LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced today (July 20) that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frances Moore will leave her role at the end of 2023 – a position she’s held since 2010. She has agreed to assist the IFPI in its search for her successor.
Moore joined the organization in 1994 as the Regional Director for Europe. Her 13-year stint as CEO makes her its longest-serving leader, and according to the IFPI, the longest-serving leader of a recorded music trade industry – which represents more than 8,000 members globally and all record labels of all types and sizes from 70 countries around the world, including the big three: Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Warner Music Group (WMG).
Moore led the recording industry through its digital transition, educating policymakers worldwide about the role of labels, the value of music and creators’ rights. Under her leadership, IFPI acted to protect online copyright, which unlocked additional remuneration for artists and rights holders. In 2021, Moore was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to the music industry. Noteworthy achievements during her tenure included:
- Enactment of the European Union (EU) Copyright Directive in 2019, which helped to tackle the so-called “value gap” by ensuring that online content-sharing providers could no longer claim to benefit from a blanket exemption from copyright law;
- Extension of EU copyright protection for sound recordings from 50 years to 70 years in 2011 in Europe, enabling many older artists to continue to benefit from the consumption of their music; IFPI then leveraged this to achieve term extension in Japan through the EU-Japan FTA;
- Establishment of broadcast and public performance rights in China in 2020 after years of engaging with authorities there, a critical reform in a recorded music market that is now the fifth largest in the world. The same rights were implemented only recently in Singapore, lobbied by IFPI through the EU-Singapore FTA;
- Increasing broadcast and public performance rights revenue from US$1.3 billion in 2011 to US$2.5 billion in 2022;
- Combating stream manipulation via a “Code of Best Practice” and bringing legal action against streaming manipulators in markets from Brazil to Germany and beyond;
- Led IFPI’s successful legal actions to block access to copyright-infringing websites in countries from India to Italy. Some 5,200 sites are now blocked through IFPI actions;
- Expanding IFPI’s organizational infrastructure to ensure that the organization is well placed to campaign for rights holders in a range of fast-growing markets (in addition to its main office, it now has six regional offices: Southeast Asia, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Europe, Greater China and representatives in Vietnam and South Korea);
- Creating ‘New Music Fridays’ in 2015 by aligning the global weekly release day for all music to Fridays, reducing the opportunity for piracy and giving fans a single day to focus on discovering new music;
- Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the UAE Ministry of Economy in 2022 with the commitment to establish a Music Licensing Company in the region after several decades of campaigning;
- Establishing the IFPI Global Charts, the industry’s official annual ranking for the best-selling artists. Additionally, launching the Official MENA Chart, the first official regional chart, alongside supporting the introduction of music charts in many territories; there are now official charts in some 55 countries worldwide;
- Serving as the recorded music industry’s most reliable data source, with the figures in its annual Global Music Report officially charting the path of the industry’s recovery.
“After three decades with IFPI, thirteen of which as its Global CEO, it is time for me to hang up my spurs!” Moore, a trained barrister by profession, said in a statement. “I have loved working for IFPI and the recording industry and feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve in this role. I am very proud and appreciative of the IFPI team, both now and over the years. Every achievement has been the result of a team effort. ”
She continued, “I have had the good fortune of living through so much of the industry’s transformation from analog to digital. On my first day at IFPI thirty years ago, I dealt with legislation on blank tape levies, and here we are today dealing with legislation on AI!”
IFPI’s annual “Global Music Report” continues to be the standard, and under Moore, IFPI launched the IFPI Global Charts, the industry’s yearly official ranking for the best-selling artists.
In a written statement, the IFPI Main Board thanked Moore for “navigating IFPI through arguably the most demanding and complex period of modern music’s history. At once, she has led us through music’s digital transition and the industry’s expansion worldwide, enabling a return to growth that mutually benefits artists, labels and the broader music ecosystem. Not only has she been an excellent and effective advocate for labels and creators, but Frances has also built an incredible team of professionals to assure that her legacy will carry on.”
