PRS for Music has appointed two new members of its executive leadership team.
The key hires are among the first under new CEO Andrea C Martin.
Roger James (pictured left) joins as chief commercial officer and general counsel, while Mark Krajewski takes up the role of chief information officer.
A lawyer, senior executive and board member, James started his career at City firm Richards Butler. Previously worldwide international general counsel at Viacom from 2009 to 2016, and more recently head of business affairs for Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, he has over 23 years of international media deal-making experience.
While at Viacom, James managed a global team of 120 lawyers, regulatory executives and support staff. He had responsibility across all brands (including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Spike, Viva and Channel 5) and all lines of business, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He also had P&L responsibility and led the strategic negotiations with all publisher, performing rights organisations and record label licensing globally.
We are in a golden age for content creation, with ever new business models and offerings coming to market
Roger James
The newly created role of chief commercial officer and general counsel will manage the legal and public affairs team, as well as steer PRS for Music’s licensing negotiations with TV and radio broadcasters, digital services and recorded media providers.
Krajewski began his career with property firm Hamptons International. He has extensive technology and leadership expertise across a number of industries including retail, entertainment and legal services. He has been working with PRS for Music on a consultancy basis over the last year on IT and digital transformation.
During his time at Value Retail, owners of luxury retailer Bicester Village, he delivered a multi-channel customer relationship management solution that served over 30 million international customers. He has experience of creating centralised data platforms and consolidating data from thousands of customers and sources.
As CIO, Krajewski will lead the IT and transformation team at PRS for Music with responsibility for technology, data management, business intelligence, digital strategy and the systems that underpin the royalty processing and distribution capability for its members and international partners.
Martin said: “Roger is a perfect fit for our business and I know will have an immediate and positive impact. With responsibility for our legal, licensing and partnerships teams, he will play a central role in our future growth, transformation and success.
“Mark has done an exceptional job as interim CIO and will accelerate the digital change needed in our business. Technology and data management is central to the service we provide to our members and customers and Mark’s expertise will prove invaluable as we build capability and improve our offering.”
James, who joins on November 11, said: “I am extremely excited to be joining PRS at such a pivotal time in its evolution. We are in a golden age for content creation, with ever new business models and offerings coming to market. Music is – and always will be – the biggest emotional driver for content consumption and together with Andrea, I am looking forward to making our members music more accessible using the unique assets we have available to us in a truly compelling way.”
Krajewski takes up the role with immediate effect.
He said: “I’m delighted to be joining the PRS for Music team at such an exciting time and look forward to leveraging our data assets to help deliver an exceptional member experience.”
The appointments coincided with the latest results from CISAC on global collections from societies.
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