June 25, 2023 – NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Sony Music has created a new position of Executive Vice President (EVP) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and has hired Geoff Taylor, former British Phonographic Industry (BPI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the role, according to BillboardPro. He will report directly to Sony Music Entertainment (SME) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kevin Kelleher.
Taylor, who spent 15 years at the British record label trade organization BPI, announced in August 2022 that he was stepping back from his role at BPI to take on a more direct commercial role. During his tenure at BPI, he oversaw the organization during the industry’s transition from digital downloads to streaming media, as well as transformative moments for the industry, such as Brexit and the pandemic.
In his new role, Taylor will coordinate SME’s label business efforts surrounding AI, and coordinate across the global digital business and business and legal affairs division, according to Kelleher’s company-wide memo obtained by BillboardPro.
The announcement comes as the music industry tries to come to terms with the challenges AI in the digital world brings – specifically its effect on copyright, songs that have been released mimicking existing artists, producers and songwriters without their consent, and the ability to be trained on existing musical compositions, among other issues.
The position is the first AI-specific executive-level role at a major label. I’ve included a copy of Kelleher’s memo below.
All,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great significance for the future of the music industry, and, as a result, more focused attention on it is required.
Accordingly, we are delighted to share that Geoff Taylor will be joining us as our new Executive Vice President, Artificial Intelligence.
Reporting to me and working closely with our Global Digital Business and Business & Legal Affairs divisions, Geoff will align and help coordinate the work of every part of the business that touches AI.
Geoff brings to our company decades of music industry experience. Most recently, from 2007 to 2022, Geoff was the Chief Executive of the BPI, our UK Trade Body for recorded music, where he led the fight against piracy and fraud and advocated for the strategic importance of recorded music to jobs, investment and maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness. Before joining the BPI, Geoff was General Counsel and Executive Vice-President at our global recorded music trade body, the IFPI, from 2005-2007.
In these roles, Geoff has worked with our company for several years, and I am delighted he is joining to help us successfully navigate a key moment in the history of the music industry.
So please join me in welcoming Geoff to Sony Music, and feel free to reach out to him with any questions you might have at [Sony Music Entertainment Email Redacted].
Kevin
