Merlin, a digital music licensing and membership organization for independent labels, distributors, and other rightsholders, has appointed Neil Miller as its new General Counsel.
Miller brings a wealth of experience in the music industry, joining Merlin from international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, where he advised major technology, gaming, social media, and digital entertainment companies on music rights and licensing.
Prior to that, he led the international music licensing legal team as Director & Associate General Counsel for Meta, and served as SVP & General Counsel for six years at SoundCloud. Miller also held leadership roles at CBS Interactive and Viacom/MTV, among others.
As General Counsel, Miller will be a key member of Merlin’s executive team. Based in the company’s UK office, he will play a role in supporting new initiatives like Merlin Connect, a new tool that provides emerging technology platforms with access to independent music created by real artists.
“Merlin is a dynamic organization operating in a complex and ever-changing legal and commercial environment. Neil’s wealth of experience across music and digital entertainment is exactly what we need to meet these challenges.”
Charlie Lexton, Merlin
He will also be instrumental in strengthening Merlin’s relationships with its members, partners, and rights organizations around the world, the organization said.
Merlin represents “tens of thousands” of independent labels and “hundreds of thousands” of artists globally, who collectively account for over 15% of the global music market share.
Merlin negotiates licensing deals with major digital service providers on behalf of its members, ensuring fair compensation for their music. Merlin’s members include independents like Beggars Group, CD Baby and Downtown Music (including FUGA), Domino, Reservoir Media, Symphonic Distribution, and more.
“I couldn’t be happier to welcome Neil to Merlin in this crucial and strategic role, where he will lead an incredibly talented business affairs team,” said Merlin COO Charlie Lexton.
“Merlin is a dynamic organization operating in a complex and ever changing legal and commercial environment. Neil’s wealth of experience across music and digital entertainment is exactly what we need to meet these challenges. He is highly respected across the industry and brings a valuable blend of long-term thinking, technical skills, and impressive leadership.”
Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota added: “Neil is an extremely talented executive. His legal and commercial expertise will ensure that Merlin can deliver on its mission of building an ethical, sustainable, and indie-centric world. His leadership skills bring a new dimension to our executive team where he will make a significant contribution across Merlin, our members and partners.”
The appointment comes after Merlin struck new deals with streaming platform Deezer, Amazon-owned livestream platform Twitch, streaming service Audiomack, and graphic design platform Canva.
Music Business Worldwide