closely with BMI’s publishers on their royalty distributions and administration needs, while streamlining the flow of information and developing new data streams, bonus structures and payment methodologies across all music delivery platforms. She will continue to oversee all of BMI’s domestic and international royalty distribution and administration services to its more than 750,000 members.
Steinberg will lead the newly-named creative group, which will encompass BMI’s songwriter and composer teams in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Puerto Rico and London, as well as the company’s strategic partnership division. He will continue to oversee BMI’s licensing organisation, driving all of BMI’s domestic revenue.
In addition, Steinberg plans to hire an SVP of creative, a new position that will lead the group’s senior executives and help build on their work developing and guiding the careers of BMI’s roster of established and developing talent.
By Alex Pearson
