Jeremy Sirota is to step down from his position as CEO of Merlin at the end of this year.
The exec has served as CEO since 2020, during which time the group has welcomed new members including Artist Partner Group, Avex, Global Sound, Many Hats Endeavors, Nettwerk, Polyvinyl Records, Rostrum Pacific, Silent Roar Productions, and UNIFIED.
Sirota’s tenure has seen the body work on initiatives across artificial intelligence, content integrity and sustainability, including the Weidenmüller Sustainability Fund in partnership with IMPALA. He has also overseen the launch of new projects including licensing platform Merlin Connect, mentorship programme Merlin Engage and royalties data service Merlin Insights.
Darius Van Arman, chairperson of Merlin, co-founder and co-owner of Secretly Group, described Sirota as “an extraordinary CEO”.
“He has brought great focus, tremendous energy and brilliant thinking to one of the most important and challenging roles within the independent community,” said Van Arman. “His work and leadership has Merlin more prepared than ever to manage an increasingly complex music licensing landscape and to achieve our mission of enabling greater independence for all Merlin members. As chairperson, I will miss working closely with Jeremy, and on behalf of the Merlin board and the whole Merlin community, I want to express immense gratitude to Jeremy for his unwavering commitment to Merlin these past six years.”
Leading Merlin and empowering independence has been the privilege of a lifetime
Jeremy Sirota
Merlin’s partnerships span companies such as Deezer, Meta, NetEase, SoundCloud, Spotify, TenCent, Vevo and YouTube, while Sirota has fostered new ones with services including Apple, Audiomack, Canva, Peloton, Snap, Twitch and more during his tenure..
Merlin is working on a succession plan, led by Sirota and Charlie Lexton (COO), Jim Mahoney (SVP, member & partner success), Adam Wright (CFO) and Neil Miller (general counsel).
Jeremy has brought great focus, tremendous energy and brilliant thinking to one of the most important and challenging roles within the independent community
Darius Van Arman
Jeremy Sirota said: “Leading Merlin and empowering independence has been the privilege of a lifetime. Every day I get to wake up and create meaningful impact for our members, help them navigate through disruption, and ensure they have agency in a time of extraordinary change. I leave with incredible pride knowing that Merlin has a bright future. I look forward to finding my next opportunity to lead a company, drive innovation, and continue to have a positive impact in the world.”
He added: “Merlin continues to be the most important organisation representing independents. I’m incredibly proud of what the Merlin team accomplishes every day on behalf of our members. I encourage every leading independent to apply for membership. I’m also immensely grateful for the support of Darius Van Arman, Dave Hansen, the co-founders – Martin Mills, Michel Lambot, and the late Horst Weidenmüller – as well as the entire Merlin Board. It has been a privilege to work alongside the dedicated individuals who have served on the Merlin Board during my time as CEO, engaging in crucial conversations about the organisation’s strength and strategic direction.”
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