Music business representative Richard Mollet–who currently serves as public affairs director at the UK recorded music business group BPI–has been picked as the new CEO of the UK’s Publishers Association.
Many experts have compared the publishing industry’s digital transition to the music industry’s struggle with digital music files–but this announcement turned the metaphor into policy. Mollet joined BPI in 2006, helping negotiate a number of tricky digital problems for the UK music industry. Previously, he had served as a public affairs consultant at agencies that included Fleishman-Hillard, Edelman and Ludgate.
Publishers Association president and HarperCollins UK CEO Victoria Barnsley had this statement: “At a time of huge change for the publishing industry, Richard brings a wealth of relevant experience and is already a familiar face in Westminster and Brussels. The years ahead will require all his considerable talent and application to successfully represent the interests of the £5 billion a year publishing industry as revenues continue to migrate from physical to digital, a challenge facing so many creative industries.”